- Joined
- Aug 23, 2010
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- Socialist
I think that this particular topic should be here because I believe that it raises issues that go beyond the politics of Israel, Zionism, Europe, US, Left or Right.
From other threads here on DP I have very recently discovered the existence of what is being termed 'New Antisemitism' which purports to address the issue of alleged antisemitism expressed through criticism and/or denial of Zionism or the State of Israel that has arisen in the 20th and 21st centuries. As I have only recently become aware of this phenomenon, and I try to be concise, it is quite possible that I have straw manned the 'New Antisemitism' position here and, if I have, I am more than willing to be corrected on that. Just to add, that this position is not without it's critics however, criticism of the philosophy itself appears to attract cries of 'antisemitism' and there are several institutions that have adopted definitions of 'antisemitism' that strongly reflect this 'New Antisemitism' philosophy and, that bothers me.
To kick off the thread, I am particularly interested in one aspect of this, which is that this is a form of presuppositional thinking; It unjustifiably demands the acceptance of a concept regarding the nature of Statehood and then within that framework attempts to expose 'flaws', not about what other people say about that concept but, what they think when they say it. For me, that in itself is as insidious a tactic as any that might be used by a 'genuine' antisemite. I can't help but think that this has evolved from a serious concern about the well being of a group of people into a form of thought control that seeks to close down criticism by putting an unwarranted assumption of guilt on anyone questioning the presupposition as a starting point.
I have adopted the no hyphen version of 'antisemitism' in this post. If I should be using the hyphenated version then apologies for that.
From other threads here on DP I have very recently discovered the existence of what is being termed 'New Antisemitism' which purports to address the issue of alleged antisemitism expressed through criticism and/or denial of Zionism or the State of Israel that has arisen in the 20th and 21st centuries. As I have only recently become aware of this phenomenon, and I try to be concise, it is quite possible that I have straw manned the 'New Antisemitism' position here and, if I have, I am more than willing to be corrected on that. Just to add, that this position is not without it's critics however, criticism of the philosophy itself appears to attract cries of 'antisemitism' and there are several institutions that have adopted definitions of 'antisemitism' that strongly reflect this 'New Antisemitism' philosophy and, that bothers me.
To kick off the thread, I am particularly interested in one aspect of this, which is that this is a form of presuppositional thinking; It unjustifiably demands the acceptance of a concept regarding the nature of Statehood and then within that framework attempts to expose 'flaws', not about what other people say about that concept but, what they think when they say it. For me, that in itself is as insidious a tactic as any that might be used by a 'genuine' antisemite. I can't help but think that this has evolved from a serious concern about the well being of a group of people into a form of thought control that seeks to close down criticism by putting an unwarranted assumption of guilt on anyone questioning the presupposition as a starting point.
I have adopted the no hyphen version of 'antisemitism' in this post. If I should be using the hyphenated version then apologies for that.