Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Censoring Palestine: The Weaponisation Of Anti-Semitism

Through BDS,thePalestinianshave actuallybeensuccessful

inchangingtheIsraelipropagandamachine.

WhenpeoplewanttospeakaboutPalestineinEurope

they're immediatelyaddressedasanti-Semites.

Germanyisverycomplicitandnotwillingtolisten

tothePalestinians.

We live in a post-fascist Germany,

not in an anti-fascist Germany.

Nostateinthiswholeworldhasarighttoexist.

Peoplehavetherighttoexist.

Europe has been undergoing massive changes in recent years.

As more EU countries see a rise in nationalism

and far-right movements, there have been increasing reports

of anti-Semitism in the media.

Anti-Semitic.

Anti-Semitism.

Anti-Semitic.

Anti-Semitism.

My name is Dan Glass and I'm an activist for social justice.

All four of my grandparents were Nazi Holocaust survivors

and I've learnt from day dot that Jews were massacred,

bludgeoned and forced from their homes.

But over the past few years, criticism of Israel and solidarity

with Palestine has also been labelled as anti-Semitism.

We won't tolerate anti-Zionism,

as it is the new face of anti-Semitism.

But is criticising the policies of Israel anti-Semitic?

And what lies behind the movement of the so-called

"new face of anti-Semitism"?

I'm here because I want to explore where the racism ends,

and the instrumentalisation begins.

I'm on my way to Munich to meet Nirit Sommerfeld,

a Jewish Israeli singer who criticised the politics

of her own state and found herself amongst accusations

of anti-Semitism.

Here's a song I wrote. Here, "Alles schein".

"Alles schein" means "what a scam".

So, I'm talking to Israel in this song as if it was my lover.

The beginning is "I need to go, I need to flee from this place

because everything I see, weapons and violence

and I can't stand it anymore".

Then in the bridge, I'm talking about

"you are torturing people, you are killing children,

even your own kids are suffering" and so on.

For this line, I was accused to serve anti-Semitic stereotypes.

Because of my very radical views on Israel and Palestine,

they won't let me perform.

And this really hurts.

It sounds radical that I say a Palestinian

should have the same right as an Israeli.

They have the power to give me a hard life, and that's not fair.

Nirit's experience is not an isolated case.

All around the world, solidarity with Palestine and support

of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement

or BDS, are commonly accused of being anti-Semitic,

and such allegations have caused people

to feel increasingly afraid to speak out against Israeli policies.

In 2019, the director of Berlin's Jewish Museum

was forced to resign from his occupation after tweeting

a recommendation to read an article on BDS.

A Human Rights Watch official was deported

by the Israeli authorities over his alleged support

of the boycott of Israel.

Everysingledayvirtually,IsraeliandPalestinian

humanrightsdefenders aremaligned

andthosethatgetittheworstarePalestinianadvocates.

So what exactly is so wrong about BDS?

I'm about to speak to the European Legal Support Center's

coordinator, Giovanni Fassina, who is in Amsterdam

so we're going to have a chat on Skype.

This movementwasbornasaresultofaPalestinian

civilsocietycallin2005 for Boycott,Divest andSanction

Israel inordertoraiseawarenessamongthepublic

aboutthe situationandalsotomakeaneconomicpressure

onthisapartheidregimeuntil theIsraeligovernmentcomplies

withinternationallawanduniversalprincipleofhuman rights.

BDS donotcallfortheboycottofindividuals,

groupsorentitiesonthemerebasis of theirIsraeli

identityorJewishfaith.

Theyaddressindividualsorinstitutionsthatare

specifically affiliatedorcomplicitinIsrael'sviolation

andgreatbreachofinternationallaw.

To understand the need for a movement like BDS,

one must understand thehistory of how Israel came to exist.

At the end of World War I, the British took over Palestine,

and as more Jews emigrated to flee persecution in Europe,

tensions increased between local Arabs and Zionists

who believed that the land belonged

to the Jewish people by birthright.

In 1947, after the horrors of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany,

the UN agreed on a proposal to divide the land

into aJewish State, Israel and a Palestinian state

with Jerusalem remaining a multi-faith international zone.

Even though Jews represented only a third of the population,

they were to receive 56% of the land.

The neighbouring countries didn't accept the plan

and declared war on Israel in 1948.

Israel won the war, in part thanks to a Zionist militia

that had received established training

from senior British Army officer Orde Wingate.

In the process, the newly proclaimed country

expanded way beyond the borders established by the UN,

and at least 700,000 Palestinians wereforced to flee from their homes.

When the Six Day War broke out

with the surrounding states in 1967,

Israel expanded their borders further,

with the West Bank and Gaza coming under Israeli occupation.

The occupation in the West Bank continues today,

and the Israeli government is deeply entrenched

in a process of building illegal Jewish settlements

in the region,while continuing to subject Palestinians

to military occupation, land dispossession andunequal rights.

This is the current situation today:

a growing vanishing of Palestinian land to Israelis.

IgrewupinthefirstIntifada.Ihavethreesisters.

Wehadtoleaveoutsidebecause

we hadnofuture in Palestine.

Majed Abusalama is an award-winning human rights defender

who grew up in Gaza before moving to Germany in 2016.

Whatweliveinisacontinuousgenocide.

Ourniece is... now hastogetusedandlearnwhat abomb means.

She's 1-year-old?

Yes,she'soneyearandacoupleofmonths

nowandshehadtogetused tolearn thatthereisawar,

that thereisanexplosion, thereisabomb.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

Germanyisverycomplicitandnotwillingtolisten

tothePalestinianswhoare notspeakingthe Germandiscourse.

The goodPalestinianforGermansisthePalestinian

whodon'tendorseBDS.

In 2019, Germany passed a motion

labelling the BDS movement as anti-Semitic.

A few months later, the motion was referenced

in the deportation document of Khaled Barakat,

a Palestinian activist who wasexpelled from Germany

for advocating against the Israeli occupation.

They say for example:

"you call for the right of return

for Palestinian refugees to their homes".

So? What's the crime?

TheywanttosilencePalestiniansandso,

thewaythatIsraelisdoingthisisbyasking theirallies

likeGermany,U.S.,Canada,Francetooppressmovements

liketheBoycott, DivestmentandSanctionsmovement.

In 2017, Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs

set aside a budget of 72 million U.S. dollars

to fight the global movement,

money that was partly used inlobbying activities

orpublic campaigns comparing BDS supporters to Nazis.

Rightnow,mostofthetime,whenpeoplewanttospeak

aboutPalestineinEuropethey're immediately

addressedasanti-Semites.

Actually,inrecentyears, wewitnessedtheadoption

ofpoliticalresolutionswhichconflateanti-Semitism

with the legitimate critics to the Israeli government.

In December 2019, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson

announced plansfor a new law criminalising the BDS movement.

Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs even publicly praised

the Czech parliament's decision to condemn the movement.

Well, this is the European Parliament.

I guess this is where the magic happens, hey?

Tomas Sandellis the director of the

European Coalition for Israel, a Judeo-Christian lobby

that works to deepen relationsbetween Europe and Israel.

Thankyou, nice to meet you. I really appreciate your time.

Well,it'smypleasure.

WhenIhearpeopleinEuropesay "don'tbuyfromtheJews.

Kauf nicht von Juden".

Thatringsabell,Iheard thatbefore.

ButwhatdoesBDSsay?

DoesBDSsaydon'tbuyIsraeliproducts

ordon'tbuy productsfromJews?Bigdifference.

Theysaylet'sboycottgoodsfromtheonlyJewishstate

intheworldtoday.Ithasaname, Israel.

IsitboycottingIsraeliproducts?Doesitsaythat?

OrdoesitsayweboycottJewish people's products?

I'msureifthey'resmartenoughandtheyhavethemoney

andthey havethe fundsandthey havethePRpeople to

beabletophrasethingsinaway

thattheycangetaway with.

Youcan'ttellmewhatitsays?

Of course, Israel. Israel, Israel, Israel.

Ok, that's very different. And it's good to get that clarity.

Soonlyifyoubelievethat

thestateofIsraelrepresentsallJews.

Ifyouforgetthefactthat manyofthecitizensofIsrael

arenotJews,thatmostoftheworld'sJewsdon'tliveinIsrael.

If youforgetallthesefactsthenyoucouldsay

"ohwellmaybecriticismofthestateofIsrael

isakindofhiddenformofanti-Semitism".

Dr. Shir Hever is a Jewish political economist whose study

widely focused on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian land.

Politiciansaresupportingthosedeclarations

withoutknowinganythingaboutBDS, justbecause

theygetsomepressurefromtheIsraeligovernment

andtheysay "ohwellwecan getbetterrelationship

withtheIsraeligovernmentifwespeakagainstBDS

andifwedothe opposite, ifwespeakinfavorofBDS,

whatcanthePalestiniansgiveus?

Well,nothing.So,whybother?"

Today I'm investigating this really interesting organisation

called RIAS.

RIASisthe organizationinGermanywhoseremitis

collectingdataonincidentsassociatedwithanti-Semitism.

Theyhadrecorded1,083 anti-Semiticincidents

inBerlinin 2018.

Nowthat'sa14%riseonthepreviousyear.That'shuge.

Theygoontosay,and thisiswhere

itbecomesparticularlypoignant.

Incidentsattributabletoanti-Israelactivism

arethesecondlargestclassifiable group.

Foranti-Israelactivism,RIAS Berlinincludes, forexample

secularPalestiniangroupsandactivists

whosupportanti-Semiticboycott campaigns

againsttheJewishstateofIsrael.

So,essentiallytheyareequatingchallenging

or critiquingthestateofIsrael

withanti-Semitismwhichhashugerepercussions.

If we deducted the 101 incidents related to anti-Israel activism,

the total number of anti-Semitic incidents in Berlin

would come to 982 in 2018.

Whilst this is still a 4% increase from the previous year,

it's far from thefigures reported by RIAS.

We contacted RIAS, numerous times,

but they refused and seemed anxious to talk to us

so I decided to call them up directly.

Helloisthis RIAS?

Yes, you are talking to RIAS.

I'mfromLondon butI'minBerlinandI'minacafe

andI heard...overheardpeopleat thetablenexttometalking

aboutPalestineandtheboycottIsraelmovement,

theBDS movement,isthatananti-Semiticincident?

Weconsider the public call for boycotting Israel

as an anti-Semitic statement.

Imean, ifyoucouldhearitverywell,thenitissomething

that wehavetoconsiderto bepublictalk.

Report it to us, it'sdefinitelysomethingwewill consider

andexamineverywell.

Thankyou.Youhaveagoodday.

I'lldothatassoonaspossible.

Wow... wow,sothatwasRIAS.Ifinallygotthroughtothem.

Hesaidthatitcouldbe consideredanti-Semitic

justoverhearingaconversation.

Sothatmeanswhenpeople justtalkpublicly

tothemselvesinacafe, that could be anti-Semitic.

Aside from conflating the boycott of Israel

with anti-Semitism, post-war Germany has a long history

oflinking support for Jewish people

directly with the State of Israel.

WhoareIsrael'smoststaunchestdefendants

anddependableallies?

SpecificallyinGermany, thebiggestandmostinfluentialgroup

isactuallytheProtestantChurch.

ThisisaChurchthat hasturnedthestateofIsrael

intoatheologicaltoolfordealingwithitsownguilt

overits collaborationwiththeNazisintheSecond World War.

Andinsteadofreallydealingwiththe issueofJews

andresponsibilitytowardsprotectingJewsfromhatred

andracism,theyhave transferredthat

toprotectingthestateofIsrael.

TheybaneventscriticisingtheStateofIsrael inpublichalls

andbecausetheProtestantChurchinGermany

issopowerfulandhasso muchmoney

andsomanybuildings,theydohavetheability

tosilencefreespeechon Palestine.

Some evangelical Christians believe that the modern State

of Israel is in accordance with a 4000-year-old biblical prophecy.

The land would be predestined to all Jews

who will rule it until the return of the messiah,

when Jesus returns to Jerusalem.

This perspective gave birth to a growing number of

Christian-Zionist lobby groups around the world

and while these lobby groups are most powerful in the U.S.,

they also reach the heart of Europeanpolitics.

Imeanyourwebsite, you know, I'm glad you brought that up

because it says thatECIbelieves

that Judeo-Christiantraditionshapestheethicalcodes

ofWestern democratic societiesand remainscentral

tooursetofvaluestoday.

It'sfascinating, I mean...butwhere'severyone else?

WhatmakesEuropeEurope?

Ifwelookattheconventionfor

internationalhuman rightsandfundamentalfreedoms,

You know, wheredotheycomefrom?

Wheredotheyfind theirroots?

Therearefewtodaythatwoulddenythattosaythat

thisisnota productofaJudeo-Christianculture.

The argument of the exclusive influence of Judeo-Christians

in the shaping of Western Europe denies

and even contradicts the influence of Muslims in the region.

Today, the term is adopted by right-wing populists like

Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders

who alsopromote Islamophobic ideas.

Whatdoesanti-SemitismintheWestlookliketoday?

Ithinkthestatisticshavebeenquite,quite clear

insayingthat,youknow,thiswouldcome

fromjihadisticcommunities,stereotypesthat

theyarebringingfromtheircountriesintheMiddleEast

whichareveryproblematic.

Notthefar-right?

Notthefar-rightstatistically.

In fact, the majority of contemporary anti-Semitism

is attributed to the white, nationalist far-right.

Germany's Federal Government found that the number

of anti-Semitic hate crimes recorded skyrocketed

between 2015 and 2018, and over 89% of these crimes

were perpetrated by right-wing extremists.

Simultaneously, the latest Global Terrorism Index

reported that between 2013 and 2018, Western Europe,

North America and Oceania have seen an increase of 320%

in attacks committed by far-right terrorists

the same ideology responsible for the staggering rise

of Islamophobia around Europe.

Thereisa hugesceneof, like,mediaandartandcultures

andallofitwhichfocusedonMuslimsand Arabs

beinganti-Semites,you know, andbeingdifferent

andbeingnotpartofhere.

And it'sso orientalist how they look at... andsoracist.

So,wearehereinReuterstrasseinNeuklln,

animportantArabandTurkish community

becausein2018aGermanjournalistcalledMadlen Haarbach

tweeted"you can'twalkdownReuterstrasseinakippah

withoutmassivepoliceprotection".

Soweare heretoseeifthat'sthecase.

Sohere,IhavegotmyPalestiniansolidarityscarf.

Wewon'tbeusingthattoday.

Mykeffiyehs.

ThisiswhatIwaslookingfor.

ThisismykippahwhichmyGermangranddadgaveto me.

I feellikeaJewishpolarbear, which is always interesting.

Wehaven'tyetfoundanyanti-Semiticreactions.

But whoknowswhatmay be around the corner?

Hey.

Great.Good.Thisisgood.Iagreewiththatsomuch.

Can I ask you a question?

I'mJewish.Yeahyeahyeah.AndIagree.

Yeah, I agree with that.

Whereare youfrom?

I'mfromLondon.Yeah,yeah,yeah.ButIwastold...

therewasthis German...sorrymyGerman.

You're my cousin.

Oh, thank you. Thankyouverymuch.

I'm from Palestine.

Oh, good on you.Good on you.

IhavenowbeenwalkingaroundhereinNeuklln

wearingakippahandastarof David.

TheonlyinteractionI'vehadisfromonefella

whohadafreePalestine band,

whosaid "whereareyoufrom?".

IsaidI'mJewish.Hesaid "you'remycousin".

Thisisinstarkcontrastto whatMadlenHaarbach

saidthatyouneedamassivepoliceprotection.

Of course, I'm not denyingthatanti-Semitic

attacksarehappeningbutwe'vegottoreallylook

atthereality beforeanti-Semitismjustgetsthrownup

byanyonewiththeirownagenda.

The media plays an ongoing role in singling out

the Muslim community.

An American study found that between 2011 and 2015,

terror attacks committed by Muslims receive five times

as much media coverage as those carried out by non-Muslims.

And this Islamophobic discourse is no different in Germany,

where the Muslim population has become

a convenient scapegoat that has been utilised

for the far-right's gains.

Hi, Dan. Nice to meet you. How are you doing?

We should not forget that we live in a post-fascist Germany,

not in an anti-fascist Germany.

Susann Witt-Stahl is a journalist and author

whose research has focused on Germany's relationship

with Israel since the 1950s.

We are systematically witnessing Palestinians represented

as an uncivilised collective,

a collective that must be civilised, that must be colonised.

What is also interesting

is what I call "the waste removal of the German past",

where all the features of German fascism

are being projected onto the Palestinians.

Therewereatrocitiesandmassacresat the Holocaust

againsttheJewishpeople in Germany.

That'sa fact.

Buttheytakethisfact andtheycombineitwithabiglie.

Andtheresponsibleparties ontheHolocaustinGermany

arenotthePalestinians, nottheArabsand nottheMuslims.

They're tryingtotransferthisresponsibility

tootherpeople'sshouldersandsay

"whenyoutalkabout anti-Semitic,don'tlookatthenewNazi

andthefascistandthesecriminalparties

in Germany,look at PalestiniansandArabs".

And this is naturally very practical and very fitting

for the extreme right in Germany.

The sole purpose of the extreme right since 1945

is to blame the crimes of Germany on others.

We have to go back to the 50s, to the so-called

"reparation agreement" with Israel.

Germany wanted to be a player in Western imperialism.

The chief protagonist of this politic was Konrad Adenauer,

an archconservative reactionary politician

who justified the "reparation agreement"

with anti-Semitic arguments.

Adenauer was the first chancellor of West Germany

after the war.

His cabinet and ministries notably employed

a considerable number of ex-Nazis,

along with one of his closest confidants, Hans Globke,

the responsible ministry official for Hitler's

anti-Jewish racial legislation.

Adenauer justified Germany's financial compensations

to Israel with arguments implying the Jewish community

might want revenge from the Holocaust.

Konrad Adenauer said...usedhisrelationshipwithIsrael

inordertogain readmittanceinto

human civilisationinaway.

ForBen-Gurion,thatwasveryimportanttohave

aWesternpowersaying "yes,theStateofIsrael

representsalltheJews"andthenofcourse

thatrelationshipbetween thesetwocountries

developedovertheyears.

ForGermany,itcontinuesuntiltodaytobea kindofsymbol.

The criticism of theStateofIsraelis acriticism...

not of theJewishpeople.

It'smainlyacriticismofan entirety

whichisanapartheidentity,anoccupationpowerentity,

an entity thatisviolating warcrimes.

Theywantusto accept surrender

andtoaccept apartheidasasolution.

Thebiggerpictureisthatthrough BDS,

thePalestinianshave actuallybeensuccessfulinchanging

theIsraelipropagandamachineandinstead of

arresting tensofthousandsofPalestinians everyyear,

theIsraeligovernmentis nowarrestingthousands.

Insteadofkillingthousands, they'rekillinghundreds.

Thewholethingabouttherightoftheexistence

oftheState of Israel.Imean,givemeabreak.

Nostate... no stateinthiswholeworldhasarighttoexist.

Thisisnot writtenanywhere.

Peoplehavetherighttoexist.

Humanbeingshavetherighttoexist,asIsraelis

asPalestinians,aswhatever.