DOCSLIB.ORG

Griffin, Philip J

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Griffin, Philip J The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project PHILIP J. GRIFFIN Interviewed by: Raymond Ewing Initial interview date: October 20, 1998 Copyright 2014 ADST [Note: This interview was not completed prior to Mr. Griffin’s death.] Q: Good morning. It is good to be talking with you. GRIFFIN: Good morning Ray. It is nice to be here Q: You entered the Foreign Service a few months before I did in 1957. I see that you went to the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Is that what led you to the Foreign Service or was there something else that pushed you in that direction? GRIFFIN: Well phrased question. There was one indicator event that pushed me initially in that direction, or I should say pushed me in the direction to go to the Foreign Service school. And that was a son of a friend of the family, in the period immediately after the war. He had come out of the military. We knew this young man quite well. He chose Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. I was a teenager and this was something I had not heard of and most of the people in my family hadn’t heard of. I grew up here in Washington. We of course knew about Georgetown. He chose the School of Foreign Service. I saw him from time to time from 1945 to 1950 and he got me interested in that particular part of the university. I went to a Jesuit high school in DC and for academic, professional and financial reasons it was clear I was not going away to school but I wanted to go to a good school. I was able to get a half scholarship from Gonzaga High School here in town to go to Georgetown. I chose the Foreign Service school mainly because of what I had heard from this young man, who did not go on to enter the Foreign Service but ended going into business. Q: So you went Georgetown. You took the Foreign Service Exam while you were there or a little bit later? GRIFFIN: I finished in 1954. I was in ROTC and went into the military. While I was in the military, I served with a gentleman who I had gone to ROTC summer camp with in Kansas. We had become good buddies over this two/three month period. We met again when we were on active duty. He had told me back at summer training about the Foreign Service as a career. I had more or less decided initially to do something different than that and interviewed with a number of companies in my senior year. I was offered a couple of opportunities. Particularly one was offered by General Electric’s international division, connected to NY. I had more or less signed up with them. They said they would consider me after military service. 1 I had in mind to eventually do the Foreign Service. But I thought it would probably be necessary for me to go to graduate school. That isn’t necessary but in any case I thought that at the time. Anyway, I met up with this gentleman in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They were giving exams every six months then. We were talking about it. He said, “I had taken this Foreign Service Exam. It is given nationally. You can take it while you are here. You can take it while you are assigned to this base.” I asked, “Where do you take that?” He said, “You fill out this ….to Washington to Department of State. They will decide for you to take it in Raleigh, NC. Which is what I did. In my last few months of active duty, I took the exam. Like most of us, I was certain I failed it. I was surprised that I didn’t fail it. I got a few points. Then they set up the oral examination. Which was not the type that was given now… The same time I had applied to take the exam, I applied to the CIA. Turns out, I passed the initial screening with them. When the Foreign Service…was set, the date, I took that date, their oral exam at the same time. That was within 6-8 weeks of leaving the military. Q: All of your army service was in the United States? At Fort Bragg, North Carolina? GRIFFIN: Georgia, Fort Benning and Bragg, North Carolina. I didn’t get overseas, unfortunately. Q: So you passed the oral exam. Then entered the Foreign Service shortly after you left the Army. GRIFFIN: Yes, I got out of the army at the end of January 1957. Entered the Foreign Service end of March or early April as I recall. Q: Same here. GRIFFIN: Yes, it was convenient. Once I had passed the oral examination...I was offered a job in what I thought I really wanted to do. I informed the General Electric Corporation that I would not be…It was nice to have two job opportunities coming out of the military. It was, of course, as you know, it was a time that the Department was recruiting. After the McCarthy era. Q: Yes, as a prospect of new embassies in Africa was on the horizon and the integration of the rest of the program Civil Foreign Service. So you came into the Department, you did your initial training at the Foreign Service Institute. What happened after that? GRIFFIN: At that time newly minted officers had the option to stay in Washington or go in the field for their first assignment. I had married just before I graduated and before I went into the military. We decided that we would like to stay here a couple years. So I was assigned to a function that I knew nothing about. I had never been outside the United States except for briefly Canada and Mexico. I felt totally unprepared for being a personnel placement officer. I guess they called it POD at that time. The assignments officer as opposed to the counseling function. I was assigned to do placement for the Benelux countries including the remaining Dutch dependencies in the Western hemisphere. Q: Suriname. 2 GRIFFIN: Suriname and Curacao. Q: Did you get some language training while you were here? GRIFFIN: Yes, I came in as a language probationer. I just missed the written German test by a few points. So I needed some time then before I went to the Washington assignment or afterwards. They did it afterwards. I needed to get off of language probation. I took sixteen weeks. It was intensive German training at Foreign Service Institute. Q: And that turned out to be followed by an assignment to Germany. GRIFFIN: I was able to get first assignment in the consular section in Frankfurt. Q: Then Frankfurt to do visas, the usual consular work. Was that pretty much it or did you do some other things too? GRIFFIN: Frankfurt, along with several other European posts such as Genoa, maybe Cologne and maybe Munich, were the guinea pig, so to speak, for rotational assignments for junior officers. There was a lot of flexibility. It was left basically to the Consulate General. These were all at large Consulates General. I was sort of told when I came in to vie for one of two substantive junior officer positions. It was a very large consulate general, I believe it still is. There were two-person, political and economic sections handling the three German provinces in that consular district. There was a senior economic officer, a junior economic officer and the same on the political side. I did non-immigrant visas for about a year. Then for another 4-6 months I did passports and citizenship, mainly registering children of American GIs. And then I was chosen to take the junior political position. I worked for Paul Kattenburg, a Far Eastern Specialist. In some of the Vietnam books, he certainly was involved, it was after that period. He had a European family background. He spoke every known language. Anyway, I went to work for him. Q: And in Frankfurt you and Paul Kattenburg basically were in touch with the political leadership in not only Frankfurt itself but neighboring lender….You were negotiating did you do much with the foreign ministry or with the government authority or were you involved with military issues? GRIFFIN: A little bit on military issues on behalf of the embassy, and otherwise doing the embassy bidding but also we had quite a bit of luck to develop important political programs. It was an enormously beneficial assignment. It was some years after that I had as much responsibility or as much flexibility in the reporting position or any other position for that matter. Helmut Kohl, later the German Chancellor, was a rising politician in Rhineland-Pfalz on the west side of the Rhine River, a conservative catholic area. He was a rising politician and we were trying to get to know him. Paul said, “Why don’t we have introductory social events? Host a male only group for Kohl and some of his associates. We did, rather I did. He was in my home 3 and I was a very junior officer. He wasn’t as stout as he is now. Shortly thereafter he started to shine very brightly. He wanted go on. He eventually became chancellor. Q: You were in Frankfurt from 1959-61. So he was probably in his 40s, 30s. GRIFFIN: He was in his late 30s, early 40’s.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • David Malouf's Remembering Babylon and the Wild Man of the European Cultural Consciousness
    Volume 27, number 1, May 2000 Sathyabhama Daly DAVID MALOUF'S REMEMBERING BABYLON AND THE WILD MAN OF THE EUROPEAN CULTURAL CONSCIOUSNESS David Malouf's Remembering Babylon engages with both the myth of the wild man of the Western literary tradition and with Judaeo-Christian concept of the wilderness. In doing so, it illustrates the way in which these myths exert a powerful influence on the European settlers' conception of the Australian landscape and its indigenous people. The myth of the wild man itself recurs throughout the history of Western literature. His presence, according to Richard Bernheimer in Wild Men in the Middle Ages, dates back to the pre-Christian world and to the pagan beliefs of native religions which the Church found difficult to eradicate (21). The image which has persisted in Western art and literature is that of the wild man as a degenerate being—an insane creature who, robbed of the power of speech and intellect, wanders alone in the wilderness. He is inextricably linked with the environment he inhabits, to the point where wildness and insanity almost become inseparable terms (Bernheimer 12).1 These characteristics call to mind Gemmy Fuirley in Remembering Babylon, a simple-minded, strange "white black man" (69), an outcast of white society, who is discovered by the Aborigines and raised as one of them. A hybrid figure, he is interjected into history—from nature into culture, as it were—in order to confront the white settlers with their repression of the Aboriginal presence, as well as to provoke them into a fuller understanding of themselves.
    [Show full text]
  • Monk Seals in Post-Classical History
    Monk Seals in Post-Classical History The role of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in European history and culture, from the fall of Rome to the 20th century William M. Johnson Mededelingen No. 39 2004 NEDERLANDSCHE COMMISSIE VOOR INTERNATIONALE NATUURBESCHERMING Mededelingen No. 39 i NEDERLANDSCHE COMMISSIE VOOR INTERNATIONALE NATUURBESCHERMING Netherlands Commission for International Nature Protection Secretariaat: Dr. H.P. Nooteboom National Herbarium of the Netherlands Rijksuniversiteit Leiden Einsteinweg 2 Postbus 9514, 2300 RA Leiden Mededelingen No. 39, 2004 Editor: Dr. H.P. Nooteboom PDF edition 2008: Matthias Schnellmann Copyright © 2004 by William M. Johnson ii MONK SEALS IN POST-CLASSICAL HISTORY The role of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in European history and culture, from the fall of Rome to the 20th century by William M. Johnson Editor, The Monachus Guardian www.monachus-guardian.org email: [email protected] iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS MONK SEALS IN POST-CLASSICAL HISTORY ......................................................III ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... VII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ VII MONK SEALS IN POST-CLASSICAL HISTORY ..............................................................................1 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIES ......................................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • Giant List of Folklore Stories Vol. 5: the United States
    The Giant List of Stories - Vol. 5 Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay Skim and Scan The Giant List of Folklore Stories Folklore, Folktales, Folk Heroes, Tall Tales, Fairy Tales, Hero Tales, Animal Tales, Fables, Myths, and Legends. Vol. 5: The United States Presented by Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay The fastest, most effective way to teach students organized multi-paragraph essay writing… Guaranteed! Beginning Writers Struggling Writers Remediation Review 1 Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay – Guaranteed Fast and Effective! © 2018 The Giant List of Stories - Vol. 5 Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay The Giant List of Folklore Stories – Vol. 5 This volume is one of six volumes related to this topic: Vol. 1: Europe: South: Greece and Rome Vol. 4: Native American & Indigenous People Vol. 2: Europe: North: Britain, Norse, Ireland, etc. Vol. 5: The United States Vol. 3: The Middle East, Africa, Asia, Slavic, Plants, Vol. 6: Children’s and Animals So… what is this PDF? It’s a huge collection of tables of contents (TOCs). And each table of contents functions as a list of stories, usually placed into helpful categories. Each table of contents functions as both a list and an outline. What’s it for? What’s its purpose? Well, it’s primarily for scholars who want to skim and scan and get an overview of the important stories and the categories of stories that have been passed down through history. Anyone who spends time skimming and scanning these six volumes will walk away with a solid framework for understanding folklore stories.
    [Show full text]
  • Clifford-Ishi's Story
    ISHI’S STORY From: James Clifford, Returns: Becoming Indigenous in the 21st Century. (Harvard University Press 2013, pp. 91-191) Pre-publication version. [Frontispiece: Drawing by L. Frank, used courtesy of the artist. A self-described “decolonizationist” L. Frank traces her ancestry to the Ajachmem/Tongva tribes of Southern California. She is active in organizations dedicated to the preservation and renewal of California’s indigenous cultures. Her paintings and drawings have been exhibited world wide and her coyote drawings from News from Native California are collected in Acorn Soup, published in 1998 by Heyday Press. Like coyote, L. Frank sometimes writes backwards.] 2 Chapter 4 Ishi’s Story "Ishi's Story" could mean “the story of Ishi,” recounted by a historian or some other authority who gathers together what is known with the goal of forming a coherent, definitive picture. No such perspective is available to us, however. The story is unfinished and proliferating. My title could also mean “Ishi's own story,” told by Ishi, or on his behalf, a narration giving access to his feelings, his experience, his judgments. But we have only suggestive fragments and enormous gaps: a silence that calls forth more versions, images, endings. “Ishi’s story,” tragic and redemptive, has been told and re-told, by different people with different stakes in the telling. These interpretations in changing times are the materials for my discussion. I. Terror and Healing On August 29th, 1911, a "wild man,” so the story goes, stumbled into civilization. He was cornered by dogs at a slaughterhouse on the outskirts of Oroville, a small town in Northern California.
    [Show full text]
  • California a Tribe of Indians Who Were Still in the Stone Age. the Idea
    * THE LAST WILD TRIBE OF CALIFORNIA T. T. Waterman In the fall of 1908 some attention was aroused in the press by a story to the effect that hunters had encountered in the state of California a tribe of Indians who were still in the stone age. The idea of a "wild" tribe in a thickly settled region like California was so novel that it served to awaken a very wide interest. The Indians themselves, however, had meanwhile vanished. Some three years later an individual who had all the appearance of belonging to this group was apprehended in northern California. He was put in jail, and a few days later turned over to the university. Since then he has been received everywhere as the last survivor of his tribe. The whole series of incidents deserves some ex- planation. I think it ought to be said at the outset that the story as given in the papers of that period is quite true. The individual captured in 1911 was a surviving member of a stone-age tribe. He is still alive and well at the university; and he has given from time to time extremely interesting accounts of the history of his people. I should like to explain first of all the rather unusual career of this tribe, and how they happened to remain "wild." The occupation of California by the whites is usually pictured as a peaceful transaction. We hear little of Indian wars in connection with this state. The Cali- fornia tribes pursued, as it happened, a more or less settled mode of life.
    [Show full text]
  • Ishi and Anthropological Indifference in the Last of His Tribe
    International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 3 No. 11; June 2013 "I Heard Your Singing": Ishi and Anthropological Indifference in the Last of His Tribe Jay Hansford C. Vest, Ph.D. Enrolled member Monacan Indian Nation Direct descendent Opechanchanough (Pamunkey) Honorary Pikuni (Blackfeet) in Ceremonial Adoption (June 1989) Professor of American Indian Studies University of North Carolina at Pembroke One University Drive (P. O. Box 1510) Pembroke, NC 28372-1510 USA. The moving and poignant story of Ishi, the last Yahi Indian, has manifested itself in the film drama The Last of His Tribe (HBO Pictures/Sundance Institute, 1992). Given the long history of Hollywood's misrepresentation of Native Americans, I propose to examine this cinematic drama attending historical, ideological and cultural axioms acknowledged in the film and concomitant literature. Particular attention is given to dramatic allegorical themes manifesting historical racism, Western societal conquest, and most profoundly anthropological indifference, as well as, the historical accuracy and the ideological differences of worldview -- Western vis-à-vis Yahi -- manifest in the film. In the study of worldviews and concomitant values, there has long existed a lurking "we" - "they" proposition of otherness. Ever since the days of Plato and his Western intellectual predecessors, there has been an attempt to locate and explicate wisdom in the ethnocentric ideological notion of the "civilized" vis-à-vis the "savage." Consequently, Plato's thoughts are accorded the standing of philosophy -- the love of wisdom -- while Black Elk's words are the musings of the "primitive" and consigned to anthropology -- the science of man. Philosophy is, thusly, seen as an endeavor of "civilized" Western man whom in his "science of man" or anthropological investigation may record the "ethnometaphysics" of "primitive" or "developing" cultures.
    [Show full text]
  • Palestinian Citizens of Israel: Agenda for Change Hashem Mawlawi
    Palestinian Citizens of Israel: Agenda for Change Hashem Mawlawi Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master‘s degree in Conflict Studies School of Conflict Studies Faculty of Human Sciences Saint Paul University © Hashem Mawlawi, Ottawa, Canada, 2019 PALESTINIAN CITIZENS OF ISRAEL: AGENDA FOR CHANGE ii Abstract The State of Israel was established amid historic trauma experienced by both Jewish and Palestinian Arab people. These traumas included the repeated invasion of Palestine by various empires/countries, and the Jewish experience of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. This culminated in the 1948 creation of the State of Israel. The newfound State has experienced turmoil since its inception as both identities clashed. The majority-minority power imbalance resulted in inequalities and discrimination against the Palestinian Citizens of Israel (PCI). Discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict tends to assume that the issues of the PCIs are the same as the issues of the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. I believe that the needs of the PCIs are different. Therefore, I have conducted a qualitative case study into possible ways the relationship between the PCIs and the State of Israel shall be improved. To this end, I provide a brief review of the history of the conflict. I explore themes of inequalities and models for change. I analyze the implications of the theories for PCIs and Israelis in the political, social, and economic dimensions. From all these dimensions, I identify opportunities for change. In proposing an ―Agenda for Change,‖ it is my sincere hope that addressing the context of the Israeli-Palestinian relationship may lead to a change in attitude and behaviour that will avoid perpetuating the conflict and its human costs on both sides.
    [Show full text]
  • The Great William Tell, a Girl Who Is Magic at Maths and a TIGER with NO MANNERS!
    ORIES! FANTASTIC NEW ST TM Storytime OPERATION UNICORN A mythical being in disguise! BALOO'S BATH DAY Mowgli bathes a big bear! TheTHE Great William GRIFFIN Tell, a Girl Who is Magic at Maths and a TIGER WITH NO MANNERS! ver cle ! ll of ricks ies fu o0l t stor and c characters Check out the fantastic adventures of a smart smith, a girl genius, a wise monk and a clever farmboy! This issue belongs to: SPOT IT! “Don’t worry, you silly bear – I will get you clean!” Storytime™ magazine is published every month by ILLUSTRATORS: Storytime, 90 London Rd, London, SE1 6LN. Luján Fernández Operation Unicorn Baloo’s Bath Day © Storytime Magazine Ltd, 2020. All rights reserved. Giorgia Broseghini No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced Caio Bucaretchi William Tell without prior written permission of the publisher. Flavia Sorrentino The Enchantress of Number Printed by Warners Group. Ekaterina Savic The Griffin Wiliam Luong The Unmannerly Tiger Creative Director: Lulu Skantze L Schlissel The Magic Mouthful Editor: Sven Wilson Nicolas Maia The Blacksmith Commercial Director: Leslie Coathup and the Iron Man Storytime and its paper suppliers have been independently certified in accordance with the rules of the FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council)®. With stories from Portugal, Switzerland, Korea and Uganda! This magazine is magical! Read happily ever after... Tales from Today Famous Fables Operation Unicorn The Unmannerly Tiger When Matilda spots a mythical Can you trust a hungry tiger? being in her garden, she comes A Korean monk finds out when up with a plan to help it get home! 6 he lets one out of a trap! 32 Short Stories, Big Dreams Storyteller’s Corner Baloo’s Bath Day The Magic Mouthful When Baloo has a honey-related Maria learns how to stop accident, Mowgli gives his big arguments – with just a bear friend a bath! 12 mouthful of water! 36 Myths and Legends Around the World Tales William Tell The blacksmith A Swiss bowman shows off and the Iron Man his skill and puts a wicked A king asks a blacksmith governor in his place! 14 to do the impossible..
    [Show full text]
  • California Folklore Miscellany Index
    Topics: A - Mass Vol Page Topics: Mast - Z Vol Page Abbreviations 19 264 Mast, Blanche & Family 36 127-29 Abernathy 16 13 Mathematics 24 62 Abominable Snowman in the Trinity 26 262-3 Mattole 4 295 Alps Abortion 1 261 Mauk, Frank 34 89 Abortion 22 143 Mauldin, Henry 23 378-89 Abscess 1 226 Maxwell, Mrs. Vest Peak 9 343 Absent-Minded Professor 35 109 May Day 21 56 Absher Family History 38 152-59 May Day (Kentfield) 7 56 AC Spark Plug 16 44 Mayor of White's Hill 10 67 Accidents 20 38 Maze, The Mystic 17 210-16 Accidents 24 61, 74 McCool,Finn 23 256 Ace of Spades 5 347-348 McCoy, Bob (Wyoming character) 27 93 Acorn Acres Ranch 5 347-348 McCoy, Capt. Bill 23 123 Acorn dance 36 286 McDonal House Ghost 37 108-11 Acorn mush 4 189 McGettigan, Louis 9 346 Acorn, Black 24 32 McGuire, J. I. 9 349 Acorns 17 39 McKiernan,Charles 23 276-8 Actress 20 198-9 McKinley 22 32 Adair, Bethena Owens 34 143 McKinleyville 2 82 Adobe 22 230 McLean, Dan 9 190 Adobe 23 236 McLean, Dan 9 190 Adobe 24 147 McNear's Point 8 8 Adobe house 17 265, 314 McNeil, Dan 3 336 Adobe Hut, Old 19 116, 120 Meade, Ed (Actor) 34 154 Adobe, Petaluma 11 176-178 Meals 17 266 Adventure of Tom Wood 9 323 Measles 1 238 Afghan 1 288 Measles 20 28 Agriculture 20 20 Meat smoking, storing 28 96 Agriculture (Loleta) 10 135 Meat, Salting and Smoking 15 76 Agwiworld---WWII, Richfield Tank 38 4 Meats 1 161 Aimee McPherson Poe 29 217 Medcalf, Donald 28 203-07 Ainu 16 139 Medical Myths 15 68 Airline folklore 29 219-50 Medical Students 21 302 Airline Lore 34 190-203 Medicinal plants 24 182 Airplane
    [Show full text]
  • When 1+1 Does Not Equal 2
    When 1+1 Does Not Equal 2 February 15, 2009 By Robbie Friedmann Special to the Jewish Times All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer German philosopher (1788 - 1860) When it comes to settling the conflict in the Middle East one is flooded with too many contradicting options. Typically these options have numbers attached to them even if they do not add up. Forty two years ago it was the number one (state) and a couple of weeks ago that number has risen to five (states). It might appear that dealing with single digits should not be very complicated math but it provides clear proof that one does not need to deal with double digit options to realize the complexity of nebulous "peace" politics. In 1947 U.N. Resolution 181 (a.k.a. Partition Plan for Palestine) formalized the national homeland for the Jewish people. It was accepted by the emerging state of Israel which was established six months later. Yet the same resolution that also called for a creation of an Arab state (the original two-state solution) was completely rejected by the Arabs who ganged up on Israel invading it in their first of several annihilation efforts. In August-September 1967 thirteen Arab states pledged at the summit in Khartoum, Sudan, to continue their "struggle" against Israel with their infamous three "no" resolutions: no peace with Israel, no negotiations with Israel, and no recognition of Israel. From 1947 to the early 70s the score was 1:0.
    [Show full text]
  • The Legend of "Wild Man" Willey
    THE COFFIN CORNER: Vol. 19, No. 4 (1997) The Legend of "Wild Man" Willey By Ron Pollack (Reprinted from Pro Football Weekly) As he does for every Eagle home game, Norman Willey is directing the opposing team's players onto the field. As usual, none of these young athletes recognizes Willey. Just as no one recognized the 67-year-old former Eagle the previous game at Veterans Stadium. Just as none of the performers will recognize him at any home games next season. Willey is simply the guy in the NFL Alumni jacket telling them when and where to go as game time draws near. If only they knew the legend of "Wild Man" Willey. Then their eyes would light up. They'd get in line to shake his hand if only they knew. In the 1950's, Wild Man Willey was a pass-rushing terror. In his greatest moment of glory, he turned in a single-game performance that, by all rights, should he immortalized with Babe Ruth's called shot in baseball, Wilt Chamberlain's 1OO-point performance in basketball, and Bob Beamon's record-shattering long jump in the 1968 Olympics. Lightning in a bottle. Unforgettable one-day performances that grow in stature through the passage of time. Willey can bask in no such larger-than-life company for one simple reason. He owns the record that history forgot. The Day was Oct. 26, 1952. The Polo Grounds. Eagle's vs. Giants. The Eagles won 14-1O, but those numbers are relatively unimportant 32 years later. Only one number matters.
    [Show full text]
  • The Propaganda War in Nasser's Egypt, 1952–1967
    DEFINING THE ENEMY AS ISRAEL, ZIONIST, NEO-NAZI, OR JEWISH: THE PROPAGANDA WAR IN NASSER’S EGYPT, 1952–1967 Michael Sharnoff President Gamal Abdel Nasser‘s repudiation that Egypt‘s conflict with Israel should be viewed in the context of Egypt‘s aversion to Zionism — not the Jewish people — requires a greater examination of the declarations and actions under Nasser‘s Egypt. To gain a more cogent understanding of Nasser‘s perception of Israel and Jews, it is necessary first to define anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Zionism is a political and nationalist movement which claims that Jews have the right to self-determination. Most Jews consider the manifestation of Zionism as the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 — the rebirth of their nation after nearly 2,000 years in exile. Anti- Zionists claim they do not have specific grievances against the Jewish people per se, but rather they do not believe that Jews constitute a distinct nation requiring a homeland in Israel. Many anti-Zionists espouse radical views such as calling for the liquidation of the state of Israel and the expulsion of the Jews living there. The European Union Agency for Human Rights defines antisemitism as a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, towards Jewish community institutions and religious facilities. This includes calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing of Jews; dehumanizing Jews; holding Jews collectively responsible for real or imagined events; denying or trivializing the Holocaust; and accusing Jews of dual loyalties or being more sympathetic to Israel than their own nations.
    [Show full text]