Additional Praise for “The Sons of Pigs and Apes” “Although Neil Kressel’s magisterial essay is primarily addressed at those in the West who pretend that antisemitism is no more than a tragic memory, it is also of great value for those Muslims who dream of, and increasingly fight for, a free society. Kressel’s message is clear: fighting anti-Jewish ideas and practices must be an integral part of any strategy for freedom in Muslim countries.” —Amir TAheri, AuThor of The Persian nighT “Shines new light on antisemitism in the Muslim world, and shows how hatred of the Jewish people remains a potent—even deadly—force in modern times. Kressel ably distinguishes between legitimate criticism of Israel and antisemitism and debunks the false accusation that the Jewish community wields the charge of antisemitism as a bludgeon to quash anti-Israel criticism.” ––AbrAhAm h. foxmAn, nationAl direcTor, AnTi-defAmation leAgue “Many books have recently been written about Islamic antisemitism, but none is as precise, scrupulous, and well-informed as Neil Kressel’s ‘The Sons of Pigs and Apes,’ which is a thorough unmasking of some disgraceful attitudes, and of the widespread failure to confront them.” —irfAn KhAwAjA, chAir, depArTmenT of philosophy, feliciAn college “An important but disquieting book. Neil Kressel’s skill as a social scientist is manifest throughout the work and his arguments persuasive. To cure a malaise one must first confront its symptoms and seek their underlying causes. In dealing with Muslim antisemitism, Kressel’s work is more than helpful—it is essential.” —michAel berenbAum, former direcTor of The uniTed states holocAusT reseArch insTiTuTe at The u.s. holocAusT memoriAl museum, direcTor of The sigi Ziering insTiTuTe at The AmericAn jewish universiTy, And ediTor of noT Your FaTher’s anTisemiTism “A brave and important book. Kressel asks the question that few dare to pose: why are today’s anti-racists and intelligentsia so silent on antisemitism?” —righT honourAble dr. denis mAcshAne, member of pArliAmenT for roTherhAm, former briTish minisTer for europe, former chAir of The house of commons All-pArTy committee of inquiry inTo AnTisemiTism in britain Also by Neil J. Kressel Bad Faith: The Danger of Religious Extremism Mass Hate: The Global Rise of Genocide and Terror Related Titles from Potomac Books Searching for a King: Muslim Nonviolence and the Future of Islam —Jeffry R. Halverson Straightening the Bell Curve: How Stereotypes about Black Masculinity Drive Research on Race and Intelligence —Constance Hilliard Potomac Books Washington, D.C. Copyright © 2012 by Neil J. Kressel Published in the United States by Potomac Books, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kressel, Neil J. “The sons of pigs and apes” : Muslim antisemitism and the conspiracy of silence / Neil J. Kressel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-59797-702-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-59797-811-8 (electronic) 1. Antisemitism—Islamic countries. 2. Islam—Relations—Judaism. 3. Judaism— Relations—Islam. I. Title. DS146.I74K74 2012 305.892’401767—dc23 2012018888 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute Z39-48 Standard. Potomac Books 22841 Quicksilver Drive Dulles, Virginia 20166 First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Acknowledgments ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ix 1 A liTmus TesT for The wesT -------------------------------------------------- 1 2 evidence ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 22 3 The shAme of The AnTirAcisT communiTy ---------------------------- 56 4 The flAwed logic of AnTisemiTism minimization ------------------ 99 5 AncienT rooTs, modern rooTs ----------------------------------------- 152 6 fighTing bAcK AgAinsT bigoTry ------------------------------------------ 179 Notes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 207 Suggestions for Further Reading ------------------------------------------------- 257 Index ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 261 About the Author -------------------------------------------------------------------- 269 Acknowledgments It has not been my intention to preach to any choir in “The Sons of Pigs and Apes,” and I suspect that even generally well-intentioned and sympathetic souls may find themselves disagreeing with parts—perhaps large parts—of what I have written. The history of relations between Muslims and Jews, after all, has given rise to endless nuances of interpretation, and reasonable people may disagree. I ask only that readers try to understand and share my objective: to combat a dangerous bigotry so that Muslim-Jewish relations may develop on a firm and lasting foundation of truth and good will. While I have not focused on anti- Muslim bigotry in this volume, I hope I have made clear that it too must be op- posed with vigor. Although any errors of fact and interpretation in this book are, of course, my own, I have benefitted greatly from the assistance, counsel, and prior research of many wise people. Perhaps most significant was my affiliation with the now- shuttered Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism, created and directed by Charles Small. YIISA brought to campus many of the world’s leading luminaries on today’s antisemitism and related issues. In April 2008 I attended a thought-provoking YIISA conference on “Understanding the Challenge of Iran.” The following year I participated in another stimulating event: the Dr. James Sacks Conference on psychological dimensions of contemporary antisemitism, which was cosponsored by the Anti-Defamation League. Most important of all was the superb August 2010 conference on “Global Antisemitism: A Crisis of Modernity.” Although this conference was denounced in harsh terms by Maen Rashid Areikat, the Pales- tine Liberation Organization’s representative in the United States, and by several members of the anti-Israel radical Left (none of whom I believe attended the ix x Acknowledgments event), the presenters included more than a hundred top scholars from around the world. These scholars represented a broad range of political opinion—left, center, and right—on the Arab-Israeli conflict, antisemitism, and other matters. Collec- tively, they had authored hundreds of books and journal articles and brought to the topic an unusually diverse set of backgrounds and methodological training. Although some of the presenters might, I think, disagree with parts of this book, I found the conference to be one of the best I had attended in recent years. At various YIISA conferences, the YIISA lecture series, and other events, I had the opportunity to hear the views and insights of many scholars, journal- ists, political leaders, and human rights activists from around the world, includ- ing Hadassa Ben-Itto, David Cesarani, Phyllis Chesler, Patrick Clawson, Shoaib Choudhury, Irwin Cotler, Shalem Coulibaly, Robert Fine, András Gerö, Nora Gold, Daniel Goldhagen, Erich Goldhagen, Diana Gregor, Yossi Klein Halevi, Jeffrey Herf, Anne Herzberg, David Hirsh, Gilbert Kahn, Mehrangiz Kar, Berthe Kayitesi, Yaakov Kirschen, Jytte Klausen, Barry Kosmin, Richard Landes, Jacob Lassner, Leslie Lebl, Meir Litvak, Kenneth Marcus, David Menashri, Menahem Milson, Stephen Norwood, Orly Rahimiyan, Paul Lawrence Rose, Alvin Rosen- feld, Hannah Rosenthal, Jennifer Roskies, Barry Rubin, Michael Rubin, Thyme Siegel, Ernest Sternberg, Asher Susser, Bassam Tibi, Robert Wistrich, and Ben- Dror Yemini. In each case, I was enriched by the encounter. In addition, the YIISA video archive enabled me to benefit from many presentations that I was unable to attend in person. YIISA also brought to New Haven a politically diverse and talented group of postdoctoral and predoctoral fellows, including, among others, Idit Shalev, Ulrike Becker, and Joshua Kaplan. Lauren Clark, the coordinator of YIISA, was always helpful to me beyond the call of duty. YIISA was also where I met German scholar Clemens Heni, a tireless foe of antisemitism in all its forms. Clemens, who heads the Berlin International Center for the Study of Antisemitism, read a draft of this book and gave me much useful feedback. The recently established Journal for the Study of Antisemitism ( JSA), edited by Steven K. Baum and Neal E. Rosenberg, has taken a much-needed step toward encouraging research on Jew-hatred in the past and, more importantly, in the understudied present. A 2010 conference sponsored by the journal broached the Acknowledgments xi topic of Muslim antisemitism, something that many academics have been unwill- ing or unable to consider. In addition, a team of social psychologists, headed by Lee Jussim and Florette Cohen, has started to address the near total absence of empirical social psycho- logical studies on contemporary antisemitism, a gap that is curious in light of the discipline’s seminal role in understanding Jew-hatred and other bigotries in the past. I hope that Jussim and Cohen’s work, presented at YIISA and the JSA conference, will get the attention of mainstream social psychologists. I am also grateful to Jussim for presenting his work at William Paterson University, where I am a professor.