“I warmly recommend this well-documented book to all friends of Israel in Europe (and others!) for effectively combating the surge of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism on their continent.” —MEP Bastiaan Belder, Committee for Foreign Affairs/vice-chair of Israel delegation, European Parliament “Delegitimizing Israel is a critical objective for its most determined enemies. Gerstenfeld explains what the dangers are and what to do about them in this important book.” —John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations “Manfred Gerstenfeld not only carefully documents the plethora of current expres- sions of hatred of Jews and Israel, its instigators and promoters; by connecting the bits and pieces, he confronts the reader with a chillingly accurate picture. It is a book not just to read but to act upon.” —Daniel Herman, minister of culture, Czech Republic “This is a must-read book that unravels the complex process of the delegitimiza- tion and demonization of the Jews and Israel. It lucidly exposes the perpetrators and suggests how to combat them successfully. I recommend it to anyone who cares about effectively presenting Israel’s case.” —Steve Linde, editor in chief, The Jerusalem Post “I hold to this inescapable historical truth: it will never be time to forget Israel. There will never be a time when we can abandon the cause of justice for the Jewish people: the right to be. Peace in the Middle East, to which we all aspire, will only be possible when all, and I mean everyone, effectively recognize and respect the right to the existence of the state of Israel. Stop denying it and cease to assault it. This book is about this central question.” —José Ribeiro e Castro, former MEP, former chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and current vice-chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the Portuguese parliament “As the shadow of Adolf Hitler falls across Europe once more, Manfred Gerstenfeld has written a scholarly, hard-hitting, and inspiring book about how to deal with this terrifying situation.” —Dr. Andrew Roberts, British historian and author “This book offers a much-needed antidote to the many palliating voices on rising anti-Semitism in the world.” —Prof. Uri Rosenthal, former minister of foreign affairs, the Netherlands “Many people, quite many, think that anti-Semitism merely existed in some countries in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.That is one of the biggest lies in world history. Anti-Semitism often exists just around the corner where we find ourselves today. This book is a profound eye-opener.” —Alf Svensson, former minister of development, Sweden “A compelling book; a vast canvas on misinformation and false propaganda; an effective antidote to the poison of anti-Semitism and double standards against Israel. It should be read carefully by policymakers in the Arab world as well as in Western countries, especially in Europe.” —Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata, former minister of foreign affairs, Italy Manfred Gerstenfeld The War of a Million Cuts The Struggle Against the Delegitimization of Israel and the Jews, and the Growth of New Anti-Semitism jcpa | rvp press This book is dedicated to the memory of Leon Poliakov, pioneer of anti-Semitism studies. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs RVP Publishers Inc. Beit Milken 41 East 11th Street, 11th Floor 13 Tel Hai St. New York, NY 10003 Jerusalem, 92107 Israel © 2015 Manfred Gerstenfeld / Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems—except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews —without written permission from the JCPA, 13 Tel Hai Street, Jerusalem, 92107, Israel. Library of Congress Control Number: 2015939592 ISBN 978 1 61861 341 7 www.jcpa.org www.rvppress.com “Man is not clever enough for this life. He never catches on to all the lies and cheats.” —Bertold Brecht, The Threepenny Opera Table of Contents Acknowledgments 9 Foreword by José María Aznar 11 Introduction 13 Chapter One: How Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism Overlap and Intertwine 29 Chapter Two: Postwar Europe, Anti-Semitism, and Anti-Israelism 70 Chapter Three: The Mutation of Ancient Hate Motifs 93 Chapter Four: Categories of Demonization 108 Chapter Five: Originators of Demonization: Muslims 142 Chapter Six: Muslims in the Western World 156 Chapter Seven: Media as Hate Promoters 166 Chapter Eight: Christian Inciters—Roman Catholics 186 Chapter Nine: Incitement in Christian Institutions—Protestant Churches 195 Chapter Ten: Academics Against Israel and the Jews 213 Chapter Eleven: Schools and Hatred 224 Chapter Twelve: Lawfare 242 Chapter Thirteen: The United Nations, a Purveyor of Hate 250 Chapter Fourteen: Social Democrat Inciters 261 Chapter Fifteen: Jewish and Israeli Inciters 274 Chapter Sixteen: Other Originators of Hatred and Incitement 283 Chapter Seventeen: How Hatred Is Transmitted 308 Chapter Eighteen: Demonization’s Impact on Jews 322 Chapter Nineteen: Demonization’s Impact on Israel and Israelis 341 Chapter Twenty: Those Who Fight Against the Demonization 355 Chapter Twenty-One: How to Combat Demonization of Israel 365 Conclusion 401 Notes 409 Other Books by Manfred Gerstenfeld 481 Index 483 Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs for initiating and publishing this book. I appreciate in particular the support received from Dore Gold and Chaya Herskovic, respectively president and director-general of the JCPA. Many thanks are also due to Ahuva Volk, who was responsible for the production of this book. Jamie Berk has contributed greatly with her research to many of the topics discussed here, and so has Liane Nibley. Many thanks are due to Leah Horton for patiently typing the various editions; toward the end of the project Ruthy Waknine completed her work. Many thanks are also due to David Hornik for the copyediting. Foreword by José María Aznar Former President of the Government of Spain Israel is a little nation with a great people. Unfortunately it has been under constant attack since its birth back in 1948. It was first assailed by armies of its Arab neighbors as in the 1940s, 1960s, and 1970s; struck later by hideous suicide bombers as in the 1990s and 2000s; inundated finally by a rain of rockets and terrorist drivers as today. But make no mistake. What was and is at stake is not this or that policy of the government of Israel. Jerusalem itself seems instead to be the real prob- lem; the very existence of Israel is what is under threat. There may not be military forces trying to invade the country, but other less visible and differ- ently structured forces at play still seek the annihilation of the state of Israel. This delegitimization of Israel has many expressions but one goal: to make it impossible for Israel to exist as we know it, as the democratic and prosperous state of the Jewish people. For years people of good faith genuinely believed that the narrative against Israel could be countered with better public relations. Despite all efforts in that front, the delegitimization campaigns have increased in number and extended in their reach. This book by Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld shows clearly how much and how. The truth is that Israel today is still at war. Apparently a different war, for it is of an ideological nature, but it can indeed become as lethal as traditional wars. This book is a good analysis of the arguments and means used by those 12| THE WAR OF A MILLION CUTS who want to suppress Israel through its delegitimization. As such it is an excel- lent contribution to better understanding the indirect attacks against Israel. The problem for many in the West is that they fail to see that undermining Israel makes us more vulnerable as well. Israel is a mature democracy and the provider of many technical innovations. In today’s struggle when the forces against modernity are presenting a real challenge to our system and way of life, from the Islamic State to a nuclear Iran, Israel happens to be a centerpiece of Western civilization. That is why it is under constant assault, and why we should do everything in our power to allow Israel to remain strong, free, and prosperous. This book is an excellent contribution to doing just that. Introduction This book should have been written many years ago based on the wide knowledge already available at the time. For decades now, Israel has been the target of an all-out propaganda war by its multiple enemies. This major battle has greatly intensified in the twenty-first century. All experts have agreed by now that a new anti-Semitism has arisen, particularly in Europe, which ex- presses itself as anti-Israelism. When did the current phase of incitement gain momentum? The 2001 UN World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa became both a turning point and a symbol of the massive incitement against Israel. It revealed internationally in a major way the global resurgence of classic anti-Semitism and its new mutation, anti-Israelism. A huge number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) met there in an adjacent forum that turned into an Israel-hate event. The declaration of the NGO Forum said about the Palestinians and Israel: Recognizing further that the Palestinian people are one such people currently enduring a colonialist, discriminatory military occupation that violates their fundamental human right of self-determination including the illegal transfer of Israeli citizens into the occupied territories and establishment of a permanent illegal Israeli infrastructure; and other racist methods amounting to Israel’s 14| THE WAR OF A MILLION CUTS brand of apartheid and other racist crimes against humanity.