There is ample reason to be critical of Israeli policies, as well as of US governments that blindly support them. But criticism is one thing; the view that the US and Israel amount to the most malevolent threats to mankind is another – and is leading the UK Labour Party down a blind alley.
NEW YORK – When the right accuses the left of anti-Semitism, there must be something curious going on. After all, Jew-hatred historically has been a right-wing pathology. But in Britain, Conservative politicians and right-wing papers like the Daily Telegraph are now in high dudgeon about the alleged anti-Semitism of some Labour MPs. Conservatives themselves are not immune to xenophobia, especially when it comes to Muslims or even fellow Europeans. But there is a reason for this hypocrisy, which has everything to do with perceptions of Israel.
NEW YORK – When the right accuses the left of anti-Semitism, there must be something curious going on. After all, Jew-hatred historically has been a right-wing pathology. But in Britain, Conservative politicians and right-wing papers like the Daily Telegraph are now in high dudgeon about the alleged anti-Semitism of some Labour MPs. Conservatives themselves are not immune to xenophobia, especially when it comes to Muslims or even fellow Europeans. But there is a reason for this hypocrisy, which has everything to do with perceptions of Israel.