The endgame of M&W is cutting Israel loose, stopping all American aid, cooperation and support, either militarily, politically or morally, and invest those resources in the much more profitable Arab states. Some would say that this hardly counts for antisemitism. Their hostility to Israel derives not from personal animus towards Jews but from a purely business, economic and political sense: There are 400 million Arabs and 1.4 billion Muslims in the world. Interest dictates that the wishes of such a vast number of people will outweigh the safeguarding of the tiny Jewish minority from which little profit can be extracted.
So in order to let this interest get its heyday, they must create the correct atmosphere, make a case of the vileness of Israel and its bidders, the powerful Jews of America. And if a lie, no matter how big, is needed to make that case, then lie they will.
It is very simple. Antisemitism is defamation writ large. M&W defame and lie in order to make Jews appear criminal and power-hungry. So while they may not be strictly antisemitic in inclination, they are antisemitic in fact. A Soprano like morality prevails: the harm done to the other is nothing personal. It is all Strictly Business.
So when they deny any antisemitic motivation, they cannot be taken seriously, since they view Jews as a disposable commodity, to be garbaged when done or when other, more glittering commodities beckon.
However, it is one thing to stir up traditional anti-Jewish anxieties in order to effect a change in public sentiment by defamation, quite another to try to cage and control the reaction of the targeted quarry of such a campaign by alleging intimidation (give me a break…) It should be clear that antisemites do not get to determine who or what is an antisemite.
And that goes for all antisemites, whether they be famous, little-known, first-grade or third-grade antisemite.
