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swhitebull More MEMRIs - Arab reaction to the US AntiSemitism Bill 12/7/2004 8:30:00 PM

More good work from MEMRI: link Arab Reactions to the U.S.'s Global Antisemitism Review Act of 2004 By Aluma Dankowitz* Introduction In October 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law the Global Antisemitism Review Act of 2004. Under this act, the U.S. will "continue to strongly support efforts to combat antisemitism worldwide through bilateral relationships and interaction with international organizations such as the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the European Union, and the United Nations." In addition, the State Department is directed to appoint a special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism around the world. The preface to the law states that it has been observed that "acts of antisemitism in countries throughout the world, including some of the world's strongest democracies, have increased significantly in frequency and scope over the last several years, and the sharp rise in antisemitic violence has caused international organizations ... to elevate and bring renewed focus to the issue." According to the act, by mid-November 2004 a one-time report on acts of antisemitism around the world, and on the actions taken by the respective governments to counter these acts, is to be submitted to the Senate and to the House of Representatives. Further, a section on antisemitism is henceforth to be added to the annual U.S. State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and annual reports on International Religious Freedom; this section is to include "a description of the nature and extent of acts of antisemitism and antisemitic incitement that occurred during the preceding year, including descriptions of a) acts of physical violence against or acts of harassment against Jewish people, and acts of violence against or vandalism of Jewish community institutions, including schools, synagogues, and cemeteries; b) instances of propaganda in government and non-government media that attempt to justify or promote racial hatred or incite acts of violence against Jewish people; c) the actions, if any, taken by the government of the country to respond to such violence and attacks or to eliminate such propaganda or incitement; d) the actions taken by such government to enact and enforce laws relating to the protection of the right to religious freedom of Jewish people; and e) the efforts of such government to promote anti-bias and tolerance education." It should be noted that the preface also states that "antisemitism has at times taken the form of vilification of Zionism, the Jewish national movement, and incitement against Israel." However, this is not mentioned in the act itself, and no tracking or monitoring of such vilification and incitement against Israel and Zionism is stipulated. Despite this fact, the law was received with opposition by shapers of public opinion in the Arab world, who claimed that according to the law any criticism of Israeli policy would be considered antisemitism. They called the act an interference in domestic affairs of states, expressed apprehension that its implementation would harm freedom of expression, and protested against what they saw as the considerable Jewish influence in the U.S. Some called the act "racist" because it disregarded the fact that Arabs too are Semites, and the fact that Arabs are also victims of discrimination and persecution. Others claimed that the U.S. was attempting, through this act, to force its values upon the world, and that its arrogance is escalating hatred of it worldwide. Various reactions mentioned The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) as one of the organizations that brought the subject to the public eye and thus to the initiation of this law. In the 10th OSCE Mediterranean Seminar that was held in Sharm El-Sheikh, on November 18th and 19th, Egypt managed to convince the OSCE to expand its focus so as to include Islamphobia as another subject to be monitored. According to Al-Ahram Weekly report, "The organisation is now planning to appoint three special representatives: one to monitor the escalating Islamophobia phenomenon; another for antisemitism; and a third for other types of discrimination, intolerance and xenophobia."(1) The following are the main arguments against the Global Antisemitism Review Act of 2004: The Act Aims at Protecting Israel and Zionism, Not Jews The main argument against the act is that it is political, not humanitarian, and that it is aimed at shielding Israel from legitimate criticism of its policy toward the Arabs. An article in the pro-Saddam London daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi stated that it would "set in law and protect Israeli terror and give Israel's governments a green light to kill, slaughter, and destroy ... and will be a drawn sword against all authors, clerics, and politicians who raise their voice in protest - particularly in the Arab

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