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Three Ds of antisemitism

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The 3D Test of Antisemitism is a set of criteria for distinguishing legitimate criticism of Israel from anti-Semitism. It was developed by Natan Sharansky,[1] a Jewish leader and current chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel. It was published in the Jewish Political Studies Review in 2004.[2] The test serves as a conceptual tool that defines the limits of legitimate criticism towards the State of Israel, its actions and policies and a non-legitimate criticism that becomes Antisemitic.[3] Professor Irwin Cotler, a leading scholar of human right, has said that "we’ve got to set up certain boundaries of where it [criticism of Israel] does cross the line, because I’m one of those who believes strongly, not only in free speech, but also in rigorous debate, and discussion, and dialectic, and the like. If you say too easily that everything is anti-Semitic, then nothing is anti-Semitic, and we no longer can make distinctions.”[4] The 3D Test of Antisemitism rebuts arguments which claim that "Any criticism toward the State of Israel considered as Antisemitic, and therefore legitimate criticism is silenced and ignored".[5] This test has been adopted by the European Fundamental Rights Agency and the US State Department.[1][6] It has been criticized for lacking "sufficient rigor to be used without modification for scholarly or governmental purposes".[7]

Main Concepts

The theory can be implemented on many different situations, especially non-classical antisemitism, i.e. antisemitism that is more subtle and harder to recognize. This non-classical antisemitism takes the form of attacking Israel, the Jewish state. As Sharansky explains, "hiding behind the veneer of 'legitimate criticism of Israel', this new antisemitism is much more difficult to expose". A person can analyze a news story, op-ed, interview or even a protest and see if the criticism being made in it crosses the border of at least one of the following "D's":

Delegitimization

The term Delegitimization refers to the denial of the Jewish people right for self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.[8] This claim discriminates Jews by denying their basic right for self-determination as it was determined by the international law. Since any discrimination against a specific ethnic, religious, racial or national group is considered a type of racism, delegitimization of the Jewish people right for self-determination is labeled as racism against Jews, i.e., antisemitism.
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, Per Ahlmark, a leading advocate in the combating of anti-Semitism, wrote: “compared to most previous anti-Jewish outbreaks, this new anti-Semitism is often less directed against individual Jews. It attacks primarily the collective Jews, the state of Israel and then such attacks start a chain reaction of assaults on individual Jews and Jewish institutions. [...] in the past the most dangerous anti-Semites were those who wanted to make the world judenrein, free of Jews. Today, the most dangerous anti-Semites might be those who want to make the world Judenstaatrein, free of a Jewish state."[9] Prof. Irwin Cotler has define Delegitimization as one of the nine sets of what he calls "new anti-Semitism". Cotler uses the term "Political anti-Semitism" to describe the denial of the Jewish people's right to self-determination and the de-legitimization of Israel as a state.[10]

Double Standards

The second 'D' refers to the application of different sets of principals on similar situations. If a person criticizes Israel and only Israel on certain issues, but chooses to ignore similar situations conducted by other countries he is performing a double standard policy against Israel.[8] The implementation of a different moral standard for Jews and Israel compared to the rest of the world, just like the Delegitimization claim, discriminates against a specific group and is labeled as antisemitism. Similar arguments were made by Thomas Freidman, claiming that BDS movements that ignore the situation in Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran are hypocrite and antisemitic.[11] On the same matter, Freidman has also written that the "criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic, and saying so is vile. But singling out Israel for opprobrium and international sanction - out of all proportion to any other party in the Middle East - is anti-Semitic, and not saying so is dishonest".[10] Prof. Irwin Cotler has also defined Double Standards as one of the nine sets of what he calls "new anti-Semitism". Cotler offers the denial to Israel of equality before the law in the international arena (i.e., "the singling out of Israel for differential and discriminatory treatment in the international arena") as a new anti-Semitic act.[10]

Demonization

The last 'D' refers to the portrayal of certain groups as evil, demonic, or satanic. The EUMC (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights) has defined antisemitism as "frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for "why things go wrong". It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and actions, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits".[8] If the criticism uses metaphors, images or rhetoric that implies that the Israelis or Jews are evil, it is once again a projection of antisemitic Blood libels and rhetoric. One example of it might be making mendacious, dehumanization, demonization, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective - such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about the world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.[8][9]

Response

Jonathan Judaken writes that "the criteria of demonization, delegitimization and double standards for demarcating when criticism of Israel becomes Judaeophobia are a useful beginning, but they are still tenuous and pose problems".[1] Kenneth L. Marcus writes that "While Sharansky’s 3D test is helpful in part for its mnemonic cleverness, I have argued in Jewish Identity and Civil Rights in America that it lacks sufficient rigor to be used without modification for scholarly or governmental purposes."[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Jonathan Judaken (2008). "So what's new? Rethinking the 'new antisemitism' in a global age" (PDF). Patterns of Prejudice.
  2. ^ Sharansky, Natan (Fall 2004). "3D Test of Anti-Semitism: Demonization, Double Standards, Delegitimization". Jewish Political Studies Review.
  3. ^ Cohen, Florette. The New Anti-Semitism Israel Model: Empirical Tests. p. 12.
  4. ^ Cotler, Irwin. "On judging the distinction between legitimate criticism and demonization". Engage – the anti-racist campaign against antisemitism. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  5. ^ Kenneth L. Marcus. Jewish Identity and Civil Rights in America. Cambridge University Press. pp. 60–62.
  6. ^ Rosenthal, Hannah (Dec 5, 2011). "Remarks at the 2011 B'nai B'rith International Policy Conference". US Department of State.
  7. ^ a b Marcus, Kenneth. "The New OCR Antisemitism Policy" (PDF). Journal for the Study of Antisemitism.
  8. ^ a b c d "Working Definition of Antisemitism" (PDF). EUMC. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  9. ^ a b Cotler, Irwin. "Irwin Cotler delivers remarks at signing of Ottawa Protocol on Combating Antisemitism". Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  10. ^ a b c Dershowitz, Alan (2003). The Case For Israel. New Jersey, USA: John Wiley & Sons Inc. pp. 208–216. ISBN 0415281164.
  11. ^ Friedman, Thomas. "Campus Hypocrisy". The New York Times.

Further reading

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