An excellent piece on the real fears about Mel's movie. The taunt is chilling.
Amitai Etzioni Notes
"Auschwitz is your country, the ovens are your home"
I have published over 1600 op-eds and essays during my lifetime. Never before have I found a door as firmly shut as when I tried to publish the following text. You be the judge as to whether this op-ed deserves to be read, and if so -- please do pass it on:
Anti-Semitic sentiments are about to be put to a test. On Ash Wednesday, Mel Gibson’s controversial film, The Passion of The Christ, will be released. The film depicts, in gruesome detail, the last 12 hours of Christ’s life, and includes scenes in which Jews encourage and celebrate the Crucifixion. Some, like columnist Robert Novak, say the movie is merely “a work of art.” Others, including a group of scholars commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, fear that it may provoke some of the millions who merely hold anti-Semitic attitudes – to act on them. In either case, what troubles me is how unwilling many spiritual and political leaders are to acknowledge how widespread the dryrot of antisemitism is, especially overseas, which is an essential first step to dealing with this problem.
The Council on Foreign Relations recently conducted a meeting in Washington, DC on the future of the European Union. (Unlike most meetings of the Council, this one was on the record, so I am free to quote what was said at this gathering of the most distinguished foreign policy group in the country.) The speakers covered many facets of the changing attitudes among Europeans towards the United States and much else – but they did not address antisemitism.
Hence, during the Q&A period, I remarked: “As a Jewish child who was chased out of Germany by the Nazis, and who lost most of his extended family in the concentration camps, I am particularly sensitive when soccer hooligans in Italy shout, ‘Auschwitz is your country, the ovens are your home.’” I then added: “One may say that they are merely hooligans. However, antisemitism is rising again all over Europe. What are the causes? What can one do about them?”
Radek Sikorski, a former Polish deputy foreign affairs minister, answered that he was unaware of any such data, and that most of what I was referring to was just talk. Whatever violent incidents have taken place, he said, were the acts of Muslims. These, in turn, reflected of their feelings about Israel. You know, he elaborated, Europeans see Israel differently than Americans. In response, I promised to send him data that show that the problem extends far beyond the small Muslim minority, which amounts to about 5 percent of the European population (15 million out of 300 million).
In a recently released survey of nine Western European countries, conducted by a leading Italian newspaper, 40 percent of respondents agreed that Jews have “a particular relationship with money,” a standard anti-Semitic cliche. Almost 50 percent responded that Jews were “different,” which led many of them to feel that Jews should not be considered “real” compatriots. 35 percent held that Jews should stop “playing the victim” of the Holocaust. Other surveys carried out by a variety of research groups have found similar results. Thirty-five percent of Italians believe that Jews secretly control finance and the media; in the United Kingdom, nearly one in five Britons say that they would not want to have a Jewish prime minister and that Jews have too much influence in their country; and in Switzerland, a 2000 poll found that when presented with three well-known stereotypes about Jews, 60 percent of respondents believed at least one.
As to just talking, I agree with Eli Weisel, who said, “ We have antennas and when we tell you to beware, there is danger, believe us. And I'm telling you, our antennas tell us that there is a moral danger to humanity today.” Rising and repeated expressions of prejudice, whether they are anti-black, gay, or anyone else, should serve as warning signals because all too often they are preludes to violent action, even if only by a small minority of those who believe such stereotypes. And action need not be violent to be troublesome; denying jobs and housing or denigrating people should also be of concern.
I am not saying that people who harbor such feelings should be denied the right to speak. Those who seek to ban hate speech only leave hate to simmer in the dark. However, we should view such expressions as a clarion call for intensive public education campaigns. But these will not be undertaken if, again, as was the case when Hitler was just warming up, public leaders ignore that antisemitism is widespread and continuing to spread further.
When the Council meeting closed, a former state department official approached me and waved his finger in my face as he exclaimed, “Shame on you. You should admit that these are anti-Israeli, not anti-Semitic, feelings.” Upon leaving the meeting, I ran into a friend and told her how taken back I was by this claim. At that point, an author and regular contributor to the American Prospect, who happened to be listening in, responded that indeed what I and others were calling anti-Semitism were merely anti-Israeli sentiments.
True, many Europeans believe that Israel is a great threat to world peace. But I was not referring to these data. What do taunts like, “Auschwitz is your country, the ovens are your home” have to do with hatred of Israel? The anti-Semitic prejudices about Jews’ cleanliness, preoccupation with money, and so on, existed long before Israel was born, and have long been used as excuses to slaughter Jews.
There is no magic cure for anti-Semitism (or other prejudice). However, we know that public education campaigns help when they make people aware that they are blaming Jews (or other minorities) for whatever frustrates them – massive unemployment, defeat in war, or political treachery by their leaders. We also know that it is best to start early with such education, in high school at the latest, and that face-to-face meetings between people of different backgrounds, if properly constructed, may be of service. However, for such programs to be undertaken on the necessary scale, public leaders must first acknowledge that anti-Semitic attitudes are widespread and may be converted into violent action. I fear that in the coming months, following the release of Mel Gibson’s highly provocative movie, we shall see plenty of evidence to this effect.
I have rarely wished so strongly that I would be proven wrong.
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