“Anti-Nato” Antisemitism: Anti-Jewish Sentiment Related To The 1999 Nato Bombing Of Serbia
Posters with pictures of a World War II bomber with the Star of David and pictures of the collapsed buildings in Belgrade and bridges on the Danube in Novi Sad, with the message “14 years since the NATO bombing, their terror continues” appeared in Belgrade in March 2013. Various antisemitic narratives emerged in the aftermath of the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999. These narratives still resurface from time to time, usually in the extreme-nationalistic and anti-American circles. While their focus is predominantly anti-American, in some of their segments they extend to traditional, typical, and well-known antisemitic stereotypes and myths. Founded on the myth about the “Jewish influence on the American foreign policy”, these narratives suggest that Jews were involved in the decision-making processes, or that Jews alone were behind the NATO bombings of Serbia. These antisemitic narratives may extend to imply responsibility and accountability of all Jews for their alleged role in NATO bombings of Serbia. Taking it further, there is a question of loyalty of Serbian Jews in this regard and accusations that their loyalty supposedly lies with the “World Jewry” rather than with Serbia and its people.
Blood Libel: Perpetuating The Myth Of Jewish Ritual Murder
Blood Libel (Ritual Murder). Original painting from the church in Sandomierz, Poland. Author: Karol de Prevot, first half of the 18th century. In the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century, Sandomierz was a place of conflicts between Catholics and Jews. In 1628, Jews were accused of causing the death of a local pharmacist’s son. They had allegedly kidnapped the child, drawn blood from him, chopped up his body and given it to dogs to eat. The investigation conducted at the time proved that the accused Jews were innocent.
“Without Israel There Would Be No Antisemitism”
The narrative that “Nothing fuels modern antisemitism more than the state of Israel. If the latter were to change its policy, antisemitism in its many contemporary facets would also decrease or even vanish” is a perfidious perpetrator-victim reversal. Suddenly, anti-Semites are no longer to blame for antisemitism, but the Jews − or the Jewish state of Israel. The non-Jewish world only reacts, so to speak, whether it is Palestinian terrorists who are allegedly waging a “fight for freedom” against the “Zionist oppressors” or their supporters in Europe and elsewhere who do not want to be denied their “criticism of Israel”, no matter how antisemitic they may be. Adorno called this ‘projection’ − the victim is accused of what one is doing or intending to do.
Equating The Bombing Of German Cities With The Holocaust
The German right-wing party NPD and other right-wing organizations speak of the bombing of Dresden and other German cities during World War II as “Bombenholocaust”, meaning Holocaust by bombs. This is meant to equate those bombings with the Shoah in order to diminish the singularity of this crime against humanity and absolve the perpetrators of it.