Jakob Augstein a "Top Ten Anti-Semite"

According to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Augstein, publisher of Der Freitag, son of Der Spiegel founder Rudolf Augstein, and himself a Spiegel-columnist, is one of the world's top ten anti-Semites, along side other personalities like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and groups such as Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood (see the list- pdf). BY including Augstein on this list, the Wiesenthal Center has made a big mistake; it diminishes the Center's important work and demeans the concept of "anti-Semitism".  There is nothing "anti-Semitic" about any of Jakob Augstein's writings.  Like many Liberal thinkers within Israel, Augstein has been highly critical of Israel's settlement policies and the positions of Bibi Netanyahu.  His criticism of Israel - still something of a taboo in Germany - has enraged LIkud apologists, who are eager to excoriate Germans for any hint of ant-Semitism. 

In this case, the Simon WIesenthal Center has overreached, and even conservative publications like the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung have come to Augstein's defense: 

In seinen Texten geht es nicht um die Juden und nicht um den Juden. Er propagiert keine Gewalt, zieht keine Traditionslinien und operiert nicht mit Vorurteilen. Was er kritisiert, ist nicht das Symptom eines in der Existenz der Juden oder Israels wurzelnden Übels, sondern das Resultat politischer Entscheidungen der aktuellen israelischen Regierung. Ein Vergleich seiner Zitate auf der Homepage des SWC mit denen der anderen aufgeführten Personen macht diesen entscheidenden Unterschied sofort deutlich.

("There is nothing in his writings about Jews or "the Jew".  He does not advocate violence, doesn't draw on lines of tradition and doesn't operate with any prejudice.  He's not criticizing some fundamental evil rooted in the existence of Jews or Israel, but rather the result of political decisions made by the current Israeli government.  A comparison with the other people or groups on the list makes this distinction clear.")

Why did the Wiesenthal Center turn their attention to Jakob Augstein?  It turns out they were influenced by none other than Henryk Broder  - a notorious Islamophobe who makes a nice living in Germany by smearing anyone who disagrees with him as an anti-Semite (an effective technique for stifling discourse in Germany). Henryk Broder was an inspiration to the Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik.  Last year, when the writer and anti-Muslim activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali expressed sympathy for Breivik in a speech given in Berlin, Broder gave her a standing ovation. 

Comments

[koogleschreiber]

The public wants controversy on the tabloids, not trivia. Without Augstein, the Top-10 list of antisemites would have been widely ignored, featuring only the usual candidates. Of course, the SWC could make a point with the special responsibility of Germans and their relation to Israel and the Jews, but isn't that a use of double standards as well?

[David]

Henryk Broder is a clown - a dangerous clown. SWC only demeans itself by giving any credence to anything Broder says.

[Zyme]

I find Broder entertaining to read most times. His articles are full of sarcasm - and I like his sense of humor at most occasions :-D