Suddenly, liberals want to portray any criticism of George Soros — a man who has spent a fortune attacking the state of Israel and funding organizations leading the charge for boycotts — as anti-Semitic. Where were these same people when Sheldon Adelson was at the receiving end of vile attacks conjuring up centuriesold prejudices about Jews exerting undue influence on government?
When former President Barack Obama took a shot at Adelson during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, the Washington press corps laughed uproariously. And it was not the only time that Obama or his appointees took aim at Jewish influence in politics. Obama hired Chuck Hagel as his defense secretary, a man who decried the influence of the “ Jewish lobby” on American foreign policy. Within this context of attacks on Adelson and his elevation of a critic of the “Jewish lobby,” Obama complained about donors undermining his Iran deal, arguing that they didn’t care about national security — giving oxygen to the anti-Semitic idea that America Jews have dual loyalty and put the interests of a foreign country over their own.
The straw man that “not all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic” has too often been translated into “no criticism of Israel can be anti-Semitic” — an attitude that has helped anti-Semites launder their hatred of Jews by disguising it as merely criticism of Israel as violence against Jews spreads worldwide and on U.S. college campuses.
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