"One of my first reservations about Zionism was and is that, semiconsciously at least, it grants the anti-Semites first premise about the abnormality of the Jew." - Christopher Hitchens (Hitch-22: A Memoir)

 
COMMENT Here in Malaysia (and perhaps the rest of the world) the response to anti-Semitism nearly always includes that caveat of a reference to the natural resources dispute promoted as a religious conflict going on in Israel.

Why we should justify our condemnation of bigotry by portraying "objectivity" when it comes to a conflict which has nothing to do with the bigotry at hand merely to appease the bigot, is a worrying trend that has encouraged bigots to conflate issues all the while secure in the knowledge that it is they who will always control the narrative as long as they form the majority or have resort to victimhood.

Of course, here in Malaysia the most vocal of anti-Zionists (which let's face it, here it's code and an avenue to express some good old fashioned anti-Semitism) have more in common thematically with the ideology (Zionism) than they would have you believe.

Don't believe me? Check out some of the more conservative expressions of Zionism and you would be surprised (or maybe not) to discover how much such a concept has in common with something like ‘Ketuanan Melayu' for instance. Here is where both sides start accusing me of racism or maybe even sedition.

Jewish and Muslim propagandists work the conspiracy angle to lay the groundwork for the much hoped for clash of civilisations which would see one ideology reign supreme. On one side, we have Islam and on the other, some kind of Judeo-Christian-capitalist dogma masquerading as the Free World.

As Islam is the fastest growing religion in the West and secularism (the most potent tool for which to dismantle religious bigotry) chucked aside in favour of Christian sabre-rattling, it should surprise nobody that the religious bigots set the social and political agenda.

Here in Malaysia, state-sanctioned anti-Semitism due to the Arabisation creep (as I put forward in 'Fiddler's on Anwar's roof') has resulted in a toxic atmosphere where racial preoccupations are conflated with religious ones, to promote a narrative that the Malay/Islamic community will be forever under siege with Umno being the only sincere defenders of community and faith. Convenient, right?
 
Umno's indoctrination
All this fear of that Jew George Soros with his tainted Jewish money seeking to overthrow the rightful defenders of Islam through various non-governmental organisations and political parties is farcical if not for the very real concern of some Muslims of this fate because of the decades long indoctrination by the Umno.

Rationally speaking, which is more corrosive - Western interests groups who wish to set the agendas in countries by promoting free and fair elections, free speech and good governance (which is hypocritical in the context of American foreign policy) or Arab (whenever I hear this, I remember the great Anthony Quinn as Auda Abu Tayi in Lawrence of Arabia, mock the Englishman with "The Arabs? The Howitat, Ajili, Rala, Beni Saha; these I know, I have even heard of the Harif, but the Arabs? What tribe is that?) or should that be House of Saud petrodollars (thank you America) through their Wahhabis allies (thank you Great Britain) financing not only terrorism (or Islamic freedom fighting) but also the most virulent strain of bigoted Islam through thousands of madrasahs around the world (most damagingly in Western countries where political correctness has resulted in a retreat of traditional Western values in favour of multicultural (sic) appeasement)?

harakahI still get a kick when reading oldHarakah articles when Mahathir had allowed the Israeli cricket team to play in Malaysia because he wanted the Jews (Zionists?) to realise how a country of multiple faiths could co-exist peaceful. Stop laughing.

How the PAS boys mocked Anwar's Islamic credentials and his rationale - sports are apolitical - as evidence that he was not defending Islam by allowing the Zionists into the country. How times have changed, or has it?

As it is, the Jewish presence in Malaysia like every else which points to a rich cultural historical mix which seems anathema to Umno has been quietly erased. Jewish presence in Penang is forgotten when it could be used to highlight the historical diversity of the island and in a small quiet way the whole of Malaysia.

And how could we forget the work of Alexander Oppenheim, who was the first and founding vice-chancellor of Universiti Malaya.

In most countries in the world, diversity would be used as a tool to further the egalitarian perspective (which is easy to articulate but which is extremely difficult to realise) but here in Malaysia like many other countries where Islamic insecurities take precedence over everything else, nobody wants to consider that maybe the problem is, us not them.

Ethnic fear-mongering
It's pretty sick when you think of it, to play the lowest common denominator - which is something Umno cultivated - this regime and its agents spew out the most virulent of anti-Semitism in the hopes that the racial and ethnic fear-mongering, which has worked so well all these years, would pay dividends against an opposition block which has a real shot at the throne of Putrajaya.

What's more troubling is that Pakatan Rakyat has never addressed the prevailing anti-Semitism in this country. This of course is not surprising since PAS is supposed to bring in the Islamic sex appeal to the alliance.
As always is not the anti-Semitism which is the problem or how it has been brought upon by Umno but rather how Pakatan intends to solve this problem.

Now before Pakatan kool aid drinkers go on about how it is important to win the elections first and then worry about these small details, I'd just like to say that as someone who is currently working with young people whose minds have been calcified by Umno, voting for Pakatan does not necessarily mean they subscribe to the feel-good rhetoric coming out of the alternative alliance.

Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah (right) may worry that playing the Soros (and indirectly the Jew) card may backfire but this is not because he is worried that engaging in bigoted hate tactics is wrong, but it is because he realises that even in this Umno never practises what it preaches.

Don't worry. It's open season on minority groups in this country and anyone who can be demonised will be and as long as the alliance of change does not make principled stands against bigotries of any kind, all the while hoping it would back fire against their political foes, we should not expect that anything would change if a new alliance comes into power as far as these kinds of "issues" are concerned.

And this should make the anti-Semites happy, although a reshuffling of our racial deck of cards may be a bummer for the same.
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.