The British government has commissioned a shocking new report from the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (EISCA) which among other things argues that the law should be changed so that political commentators cannot draw comparisons between the actions of the Israeli state and those of Nazi Germany.
Antony Lerman writes:
“If you said ‘the way the IDF operated in Gaza was like the way the SS acted in Poland’ and a Jew found this offensive, hurtful or harmful, you could, in theory, go to jail.”
However that is neither the most shocking or hypocritical aspect of this report. No, that prize goes to the section of the report which argues that one of the ways antisemitism is manifested is by:
“Applying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behaviour not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation”
Israel and the United States, of course, both permit and praise the Israeli military as well as Israel’s “sovereign right to defend itself” (source, source, source) while at the same time requiring and expecting the Palestinian government to renounce violence and agree never to develop a military (source, source, source).
To read The Guardian‘s fantastic piece on this report, click here.
Paulitics 
“argues that the law should be changed so that political commentators cannot draw comparisons between the actions of the Israeli state and those of Nazi Germany.”
That law reminds me of Nazi Germany.
It would be funny if Israel got a prime minister who was a short guy with a little mustache who made up some symbol
that all the police had to wear around their arm, but nobody was allowed to say what it reminded them of.
ah come on. This is simply a government attempt to forget the horrors of the past. … right? What could possibly be wrong with that?
p.s. – I haven’t read the Guardian piece, either. Too many facts have a tendency to confuse me.
At York University in Toronto we had an alternative newspaper entitled the YU FREE PRESS that featured one month published cartoons by Carlos Latuff directly comparing the IDF to the SS. Two Zionist students, Aaron Rosenberg and Mark Levin, threw out about 1,000 copies and are currently pending criminal charges.
The parallels between the Nazi ideology and the Zionist ideology are shocking; rampant ethnic nationalism, extreme militarization, calling those who disagree traitors without further thought and the sense of constantly being under attack.
It is important that we recognize that Jewish voices are the strongest against this madness and never confuse Jewish with Zionist, there is a world of difference.
Paul –
Sorry for commenting on an old blog post, but you should know that the EISCA is not actually a proper think-tank. It has produced one piece of research since it began, the above study, which was over a year late. Its’ blog is moribund. Its’ main purpose seems to be to give its’ chairman, Denis Macshane MP, a credential that he can use to bludgeon critics of Israel with accusations of anti-semitism whilst giving it an academic veneer.
Daniel Davies of Crooked Timber has repeatedly blogged on the subject here – http://d-squareddigest.blogspot.com/search?q=EISCA
If you want any more info, feel free to contact me.