Some years back Israel passed an "anti-racism" law. Its purpose was to suppress the freedom of speech of some fringe groups among Israeli Jews. Its main target was the set of splinter organizations that had originated in the KACH party, set up by Rabbi Meir Kahane of the JDL before he was murdered by an Arab in New York. One splinter is still run by Kahane’s son.

The "anti-racism" law purportedly outlawed "racist" organizations and racist speech. It was passed even BEFORE the wave of McCarthyism that suppressed free speech in Israel after the Rabin assassination. Specifically the law prohibited organizations deemed to be "racist" from running for the Knesset. The law’s language was so poorly formulated and thought through that it would have made statements like "I do not want to date non-Jews", or "I do not like blond women" to be crimes. Effectively it was only used to criminalize the Kahanist organizations, which were not only banned from running for the Knesset, but made illegal altogether and then declared "terrorist organizations" (at the same time that the PLO was taken OFF that list).

The "anti-racism" law was of course not merely an assault on free speech and expression in Israel, but is itself the most racist law Israel has on its books. From the start, it was apparent that it would not be used against any form of racism except that allegedly espoused by the Kahanists. No racism by Arabs, no bigotry by Israeli leftists (or people like Tommy Lapid, whose entire party is based on anti-Orthodox bigotry). The racist anti-Jewish fascist-Stalinist political parties, supported mainly by Israel’s Arabs, have never been banned or prosecuted under this law, even while their leaders call for terrorist violence against Jews, call for the destruction of Israel, and themselves sometimes engage in violence (see below).

Even more surrealistic is the fact that while Arab pogromchiks march about screaming "Butcher the Jews", not a single one has been prosecuted under Israel’s "anti-racism" law.

As for the Kahanists, they have never approached the levels of extremism to be found in such European parties as the "National Fronts", operating in nearly all European countries, parties that can get up to 20% of the votes or more in their countries. These European parties operate freely, which has never stopped the Euros from cheering on Israel’s "anti-racism" law and its banning of the Kahanists. Similarly, the US State Department has not only cheered on Israeli McCarthyism but has itself added the Kahanists to its own list of "terrorist organizations" at Israel’s behest. This at the same time that the JDL operates freely under the First Amendment in the US, and while the US has never done anything to declare people like Farrakhan of Sharpton to be racists. The Kahanists in Israel never took more than two seats of the Knesset’s 120.

Since the Kahanists have essentially been driven underground due to their persecution by the Israeli McCarthyists under the "anti-racism" law, and have been doing little more than putting up posters and occasionally holding small marches, the anti-racism law has pretty much sat on the shelf.

But then came the High Holiday pogroms this year. With thousands of Israeli Arabs marching under banners calling for death to the Jews, with attempted lynching of Jews, with attacks on police and cars with Jews, sometimes yanking all the Jews out of cars while leaving the Arabs, in Nazi-style "selection", and roughing them up. So you might expect some of these to be prosecuted under the "anti-racism" law on Israel’s books, right?

Well, Israel’s politicized Attorney General, Elyakim Rubinstein, has been operating as the partisan arm of the Israeli Labor Party since the election of Barak. Rubinstein yesterday revealed that "dozens" of indictments were in fact signed and issued by his office under the "anti-racism" law during the High Holiday pogroms. And all of them, or almost all of them, were issued against JEWS, rowdies who had rioted after Yom Kippur in Tiberias and Upper Nazareth.

Now the anti-racism law was passed by the very same politicians who have been cheering on the "investigation" of Rabbi Ovadia Yossef, because the latter described Meretz chief Yossi Sarid as a "modern pharaoh and modern Haman". Rubinstein is still investigating the Rabbi for those comments, under suspicion of "incitement to violence", not to mention "insulting a public servant" (under an old British Mandatory law still on Israel’s law books).

Which is remarkable because yesterday Knesset Member Muhammed Baraka, from the Stalinist-fascist HADASH political party, was brought in for questioning. NOT because of all those "Nice day for Murdering Jews" comments he likes to make nor for his urging Arabs to attack police violently. No, Baraka was NOT indicted under Israel’s anti-racism law. Baraka was questioned because he had himself personally punched out policemen who had come to guard a demolition crew knocking down an illegal structure put up illegally by some Arabs, probably on land they did not own. Talk about "offending a public servant"! This was about a month back.

But Israel’s lefties, still trying to declare Oslo alive - a bit like some Lubavitchers refuse to accept the death of their Rebbe, insist it would be absurd to prosecute Baraka under that archaic law against offending public servants. That same law under which people have been arrested for calling Shimon Peres an ass. Rabbi Ovadia MUST be prosecuted for his exercise of free speech, they insist, because only this way will those Orthodox be put in their places. So say the crusaders against bigotry and racism.

Copyright © 2000 by Steven Plaut.
All Rights Reserved.

-Published with permission