Anti-Middle Eastern sentiment

Last updated

Anti-Middle Eastern sentiment is feelings and expression of hostility, hatred, discrimination, or prejudice towards the Middle East and its culture, [1] and towards persons based on their association with the Middle East and Middle Eastern culture.

Contents

United States

Anti-Middle Eastern racism has a long history in the United States, although it had generally been limited to Jews until recent decades. It is suggested by Leo Rosten that as soon as they left the boat, Jews were subject to racism from the port immigration authorities. The derogatory term kike was adopted when referring to Jews (because they often could not write so they may have signed their immigration papers with circles – or kikel in Yiddish). [2] In early films, such as Cohen's Advertising Scheme (1904, silent), Jews were stereotyped as "scheming merchants", often with exaggerated West Asian racial features such as big, hooked noses, big lips, small eyes, black curly hair, and olive and/or brown-colored skin. [3]

From the 1910s, Southern Jewish communities were attacked by the Ku Klux Klan, who objected to Jewish immigration, and often used "The Jewish Banker" in their propaganda. In 1915, Leo Frank was lynched in Georgia after being convicted of rape and sentenced to death (his punishment was commuted to life imprisonment). [4] The second Ku Klux Klan, which grew enormously in the early 1920s by promoting "100% Americanism", focused its hatred on Jews, as well as Catholics and African Americans. [5]

The events in Nazi Germany also attracted attention from the United States. Jewish lobbying for intervention in Europe drew opposition from the isolationists, amongst whom was Father Charles Coughlin, a well-known radio priest, who was known to be critical of Jews, believing that they were leading the United States into the war. [6] He preached in weekly, overtly anti-Semitic sermons and, from 1936, began publication of a newspaper, Social Justice , in which he printed anti-Semitic accusations such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. [7]

In 1993, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee confronted The Walt Disney Company about anti-Arab racist content in its animated film Aladdin . At first, Disney denied any problems but eventually relented and changed two lines in the opening song. [8] Members of the ADC were still unhappy with the portrayal of Arabic characters and the referral to the Middle East as "barbaric". [8]

Since 9/11, anti-Middle Eastern racism has risen dramatically. A man in Houston, Texas, who was shot and wounded after an assailant accused him of "blowing up the country", and four immigrants shot and killed by a man named Larme Price, who confessed to killing them as revenge for the September 11 attacks. Price said he was motivated by a desire to kill people of Arab descent after the attacks. [9] Although Price described his victims as Arabs, only one was from an Arab country. This appears to be a trend; because of stereotypes of Arabs, several non-Arab, non-Muslim groups were subjected to attacks in the wake of 9/11, including several Sikh men attacked for wearing their religiously-mandated turban. Price's mother, Leatha Price, said that her son's anger at Arabs was a matter of mental illness, not ethnic hatred. [9]

One widely publicized incident was the murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi. The term "towel-head" is a pejorative reference to Middle Eastern headdresses including turbans and is mainly used to refer to both Arabs and terrorists. Middle Eastern, Central Asian, and Sikh turban wearers usually wind their turban anew for each wearing, using long strips of cloth that are usually five meters or less. However, some elaborate South Asian turbans may be permanently formed and sewn to a foundation. Turbans can be very large or quite modest dependent upon region, culture, and religion. [10] In November 2005, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights examined antisemitism on college campuses. It reported that "incidents of threatened bodily injury, physical intimidation or property damage are now rare", but antisemitism still occurs on many campuses and is a "serious problem." The Commission recommended that the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights protect college students from antisemitism through vigorous enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and further recommended that Congress clarify that Title VI applies to discrimination against Jewish students. [11]

On 19 September 2006, Yale University founded the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Anti-Semitism (YIISA), the first North American university-based center for study of the subject, as part of its Institution for Social and Policy Studies. Director Charles Small of the Center cited the increase in antisemitism worldwide in recent years as generating a "need to understand the current manifestation of this disease". [12] In June 2011, Yale voted to close this initiative. After carrying out a routine review, the faculty review committee said that the initiative had not met its research and teaching standards. Donald Green, then head of Yale’s Institution for Social and Policy Studies, the body under whose aegis the antisemitism initiative was run, said that it had not had many papers published in the relevant leading journals or attracted many students. As with other programs that had been in a similar situation, the initiative had therefore been cancelled. [13] [14] This decision has been criticized by figures such as former U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Staff Director Kenneth L. Marcus, who is now the director of the Initiative to Combat Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism in America’s Educational Systems at the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, and Deborah Lipstadt, who described the decision as "weird" and "strange." [15] Antony Lerman has supported Yale's decision, describing the YIISA as a politicized initiative that was devoted to the promotion of Israel rather than to serious research on antisemitism. [16]

A 2007 survey by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) concluded that 15% of Americans hold antisemitic views, which was in-line with the average of the previous ten years, but a decline from the 29% of the early sixties. The survey concluded that education was a strong predictor, "with most educated Americans being remarkably free of prejudicial views." The belief that Jews have too much power was considered a common antisemitic view by the ADL. Other views indicating antisemitism, according to the survey, include the view that Jews are more loyal to Israel than America, and that they are responsible for the death of Jesus of Nazareth. The survey found that antisemitic Americans are likely to be intolerant generally, e.g. regarding immigration and free-speech. The 2007 survey also found that 29% of foreign-born Hispanics and 32% of African-Americans hold strong antisemitic beliefs, three times more than the 10% for whites. [17]

A 2009 study published in Boston Review found that nearly 25% of non-Jewish Americans blamed Jews for the financial crisis of 2007–2008, with a higher percentage among Democrats than Republicans. 32% of Democrats blamed Jews for the financial crisis, versus 18% for Republicans. [18] [19]

In August 2012, the California state assembly approved a non-binding resolution that "encourages university leaders to combat a wide array of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel actions," although the resolution "is purely symbolic and does not carry policy implications". [20]

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought charges against NCL America Inc., alleging that the company discriminated against seven crew members with Middle East backgrounds. The suit, filed on behalf of the employees, stated that the discrimination led to the plaintiffs losing their jobs aboard the cruise ship Pride of Aloha. The 2006 lawsuit had the company deny the allegations, refusing to accept that it had acted improperly in firing the seven Middle Eastern crew members. Sources stated that the two sides reached a settlement agreement, in which NCL America Inc. has agreed to pay $485,000 to resolve allegations. Additionally, the company also agreed to revise its policies to ensure a workplace that promotes equal employment opportunities. [21]

In an interview with a conservative website, Saucedo Mercer, a Mexican immigrant who became a U.S. citizen, talked in depth about her views on immigration. She stated the issue was important because people from places other than Mexico were among those coming across the border illegally.

"That includes Chinese, Middle Easterners. If you know Middle Easterners, a lot of them, they look Mexican or they look, you know, like a lot of people in South America, dark skin, dark hair, brown eyes. And they mix. They mix in. And those people, their only goal in life is to, to cause harm to the United States. So why do we want them here, either legally or illegally? When they come across the border, besides the trash that they leave behind, the drug smuggling, the killings, the beheadings. I mean, you are seeing stuff. It’s a war out there." [22] [23]

After the Boston Marathon bombing, before the perpetrators Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev were identified, several young men, mostly South Asian or Middle Eastern, were convicted in the court of public opinion. [24]

Australia

Attacks in Spain, London, and Bali have increasingly associated people of "Middle Eastern appearance" with terrorism. [25] A clearer picture of the impact of these events on Sydney's Muslim, Arabic, and Middle Eastern population emerged from data collected from a hotline between September 12, 2001 and November 11, 2001 by the Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural NSW, during which time 248 incidents were logged. There were seven categories of attack: physical assault; verbal assault; sexual assault; threat; racial discrimination or harassment, damage to property; and media attack. Half of all victims were female; seven out of ten were adults. The largest language groups to use the hotline were Arabic, consisting 52.4% of calls. 47.2% of the incidents occurred in public spaces. [25]

On 11 December 2005, a violent mob of about five thousand young white Australians gathered on the beach at Cronulla, New South Wales. Waving Australian flags, singing Waltzing Matilda and Australia's national anthem, the mob verbally abused and physically assaulted anyone of Middle Eastern appearance. [26] Five thousand people reportedly gathered at the site and marched through the streets of Cronulla, attacking anyone who they identified as Middle Eastern. [27]

One victim recalled how the violence erupted when a man deemed to be "of Middle Eastern appearance" was walking along the beachfront with his girlfriend and "two girls turned around and screamed ... 'get off our f__king beaches' [and then] the whole street turned on them" [27] The riots put the spotlight on two segments of Sydney's population (the white, Anglo-Celtic majority and a Middle Eastern minority) and two parts of the city: the Sutherland Shire Local Government Area (LGA), located in Sydney's southern suburbs where Cronulla Beachis located (known as the Shire); and the Canterbury and Bankstown LGAs, located in south-western Sydney, where most of the city's Lebanese and Middle Eastern immigrants live. [25] Middle Eastern males were tagged as criminal and un-Australian by the media brush of ethnic crime. [25]

In one incident, two young men of Middle Eastern appearance, on their way for a swim, were mobbed and beaten on a train carriage, with both responding police officers and a nearby press photographer fearing there would be a killing. [28]

The latest incident occurred in 2011, when criminal lawyer of Middle Eastern background, Adam Houda, [29] was arrested for refusing a frisk search and resisting arrest after having been approached by police, who suspected him of involvement in a recent robbery. These charges were thrown out of court by Judge John Connell, who stated, "At the end of the day, here were three men of Middle Eastern appearance walking along a suburban street, for all the police knew, minding their own business at an unexceptional time of day, in unexceptional clothing, except two of the men had hooded jumpers. [30] The place they were in could not have raised a reasonable suspicion they were involved in the robberies."

See also

Related Research Articles

Antisemitism is hostility to, prejudice, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is generally considered to be a form of racism.

Xenophobia is the fear or hatred of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an ingroup and an outgroup and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a desire to eliminate their presence, and fear of losing national, ethnic or racial identity.

The history of antisemitism, defined as hostile actions or discrimination against Jews as a religious or ethnic group, goes back many centuries, with antisemitism being called "the longest hatred". Jerome Chanes identifies six stages in the historical development of antisemitism:

  1. Pre-Christian anti-Judaism in Ancient Greece and Rome which was primarily ethnic in nature
  2. Christian antisemitism in antiquity and the Middle Ages which was religious in nature and has extended into modern times
  3. Muslim antisemitism which was—at least in its classical form—nuanced, in that Jews were a protected class
  4. Political, social and economic antisemitism during the Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment Europe which laid the groundwork for racial antisemitism
  5. Racial antisemitism that arose in the 19th century and culminated in Nazism
  6. Contemporary antisemitism which has been labeled by some as the new antisemitism

New antisemitism is the concept that a new form of antisemitism has developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, tending to manifest itself as opposition to Zionism and criticism of the Israeli government. The concept is included in some definitions of antisemitism, such as the Working Definition of Antisemitism and the 3D test of antisemitism.

This is a list of countries where antisemitic sentiment has been experienced.

Universities in many countries have been the site of antisemitic policies and practices at different times in their history often well into the 1960s. Several universities have restricted the admission of Jewish students, as well as the hiring and retention of Jewish faculty. In some instances, universities have supported antisemitic government, or social policies and condoned the development of an antisemitic cultures on campus. In most democratic countries, officially sanctioned university antisemitism was phased out in the years after World War II, however antisemitic cultural values still persists on many campuses.

History of antisemitism in the United States

There have been different opinions among historians with regard to the extent of antisemitism in America's past and how American antisemitism contrasted with its European counterpart. Earlier students of American Jewish life minimized the presence of antisemitism in the United States, which they considered a late and alien phenomenon that arose on the American scene in the late 19th century. More recently however, scholars have asserted that no period in American Jewish history was free of antisemitism. The debate about the significance of antisemitism during different periods of American history has continued to the present day.

Antisemitism —prejudice, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews has experienced a long history of expression since the days of ancient civilizations, with most of it having originated in the Christian and pre-Christian civilizations of Europe.

Antisemitism in the United States Hatred towards the Jewish people within the US

Antisemitism in the United States has existed for centuries. In the United States, most Jewish community relations agencies distinguish between antisemitism, which is measured in terms of attitudes and behaviors; and the security and status of American Jews, which are measured by specific incidents. FBI data shows that Jews were the most likely group to be targeted for religiously-motivated hate crimes in every year since 1991, the Anti-Defamation League said in 2019. Despite this, however, antisemitic incidents were following a generally decreasing trend in the last century along with the general reduction in socially sanctioned racism in the United States since World War II and the Civil Rights Movement.

Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. The term is broadly defined in the modern era as opposition to the State of Israel or, prior to 1948, its establishment, as well as to the political movement of Jews to self-determination.

Antisemitic incidents escalated worldwide in frequency and intensity during the Gaza War, and were widely considered to be a wave of reprisal attacks in response to the conflict.

Antisemitism in Canada is the manifestation of hostility, prejudice or discrimination against the Canadian Jewish people or Judaism as a religious, ethnic or racial group. This form of racism has affected Jews since Canada's Jewish community was established in the 18th century.

Racism in the Palestinian territories encompasses all forms and manifestations of racism experienced in the Palestinian Territories, of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, irrespective of the religion, colour, creed, or ethnic origin of the perpetrator and victim, or their citizenship, residency, or visitor status. It may refer to Jewish settler attitudes regarding Palestinians as well as Palestinian attitudes to Jews and the settlement enterprise undertaken in their name.

Antisemitism in Turkey refers to acts of hostility against Jews in the Republic of Turkey, as well as the promotion of antisemitic views and beliefs in that country.

Surveys show that antisemitism exists in Sweden. The 2006 study "Antisemitic images and attitudes in Sweden", conducted by Henrik Bachner and Jonas Ring, revealed that 1.4 percent of the population disagrees with the assertion that "Most Jews are probably decent folks".

Antisemitism in Pakistan refers to the hostility or discrimination against Jews in Pakistan. There are general stereotypes against Jews in Pakistan, most of which overlap and are related to the common antisemitic views prevalent in the Muslim world.

Antisemitism in France has become heightened since the late 20th century and into the 21st century. In the early 21st century, most Jews in France, like most Muslims in France, are of North African origin. France has the largest population of Jews in the diaspora after the United States—an estimated 500,000–600,000 persons. Paris has the highest population, followed by Marseilles, which has 70,000 Jews, most of North African origin. Expressions of anti-semitism were seen to rise during the Six-Day War of 1967 and the French anti-Zionist campaign of the 1970s and 1980s. Following the electoral successes achieved by the extreme right-wing National Front and an increasing denial of the Holocaust among some persons in the 1990s, surveys showed an increase in stereotypical antisemitic beliefs among the general French population.

Since World War II, antisemitic prejudice in Italy has seldom taken on aggressive forms.

Antisemitism in the United Kingdom signifies hatred of and discrimination against Jews in Britain. Discrimination and hostility against the community since its establishment in 1070 resulted in a series of massacres on several occasions and their expulsion from the country in 1290. They were readmitted by Oliver Cromwell in 1655.

Antisemitism is a growing problem in 21st-century Germany.

References

  1. ↑ Mistele, Ashley (2009). "Middle Eastern Americans and the First Amendment". Columbia University Academic Commons. doi:10.7916/D8D224BB . Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  2. ↑ Rosten, Leo (1968). The Joys of Yiddish . ISBN   978-0671728137.
  3. ↑ "The Movies, Race, and Ethnicity: Jews". Media Resources Center. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
  4. ↑ Phagan, 1987, p. 27, states that "everyone knew the identity of the lynchers" (putting the words in her father's mouth). Oney, 2003, p. 526, quotes Carl Abernathy as saying, "They'd go to a man's office and talk to him or … see a man on the job and talk to him," and an unidentified lyncher as saying "The organization of the body was more open than mysterious."
  5. ↑ Thomas R. Pegram, One Hundred Percent American: The Rebirth and Decline of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s (Ivan R. Dee, 2011), ch 1.
  6. ↑ Father Charles Edward Coughlin (1891–1971) By Richard Sanders, Editor, Press for Conversion!
  7. ↑ Mary Christine Athans (June 1987). "A New Perspective on Father Charles E. Coughlin". Church History. 56 (2): 224–235. doi:10.2307/3165504. JSTOR   3165504.
  8. 1 2 "Arab Stereotypes and American Educators". American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Archived from the original on April 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
  9. 1 2 "Police Arrest Brooklyn Man In Slayings of 4 Shopkeepers - New York Times". Nytimes.com. 2003-03-31. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  10. ↑ "Turban profile. Information about Turban. Asia culture and attractions". Middleeastexplorer.com. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  11. ↑ "Ending Campus Anti-Semitism" . Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  12. ↑ Yale creates center to study antisemitism Associated Press, 19 September 2006
  13. ↑ Mary E. O'Leary (7 June 2011). "Yale cancels interdisciplinary course on anti-Semitism". New Haven Register. Archived from the original on 2012-05-13. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
  14. ↑ Kampeas, Ron (10 June 2011). "Shuttering of Yale program on anti-Semitism raises hackles". Jewishjournal.com. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  15. ↑ Yale Pulls the Plug on Anti-Semitism Institute. nbcconnecticut.com (9 June 2011)
  16. ↑ Antony Lerman (10 June 2011). "Antisemitism Research Just Improved: Yale's 'Initiative' for Studying Antisemitism is Axed" . Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  17. ↑ "ADL Survey: American Attitudes Towards Jews in America" (PDF). Anti Defamation League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2011.
  18. ↑ Neil Malhotra and Yotam Margalit. "State of the Nation: Anti-Semitism and the economic crisis". Boston Review. Archived from the original on April 30, 2013.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  19. ↑ "Blaming Jews For The Financial Crisis". May 13, 2009.
  20. ↑ "Calif. resolution denouncing anti-Semitism on college campuses targets anti-Israel protests". Archived from the original on 1 September 2012.
  21. ↑ "Cruise lines to pay $485,000 settlement in employment lawsuit". Lawyersandsettlements.com. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  22. ↑ "Arizona GOP Favorite Doesn't Want Middle Easterners In U.S. 'Legally Or Illegally'". Talking Points Memo. 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  23. ↑ "Candidate Criticized for Anti-Middle Eastern Remarks - Arizona Public Media". Azpm.org. 2012-08-29. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  24. ↑ Berrett, Dan (2013-04-20). "After Boston Bombing, Fears of Backlash Against Muslim Students - Students - The Chronicle of Higher Education". Chronicle.com. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  25. 1 2 3 4 [ dead link ]
  26. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 17, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. 1 2 Jayde Cahir1 (2013-04-14). "Balancing Trust and Anxiety in a Culture of Fear". Sgo.sagepub.com. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  28. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 23, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. ↑ Tineka Everaardt (2013-03-20). "Targeted through racial profiling - Today Tonight". Au.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  30. ↑ Mercer, Neil (2011-11-12). "Suing police again, the lawyer of Middle Eastern appearance". The Border Mail. Retrieved 2013-09-14.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.