Anti Semitism? WTF

Following the protests at the proms earlier this year, four musicians of the LPO have been suspended for adding their weight to the protests with a letter to the telegraph. Their suspensions have been reduced from 9 to six months, This whole episode has provoked angry responses from those who call the four , and their supporters Anti-Semitic ( for example Adrian Hilton writing in the excellent Dale & Co blog, and Igor Toronyi-Lalic in the Telegraph.

Whoa. Anti-Semitic? for publicly supporting a protest against a Government using one of it's cultural exports as the focus? That is a bit strong. What these two are doing is following the trend that if you dare to criticise the Israeli Government, by inference, you hate everything Jewish, and have a belief that all Jews are inferior -. that is the definition of Anti-Semitism.Therefore, by that definition, Rabbi Jonathan Sachs. was Anti Semitic for his remarks reported on the BBC in 2002. As are the Plethora of JEWISH campaigns against the path that the Israeli Government are taking.  (Not In My Name, Jewish Voice for Peace are two examples.).. WT and F.

Here is the rub, these people are confusing Anti-ZIONISM with anti-SEMITISM. The former is being against political Judaism, which, in it's various forms, is the basis for the Israeli Government's policies since the creation of the state. The latter is just vile racism, which needs to be stamped out. There is a BIG difference, and I wish that Bloggers and Columnists alike would see that.