Several days ago Clemens Heni accused some German pro-Israel groups and intellectuals of spreading “anti-Jewish feelings”. His statement, “Imagine! Anti-circumcision, ‘pro-Israel’ Germans,” appeared in the San Diego Jewish World, which the SPME-homepage also posted:

The journal Bahamas “urged (!) their readers and followers [sic.] in a short statement on September 4 not to join the pro-circumcision rally because they detest »religious traditions.« […] they [Bahamas] support Israel but have an Israel in mind without circumcised Jews. […] It’s a contradiction to be against anti-Zionism while sharing anti-Jewish feelings (framed as pro-child ideology).”

Bahamas and the ça ira publishing house are dedicated to social-philosophy and the criticism of Islam and Anti-Zionism. They were expressing their solidarity with Israel at a time when there were virtually no leftist or liberal institutions or intellectuals who even mentioned Islamic Anti-Semitism. During the last decade they organized and participated in countless lectures and conferences on such topics. The ça ira publishing house, a small and independent company, publishes the books of critics and scholars, such as Helmut Reichelt, Hans-Georg Backhaus, Moishe Postone, Johannes Agnoli, Gerhard Scheit and Léon Poliakov. Thomas von der Osten Sacken is the author of a corpus of articles treating political Islam and Anti-Zionism, many of which also appeared on the SPME website.

My impression is that Bahamas had no interest in joining the so-called Beschneidungsdebatte (circumcision-debate) in Germany. Its criticism of the protest of the Jewish Forum for Democracy and against Anti-Semitism is explicitly phrased in two statements:

“In view of the anti-Semitic attacks of Muslim youth against Jewish school pupils and a Rabbi in Berlin in the past days, the following documented appeal »Auf Messers Schneide« [on the knives’ edge; authors note] of the Jewish Forum for Democracy and against Anti-Semitism to an intercultural – i.e. obligated to a Jewish-Islamic fraternization – manifestation, appears nearly cynical.”

In a second statement Bahamas expresses astonishment that Jewish organizations promote the “perfidious equation” of Anti-Semitism and so-called Islamophobia. One of the troubling consequences of the so-called intercultural dialogue in Europe and the discourse on Islamophobia, — which has served Islamists in Europe well, — was that it enabled them to portray themselves as moderate forces and to dismiss criticism of Islam as racism, while at the same time systematically promoting Anti-Zionism.  This approach reflects an unsound proposition. Solely in this context, and obviously because of the lack of substance of this particular appeal, Bahamas formulated further criticism of circumcision, which may be debatable but should not be a matter of serious concern for SPME.  It certainly is not inspired by Anti-Semitism or “anti-Jewish feelings”. The same may be said about Thomas von der Osten Sackens’ comments on this debate.

Clemens Heni misses these nuances.  He does not give references or links in his article, and his English-speaking audience, which could hardly be expected to know of Bahamas or Thomas von der Osten Sacken, must rely solely on his incomplete description of these German pro-Israel groups and intellectuals. One does not have to agree with every thought of these critics to appreciate their strong commitment to Israel and their contributions to the criticism of Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism. For this reason, Heni’s criticism of them represents an arbitrarily imposed interpretation. Had he seriously intended to expose the long-time players in solidarity with Israel as Anti-Jewish, he should have provided a well-reasoned and comprehensive analysis of their theses and positions.

Luis Liendo Espinoza is freelancer and member of SPME, Austria