Here at the US State Department in Washington, American officials believe in the power of positive speech to combat the rising tide of anti-Semitism around the world. U.S. Special Envoy Ira Forman is particularly concerned about the institutionalization of anti-Semitism in Hungary and Greece.
Ira Forman, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat anti-Semitism:
"So, I think there's a consensus out there in the world that it’s risen. I think that a lot of people also feel that in the last five years, six years, with the economic downturn, this has probably contributed to anti-Semitism as well."
- Eastern Europe, Greece, Romania, they're really struggling economically and at the same time you've seen the rise of anti-Semitic movements in these same countries. Is this something the U.S. government can tackle? Or what can the U.S. government do to tackle these problems that seem to be coming along hand in hand?
Ira Forman, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat anti-Semitism:
"Well, the problems you reference, particularly I'd say in Hungary and Greece, are very worrisome, I mean, we have parliamentary parties with significant representation in parliament that are anti-Semitic and they have street militia. Now that phenomena we have not seen since the 1930s, since the National Socialists took over Germany. That is frightening. But it is not the 1930s, and there are things that can be done. One is the United States needs to constantly remind our friends that the way we combat this type of hatred is overwhelmingly positive speech. So when something happens, we don't think you can rely on hate speech law or other types of law alone, sometimes if it’s a hate crime, you can't prosecute it. But it's critical that everybody in society, political leaders, institutional leaders, religious leaders, NGO leaders, come out immediately and condemn and make it clear that this society is not represented by its worst elements. That I think is something we can try to encourage and help people get to."
- And earlier, I think it was the French foreign minister, said that he feels that anti-Semitism is changing more into anti-Zionism. Which does speak a little bit to this issue of how this issue is changing. Do you differentiate in your work between anti-Semitism anti-Judaism, and anti-Zionism? Or is this all part of a bigger picture?
Ira Forman, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat anti-Semitism:
"Well, I think there are parts of a bigger picture and I think one has to confront an important point. And in the U.S. government we believe that Israel should be treated like any other nation. That means Israel can be criticized. We criticize at times some of our best friends. Even sometimes criticism we think is wrong is legitimate. The question is where does that criticism cross the line? And we have some markers on that. One is when you de-legitimize Israel - Israel doesn't have a right to exist. When you defame Israel, what Israel is doing the Palestinians is exactly what Nazis did to the Jews. When you use a double standard on Israel, that is when it crosses a line and it is no longer legitimate criticism and it is something that should be deeply censured."
Special Envoy Forman does not believe that anti-Semitism will be solved in his lifetime. That said, the U.S. government continues to engage around the world hoping to combat the ever evolving nature of anti-Semitism.
Priscilla Huff, JN1, U.S. State Department, Washington
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