While there are plenty of genuine criticisms one can make of Israel, they are not the reason for anti-semitism which long predated the State of Israel. One could as well say that racism is caused by people's objections to certain African leaders.

Moreover, I feel that there is a certain type of hostility to Israel that does have roots in antisemitism: not necessarily personal antisemitism by the people who express it, but in old antisemitic traditions that have found modern expression on some websites and other info sources that may at first seem convincing. The type of hostility that I mean does *not* principally involve criticisms of Israeli internal policies, or their treatment of Palestinians, except as fodder for the main theme: Israel is 'controlling' the politics and media of America or other countries. Currently this tends to involve accusations that Israel caused the Iraq war, and may get America (or Britain/Europe) into other wars. This does not stand up to logical scrutiny (among much else, the current Israeli government is barely able to maintain any power *at home*, let alone in faraway countries); but has roots in long traditions of accusation of Jewish groups of controlling other countries - going back at least as far as the 'Protocols', and certainly long before the creation of the State of Israel.

The types of people who hold such views often have other xenophobic views as well. Racism of all sorts; blaming 'immigrants' for everything; assuming a vast Muslim conspiracy; intense hatred of international groupings such as the UN or EU - are all aspects of the same sort of attitude, and may well be held simultaneously. Certainly, organizations such as the BNP, National Front, and Stormfront tend to combine lots of these views.

www.axt.org.uk

www.searchlightmagazine.com