“Israel is the new Jew” reads a February 10 headline in the National Post. A Globe and Mail opinion piece by Margaret Wente questions the motives of unions that pass motions criticizing Israeli policy. Zionists on the right, and even some on the left, claim antipathy to Israel can only be understood as anti-Semitism.

Yet left-wing political parties and their supporters around the world have become increasingly vocal in their criticisms of Israel. Does this mean “the left,” an historical opponent of racism, has recently become anti-Semitic?

My answer is no, with a minor caveat.

It is likely that there are individuals who use left-wing opposition to Israel as a cover for their anti-Semitism. The primary reason to be “against Zionism,” though, is honestly held, long-standing, anti-racist and anti-imperialist conviction.

First, the left has always been in favour of secular rather than religious states. Historically, the majority of left-wing Jews were anti-Zionist for that reason. As a minority population, most Jews well understood the dangers of a state religion that required religious allegiance in order to be a full participant in the system. They were frequently victims of this kind of Christian intolerance. Left-wing critics of Zionism claim it represents a defeat for the humanist ideal that all people can learn to live together as equal citizens in secular, democratic states. Israel is seen in this context as the modern recreation of the ghetto.

But what’s going on now is new. The real explanation for the recent growth of anti-Israel sentiment among progressives is the perception that Israel has become the American imperial attack dog. Anyone who follows world news knows that Israel and the U.S. are close allies and that a “special relationship” has long existed between the two countries. Prior to the 1967 war, an Israeli pre-emptive attack launched in the name of self-defence that dealt a massive blow to Arab nationalism, the Americans provided Israel with some funds. However, since that war, in which Israel proved itself militarily adept, the amount of cash has dramatically increased.

Recently, Israel asked the U.S. for an extra $4 billion in military aid to defray the costs of fighting the ongoing Palestinian uprising, as well as $8 billion in loan guarantees to help its struggling economy. This is an astonishing sum since the U.S. government only givesabout $15 billion annually in foreign aid, nearly $3 billion of which already goes to Israel. According to the Christian Science Monitor, “since 1973, Israel has cost the United States about $1.6 trillion. If divided by today’s population, that is more than $5,700 per person [in America].”

Though most of this is not direct government aid, a great deal is. Approximately fifty per cent of Israeli debt is secured by the U.S. government, which allows Israel with its massive government debt, to borrow on the world market at a significantly reduced rate.The U.S. has also underwritten much of Israel’s domestic armaments industry. This is important, since arms sales provide Israel with half of its manufacturing exports.

Similarly, “between 1994-2001 the U.S. provided many [free] weaponsincluding: 64,744 M-16A1 rifles; 2,469 M-204 grenade launchers; 1,500 M-2 .50 caliber machine guns; .30 caliber, .50 caliber, and 20mm ammunition” (Foreign Policy in Focus.)In addition to financial support, the U.S. on countless occasions has vetoed U.N. Security Council resolutions denouncing the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

On the other end, we hear little about what the U.S. receives from Israel. Some claim that the special relationship exists because Israel is a democracy. The claim to democracy itself is debatable since millions of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation are not granted voting rights. But, more importantly, America’s track record for supporting for representative government around the world has been haphazard at best; the U.S. government is just as likely to undermine a democracy as support it. In 1973, the same year U.S. military aid to Israel increased, the CIA orchestrated the overthrow of Salvador Allende, Chile’s democratically elected president. The 1950s saw an American-sponsored removal of an elected Guatemalan government and in the following decade an elected government in the Dominican Republic met the same fate.

Lest some believe this behaviour is just ancient history, this past April the Americans funded and consolidated the Venezuelan opposition, which briefly ousted twice democratically elected President Hugo Chavez.

No, the reason for the “special relationship” between Israel and the U.S. is unlikely to be as simple as a commitment to democracy. Some, primarily conspiracy theorists of one sort or another, argue that a powerful “Jewish lobby” in the U.S. explains the relationship. But, the more reasonable explanation is that the U.S. funds Israel for military and geo-political motives.

In the 1967 war, Israel helped to defeat Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s pan-Arab ambitions, which potentially threatened U.S. interests. Over the past few decades, Israel did the dirty work that the U.S. military establishment had a hard time getting by Congress. In the 1980s, Israel helped the American-backed regimes in Guatemala and El Salvador. Similarly, they funnelled weapons to apartheid-era South Africa.

And take the case of Carlos Castano, the most ruthless right-wing paramilitary leader in Latin America’s history. He went from Colombia to Israel in 1983 to learn the tricks of his trade. In Castano’s words he, “received lectures on how the world arms business operates, and how to buy arms. I received instruction in urban strategies, how to protect oneself, how to kill someone, or what to do when someone is trying to kill you, depending on the situation. We learned how to stop an armoured car and use fragmentation grenades to break through and enter into a target. We practiced with multiple grenade launchers, and learned how to make accurate shots with RPG-7s, or shoot a cannon shell through a window.”

According to Jeremy Bigwood writing on Znet, “Carlos’ training was clearly done with the express permission of the highest authorities of the Israeli Defense Forces.” Today, Castano is the leader of Colombia’s (No. 3 recipient of U.S. “aid” at approximately $1 billion annually) 9,000-strong paramilitary force, which reportedly kill up to twenty civilians per day.

Apologists for American imperialism may believe Israel is a good and loyal ally. But those of us who disagree with U.S. imperialism, also must criticize Israel. That makes us consistent, not anti-Semitic.

Yves Engler

Dubbed “Canada’s version of Noam Chomsky” (Georgia Straight), “one of the most important voices on the Canadian Left” (Briarpatch), “in the mould of I. F. Stone” (Globe and Mail), “part...