This morning, I was cataloging "The Encyclopedia of Race and Racism"
(Gale, 2008) andas I flipped through the pagescame across an
article in the third volume on Zionism that insinuates that Zionism
is a form of racism.
Among the things he claims on the first page of the article:
· "Because it defines Jew not by religious observance,
language, place of birth, or culture, but by descent, Zionism is an
ideology of race." (Last time I checked, anyone can become a Jew
through conversion so the claim that Zionists define Jews solely by
descent is completely inaccurate, especially since those things by
which he claims we don't identify ourselves are the very things by
which we do!)
· "The policy of attaching more importance to the
establishment of Israel than to the survival of the Jews (which was
consistent with the Zionist rejection of assimilation) led the
Zionists to collaborate with the Nazis (with whom they shared the
belief that Jews were a racial community based on blood) in promoting
Jewish emigration to Palestine." (Where have I read this claim
before? Oh right! Abu Mazzen!)
· "In the war that ensued, the Zionist forces, trained and
equipped by Britain and with additional arms from other countries,
were easily able to defeat the outnumbered and outgunned forces of
Jordan, Egypt and four other Arab states, whose rulers had already
accepted the partition of Palestine." (What?!!!)
Were this article an opinion piece contained in a magazine or some
collection of essays, I would have no problem adding it to my college
library's collection despite its anti-Semitic tone. I do not believe
in censorshipeveryone deserves to be heard. However, this article
purports to represent factual information and appears in a reference
source from a trusted publisher. I think this is going to sit on my
to-do shelf for a bit while I figure out whether my ethical
obligation is to put all items out there for our users or to put
factual items out there for them.
This is just an FYI to anyone whose library might be ordering this
item and/or to anyone in AJL who might want to write Gale to complain.
"Zionism is Racism" is racism.
Steven
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Steven Jay Bernstein
Assistant Catalog Librarian
Elihu Burritt Library
Central Connecticut State University
1615 Stanley Street
New Britain, Connecticut 06050
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PHONE: (860) 832-2079
FAX: (860) 832-2053
E-MAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
WEBSITE: http://www.ccsu.edu/library/bernstein
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