Press TV DEBATE: Anti-Semitism tool for excusing Zionists’ crimes

In this episode of The Debate, Press TV has conducted an interview with Kevin Barrett, an editor with VT from Madison, and Richard Hellman, the president of the Middle East Research Center from Washington, to discuss the suspension of Ken Livingstone, the former mayor of London by UK Labour Party, in response to his anti-Zionism statement.

Kevin Barrett said the term anti-Semitism is a misnomer which has it roots in the early 19th century equation of linguistics with race and, according to him, has been discredited ever since then.

“This notion of anti-Semitism equating with anti-Jewish racism really does not make any sense anymore but since the World War II, persecution of Jews in Germany and the backlash against it afterwards, essentially this concept of anti-Jewish racism equated falsely with the term anti-Semitism,” Barrett said.

This term has become a tool of Zionist power in the world to excuse the Zionist invasion, occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine, he added.

“This false equation of supposedly anti-Jewish prejudice with anybody who is opposing the genocide in Palestine has been used to stifle criticism of the genocide. It has been used to accuse people who oppose the genocide of the Palestinians with racism and in fact these are the Zionists who are racists, who have Jewish superiority state that has been created in Palestine,” Barrett stated.

Richard Hellman said the term Zionism is an old and sacred concept which is mentioned in the Bible and should not be used interchangeably with what he calls as ‘Israelism.’ Zionism has many political, social, religious and cultural implications, Hellman said.