Israeli anti-terrorism conferences framed Palestinian resistance as Nazi-like terrorism

Evidence

The conference, held in Jerusalem, was organized by the Jonathan Institute, then headed by Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu founded the institute in 1977 and named it after his younger brother Jonathan, who in Netanyahu’s words “fell in the battle against terrorism.” In his opening remarks at the conference, Netanyahu’s father Benzion sought to project Israel’s enemies—Palestinians who had taken up armed struggle for self-determination—as “terrorists” and to rally the rest of the world around the struggle against “terrorism.” The terrorist, Benzion continued, “speaks of ‘humanitarian’ and national causes, he pretends to fight for ‘freedom’ against oppression, he keeps speaking of ‘legitimate rights.’” To counter this, he argued that this terrorist actually has “no moral restraints” and “respects no code of law.” Instead, he belongs in the same camp as Nazis; “in his genocidal attitude he takes toward the societies he assails, whether it is Ireland, Lebanon, or Israel, he is an offshoot of Nazi philosophy.” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 395

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Kumar’s broader thesis about how domestic fear gets mapped onto foreign enemies; ties to Grosfoguel et al. on racialized state projects. — connects to: Zionism conflates Palestinian rights advocacy with antisemitism through racialized stereotypes — Evelyn Alsultany, Antisemitism and Islamophobia The…, 22; Federal investigations of campus bias target antisemitism but ignore Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism. — Evelyn Alsultany, Antisemitism and Islamophobia The…, 26; Anti-Muslim hate replicates anti-Semitic tropes and spreads between targeted groups — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 210 (+4 more)
• SEED: Angle: tracing the genealogy of ‘terrorist equals Nazi’ rhetoric from Benzion Netanyahu to contemporary discourse.

Broader Connections

• Anti-Muslim hate replicates anti-Semitic tropes and spreads between targeted groups #expands (0.55) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 210
• Public anti-Islamophobia stances can function as a cover for pro-Israel politics #complicates (0.50) — Evelyn Alsultany, Antisemitism and Islamophobia The…, 35