Die Art und Weise, wie die Polizei den Fall kolportierte, verstört mich sehr. Der Vorfall mit dem jungen Mann, der mich beschimpfte, das war natürlich schlimm. Aber nichts im Vergleich mit der Gewalt, die von den Polizisten ausging. Sie können es mit der Polizei von Baltimore aufnehmen, die für ihren Rassismus bekannt ist. Schicken Sie ein paar von den Deutschen her, die können der Polizei hier sogar noch etwas beibringen.--Yitzhak Melamed in Berliner Morgenpost. [HT Leiterreports]
I first became aware that something was amiss with Professor Yitzhak Melamed due to the shocking pictures he posted on his Facebook page. For the back-story to quoted comments, see his Facebook update (here); or the reproduction at Leitterreports.
Professor Yitzhak Melamed (Hopkins) is my scholarly contemporaray, we have collaborated together on conferences and edited volumes. We have overlapping academic and intellectual interests (primarily Spinoza and his reception), but also write about the state of Zionism today. We disagree on a lot of philosophical and political matters, but there is considerable mutual respect (I hope). At one point, I hoped we would become colleagues at Syracuse. I have written testimonials to support his application to become an American citizen. Also, I have had the honor to celebrate a memorable Passover-seder at his home once. I consider him my friend, and I hope he recovers from his physical wounds quickly and that his spirit remains stout (go read his report). I state these matters here so that the readers understand that I am not pretending to be impartial.
I wish to discuss three themes: European antisemitism; western European responses to it; and European police brutality.
He was, it seems, initially attacked by an anti-Semitic German, a self-described Palestinian, because he was wearing a yarmulke. Sadly, antisemitic, even physical (and sometimes deadly) hostility toward Jews by the growing Muslim population in Europe is not unusual anymore. Sometimes the hostility is explicitly motivated by anger at Israel, but not always.
This is well publicized by now, and has become part of the European populist and radical right's talking points to channel general hostility to fellow Islamic citizens. They have invented an idea for this: 'imported antisemitism' (as if genocidal antisemitism never existed in Europe). It has also become part (recall) of a by-now-standard Israeli narrative that there is no future for European Jewry in Europe. This point deserves more reflection because rather than trying to protect European Jews in situ, Israel de facto tells us not just that our interests are not taken to be Israel's interests, but that some day, Israel is willing to abandon us if we are foolish enough to stay.
Less well publicized in the English speaking world is that non-Muslim antisemitism and violence is still actually larger than the Muslim kind (especially if we include eastern Europe, which has almost no Muslim citizens.). The non-Muslim anti-Semitic right is on the rise, especially in Germany and Austria; it's in power in Hungary and arguably in Poland. (In Italy and many central European countries, a virulent hostility is directed toward Roma.) There is also an anti-semitic radical European left (which often mixes criticism of Zionism with antisemitic tropes), but while it includes a considerable number of intellectuals--it's for the moment more of a fringe phenomenon (in part due to the collapse of left-wing politics in much of Europe). The EU's unwillingness to defend the values in virtue of which it was founded is worth noting, but a topic for another day.
European governments have done little to address the underlying issues and have arguably made it worse in two ways. First, widely shared anti-Islamic prejudices (sometimes exploited by animal rights, women's rights, and children's rights activists) -- which are by now a relentless feature of public media -- are being turned into (judicially approved) legislation that are making it more difficult for Islamic women to appear in public and for Muslims to practice ritual slaughter and circumcision. It is especially notable that the many high minded public intellectuals and ethicists who defend the various anti-Islamic campaigns fail to reflect on the two-fold obvious effects: the increased subordination and lack of recognition (recall) of Muslims in Europe and the often accidental harming of a Jewish way of life.
Second, policing and prosecution of low level violence against Jews (and low-level violence against recent immigrants) has been a low priority. That Prof. Melamed had to wait for more than 20 minutes for any (and colossally incompetent and misdirected) police protection in the otherwise sleepy town of Bonn is not an aberration. In my home town, Amsterdam, the police (and juridical) response toward foreseeable vandalism against a kosher restaurant can be best described as lacking in diligence. A cynic can be forgiven for thinking that authorities do not mind some hostility toward Jewish targets and subsequent mistrust of Muslim citizens.
Third, in the European political imagination, police brutality is something associated with American TV series or coverage of Black Lives Matter. One reason for this is that Western European police tend to use non-lethal force generally and are, on the whole, much better trained than their over-armed American counterparts. So, it is rare for people to die as a consequence of police activity. But it does not mean that it never happens (in Holland two police officers were recently convicted for 'disproportional violence' that led to the death of Mitch Henriquez).
In fact, I would not be surprised that one reason for the alienation felt by young Muslim men in Europe is the below-the-public-opinion-radar relentless ethnic profiling toward them. My reason for thinking this is connected to European drug policies: tourists often note that in many European cities drug possession is, if not de facto decriminalized, a low priority for police & prosecutors. By contrast, drug trafficking is policed. By allowing huge effective demand to develop while policing supply, the European law enforcement is complicit in turning kids into criminals.
As Professor Melamed experienced, when police are brutal they will claim that the suspect resisted arrest. (Let's stipulate for the sake of argument that's not infrequently the case.) Judges, prosecutors, and public opinion will give officers the benefit of the doubt;* it's rare that their account will be challenged by a witness who will find credibility in the legal or public eye--this is why Professor Melamed's public statements are so important.
* I have prior reason to be concerned about police brutality. A few weeks ago, I signed a letter of protest after excessive police brutality by Amsterdam cops who - at the request of the University of Amsterdam -- attacked entirely peaceful student protesters (who had set up some tents on campus to protest budget cuts) who, it was said, were resisting police orders. This was partially captured on film.
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