ADL: Goldstone retraction spurs Arab anti-Semitism

Richard Goldstone’s retraction of key findings in his report to the United Nations on the Gaza war has spurred a new round of anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories in the Arab world, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

“Just as the original report was celebrated by Arab cartoonists as ‘proof’ of the evil nature of Israel and Jews, so too has the decision by Judge Richard Goldstone to reconsider his findings inspired another round of hateful caricatures and stereotypes in the Arab Media,” said Abraham Foxman, ADL’s national director. “Newspapers across the Arab world have responded to the Goldstone developments with a series of hideous caricatures, many of them viciously anti-Semitic.”

The Arab cartoons include conspiracy theories suggesting that the Jewish lobby played a sinister role in pressuring Goldstone to change his mind, or accusing Jews and Israelis of attempting to whitewash the report’s findings, the ADL said. The organization also said that several use creative wordplay to suggest that Israel bribed the jurist with “Gold” while hurling “stones” against the Palestinians, or burying dead Palestinians in a shallow grave marked with a “stone.”

A sampling of the cartoons is available on the ADL website.