Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S)
   
   
 
Special Information Bulletin
        December 2003
   
   
 
Blatant anti-Jewish, anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic Syrian- produced propaganda appearing in and broadcast by the Syrian and Lebanese (Hezbollah) media (2002-2003), intended to inculcate deep hatred for Jews and Israel with no distinction between them.
   
 
Anti-Semitic propaganda in Syrian newspaper cartoons
 

The Zionist-Jewish economic snake taking over the region's natural resources, from the Syrian political newspaper Al-Thawra (October 10, 2003)

The Zionist Jewish wolf savaging the dove of peace, Al-Thawra (October 11, 2003)
 
The identification of the Jews (i.e., the Jewish people, the Zionist movement and the Israelis, especially the Israeli political leadership) with predatory or “inferior” animals such as snakes, wolves and octopi (originating in “classic” European anti-Semitism), or as monkeys, pigs, snakes and dogs (in Islamic anti-Semitism) is meant to condition a reaction of irrational hatred of the Jews among the Arab and Moslem populations. The Jewish people, the Zionist movement and the State of Israel are all frequent targets of Syrian “information,” which does not distinguish between them.
   
 

  General information
 
The Syrian media, which are completely controlled by the Syrian régime , systematically publishes books, articles and cartoons, and produces television shows carrying anti-Semitic messages, usually based on “classic” European anti-Semitic motifs. They are often “exported” to Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority-administered territories and the Arab world at large. The most recent salient example was the TV series called al-Shatat (The Diaspora), which was produced in Syria and broadcast in Lebanon by al-Manar, the Hezbollah TV station, during the holy month of Ramadan, when Moslem television viewing was at its peak.
 
Newspapers
From an op-ed article written by Mahmud ‘Abd al-Rahman entitled “ Israel and False Democracy ,” published in the Syrian daily political newspaper Teshreen on July 9, 2003 : According to al-Rahman, the “imperialist entity” (i.e., the State of Israel) rose on [a base of] cruelty, evil, killing, theft and collaboration with the forces of imperialism. According to the author's claims, that entity, which could not possibly be democratic, uses racism and terrorism and has links with European imperialism. It [Israel] signs treaties and contracts with criminal Fascist and Nazi movements. Al-Rahman questioned the right of the Jews to the land of Israel , saying that the claim spread by Zionism about the historical right of the Jews to Palestine [sic] was false.
 
Excerpts from an op-ed article written by Mohammed Kishk entitled “ Terrorist Orientation and Racism in Zionist Thought ,” published in the Syrian daily political newspaper Teshreen on August 30, 2003: “The political idea behind Zionist terrorism has been part of Judaism since ancient times. The Jews developed a mentality of conspiracy, racial hatred and terrorism. At a later stage they formulated the concept of the Chosen People;” “ According to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion , Jewish warriors should spread fear among the Arabs, the enemies of Zionism ;” “Those are the politics of Zionism based [as they are] on violence, on terrorism and on a sea of pure Arab blood.”

Op-ed article in the Syrian daily newspaper Teshreen and written by Mohammed Kishk,
whose “source of information” was The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (marked with a yellow line).
 
From an op-ed article written by Ghazi Hussein entitled “ Terrorism – a Zionist Industry ,” published in the Syrian daily political newspaper Teshreen on November 9, 2003 : “World Zionism has placed force above rights [and] exploits that force to steal land, natural resources, water and Arab rights;” “ Terrorism is a Zionist industrial product … It sprang up in imperialist and Zionist régimes.”
 
From an op-ed article written by Khalaf ‘Ali Mafaatih entitled “ The Racial Elements in Zionist Ideology ,” published in the Syrian daily political newspaper al-Baath on August 21, 2003 : “Throughout their murky history the Zionist have perpetrated all sorts of terrorist acts, all forms of killings and racial discrimination… It was Zionism that lit the fires of hatred and hostility toward Arabs and Moslems in an attempt to distort their image and conduct a smear campaign against them in the Western media… The two main sources upon which the Zionist movement is based are the Torah [the first five books of the Old Testament] and the Talmud [the collection of Jewish law and tradition]… Zionism is one of the most dangerous forms of racism. Its ideology is based on religious ideas such as the Jews' being the Chosen People. It preaches hatred, racism and the killing of human beings .”
 
A survey of books published in Syria
A book called Talmudic Perceptions – a Jewish Worldview was written by ‘ Abd al-Majid Hamo , who wrote a series of anti-Semitic books and other publications. According to a review in the Syrian daily newspaper Al-Thawra (October 26, 2003), it exposes the deep hatred the Talmud has for the world around it. That hatred stems from the distinction made [in the Talmud] between the Jews (the Chosen People) and the non-Jews, who are described as unclean animals created to be subject to Jewish rule. The Talmud is the inspirational source for Zionist and Jewish ideology, and teaches the Jews to be racist and to hate non-Jews. It relates to the non-Jews as animals created in human image whose purpose is to serve the Jews day and night and to glorify the name of Israel. “The Talmud,” according to the book, “is not a religious document as the Zionists claim nor is it a book of laws, but it is rather a dangerous political document …which determines and defines the way Jews look at and relate to the world and human beings politically, morally and religiously.”
 
‘Abd al-Majid Hamo was a poet, historian and researcher. He was born in 1940 in the Idlib region (northwest of Damascus) and died in November 2001. He wrote “history” books rife with lies, distortions and anti-Semitic motifs. Some of his books which were published in Syria are:

Between Moses and Ezra – How Judaism Grew ( 2002 ). The book is a survey of the “history” of the Jewish people from Moses through the kingdoms of David and Solomon to the era of Ezra. It mentions references to Moses, David and Abraham in the Qur'an. The author claims that the Torah was distorted by the Jews and “finds” signs of racism in Judaism.

The Roots of Judaism in the Face of Historical Criticism ( 2000 ). The book “exposes” Jewish distortions and falsifications of historical facts. The author tries to prove that Zionism is rooted in hatred for the Arabs and that the current [Arab/Palestinian-Israeli] conflict is over the continued existence [or either side] and not borders. He claims that the Torah was not divinely inspired but rather that the Jews wrote it themselves.

The Torah – Distortion and Fraud. Part 1: History (1998) . The author tries to prove, “scientifically,” as it were, that Biblical verses were distorted, forged and falsified because the Bible was written by men and not divinely inspired.

 
A book entitled Zionist Violence – Idea and Application was written by Dr. Jamil Hanna, reviewed in the Syrian daily political newspaper Teshreen on August 30, 2003, and described in the following terms: “ Violence is part and parcel of the Zionist enterprise and its terrorism, it is the foundation for the racism in Zionist ideology and the means of attaining its goals ;” The policy of killing has been a “conspicuously integral attribute of Israeli governmental policy since [the] founding of the State of Israel;” the current (2004) Israeli Prime Minister [Ariel] Sharon is “a terrorist par excellence ” because he “ enjoys [his] barbaric acts ,” which for him are “ a source of pride and in accordance with the general Zionist world view.”
 
A book entitled The Jewish Settlement in Palestine – From Colonialism to Imperialism was written by Dr. Ghazi Hussein and reviewed in the Syrian daily political newspaper al-Baath on October 30, 2003 . According to the review, “ there is a fundamental clash of interests between the imperialist [Jewish] settlement and the indigenous [Arab] population, and the two cannot coexist ;” “History teaches us that traditional imperialist and racist régimes are fated to become extinct and disappear ;” “ Israel is an imperialist creation, founded on racist principles which are contrary to international laws, conventions and treaties;” “It is the Arab position regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that the Jewish occupation of Palestine is an illegal act and that the foreign, alien Jews have no right to or sovereignty over it .”
 
Dr. Ghazi Hussein was born in the Jaffa region in Mandatory Palestine and lives in Syria. He attended high school in Nablus and studied law in Damascus. In 1962 he received an MA in jurisprudence in Germany and in 1966 received a PhD in international law. He taught at the Damascus University law school and in Germany, and served as legal advisor to the presidential palace in Damascus; he was the PLO ambassador to Vienna and represented the PLO at the International Agency for Atomic Energy. He is a member of the Arab Authors Union and the Syrian Studies Association. He has participated in various international conferences dealing with the Palestinian issue and the Israeli-Arab conflict.

He has written many venomous, biased books about Israel, the Jewish people and Zionism. A partial list includes:

 

•  The Arab-Israeli Conflict and International Law (1995)

•  The Middle East and Greater Israel (1995)

•  Greater Israel and Jewish Immigration – A Study (1992)

•  Justice and Peace for Jerusalem (German edition, 1979)

•  Israeli Affronts to Arab Civil Rights (1969)

•  Zionism, a Fascist Racial Ideology (1968; German edition, 1971)

•  Zionism – Sowing and Uprooting (The Arab Authors Union, 1996)

   
Anti-Semitic TV series produced by Syria and broadcast in Lebanon by Hezbollah

During the holy month of Ramadan (October-November, 2003) (when Moslem TV viewing peaks) Al-Manar, the Hezbollah TV channel in Lebanon, broadcast an anti-Semitic series called al-Shatat (The Diaspora) on both its internal and satellite stations. A large-scale production , the Syrians worked round the clock to ensure its completion by the beginning of Ramadan. It consisted of 29 episodes, presented daily, which gave a pseudo-history of the Zionist movement from its beginnings in the 19 th century to the establishment of the State of Israel. The “information” it provided was distorted, basically false and rife with anti-Semitic propaganda and motifs . The last episode was broadcast on November 27, 2003.

 

The series, conceived in the spirit of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion , was full of classic anti-Semitic themes. It focused on the ancient blood libel that the Jews use the blood of Christian children to make Passover matzos (traditional Jewish unleavened bread) and on the “Jewish plot to take over the world.” Following are scenes from episode 20 (broadcast November 19, 2003), which show the Jews discussing the need for a Christian child's blood [sic].

   
 
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Examples of anti-Semitic cartoons which appeared in Syrian newspapers during the past year
   

Al-Thawra, October 10, 2003

Al-Thawra, October 11, 2003
 


Teshreen, February 17, 2003


Teshreen, December 18, 2002


Teshreen, December 10, 2002


Teshreen, December 19, 2002


Teshreen (December 30, 2002)

Anti-Semitism and terror
The cartoonist whose anti-Semitic work appears from time to time in the Syrian daily political newspaper Teshreen has no qualms about encouraging the Palestinians to perpetrate suicide bombing attacks.



Teshreen, December 21, 2002

   
   
 
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