Anti-Arabism

Anti-Arabism or Arabophobia is prejudice or hostility against people of Arabic origin. Anti-Arabism is commonly associated with Islamophobia [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/race/story/0,11374,1120849,00.html The Guardian: Islamophobia should be as unacceptable as racism] ] although there are non-Muslim religious minorities among the Arabs, predominantly Arab Christians.

Historical anti-Arabism

Anti-Arab prejudice has been present in Europe and the Americas for centuries. In Spain, Arabs have been targeted since the 15th century fall of Granada, the last Arab state in Al-Andalus. Arab converts to Christianity, called Moriscos, were expelled by the decree of 1610 from Spain to North Africa after being persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition. The Spanish word "moro" was created to designate Arabs and carries a very negative meaning.cite journal |last=Echebarria-Echabe |first=Agustín |coauthors=Emilia Fernández Guede |year=2007 |month=May |title=A New Measure of Anti-Arab Prejudice: Reliability and Validity Evidence |journal=Journal of Applied Social Psychology |volume=37 |issue=5 |pages=1077–1091 |doi=10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00200.x]

After the annexation of the Muslim-ruled state of Hyderabad by India in 1948, about 7,000 Arabs were interned and deported. [ [http://www.al-bab.com/bys/articles/freitag99.htm British-Yemeni Society: Hadhrami migration in the 19th and 20th centuries] ]

The Zanzibar Revolution of January 12, 1964 put an end to the local Arab dynasty. As many as 17,000 Arabs were massacred by the descendants of black African slaves, according to reports, and thousands of others were detained and their property either confiscated or destroyed. [ [http://channel4.empireschildren.co.uk/category/chapters/index.php?chapter=472&cat=3 Country Histories - Empire's Children] ] [cite web |url=http://whosfaultisit.blogspot.com/2006/09/homemade-genocide-arab-world-is.html |title=A Homemade Genocide |last=Heartman |first=Adam |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2006-09-26 |publisher=Who's Fault Is It?] [ [http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/zulu/zanzibar1964.htm Zanzibar Revolution 1964] ]

In "The Arabic Language and National Identity: a Study in Ideology", Yasir Suleiman notes of the writing of Tawfiq al-Fikayki that he uses the term "shu'ubiyya" to refer to movements he perceives to be anti-Arab, such as the Turkification movement in the Ottoman Empire, communism, Anton Saada's Syrian Social Nationalist party, Egyptian nationalism and Lebanese nationalism. In al-Fikayki's view, the objectives of anti-Arabism are to attack Arab nationalism, pervert history, emphasize Arab regression, deny Arab culture and generally be hostile to all things Arab. He concludes that, "In all its various roles, anti-Arabism has adopted a policy of intellectual conquest as a means of penetrating Arab society and combatting Arab nationalism."cite book|title="The Arabic Language and National Identity: A Study in Ideology"|author=Yasir Suleiman|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2003|page=238|isbn=0748617078]

Modern anti-Arabism

Algeria

Anti-Arabism is a major element of movements known as Berberism that are widespread mainly amongst Algerians of Kabyle and other Berber origin; it has historic roots as Arabs are seen as invaders that occupied Algeria and destroyed its late Roman and early medieval civilisation that was considered as an integral part of the West; this invasion is considered to have been the source of the resettlement of Algeria's Berber population in Kabylia and other mountainuous areas; regardless of this the Kabyles and other Berbers have managed to preserve their culture and achieve higher standards of living and education when compared to Algerian Arabs; furthermore many Berbers speak their language and French, are non religious, secular or Evangelical Christian and openly identify with the Western World; many Berber Nationalists view Arabs as a hostile people intent on eradicating their own culture and nation.It is a usually a taboo amongst Berbers to marry someone from the Arab ethnic group, although it is permitted to marry someone from other ethnicities.There are regular Hate incidents between Arabs and Berbers and Anti-Arabism has been accentuated by the Algerian governments anti-Berber policies and violent actions as well as by Islamist (Arab) terror acts against Berbers.

Australia

The Cronulla riots in Sydney, Australia in December 2005 have been described as "anti-Arab racism" by community leaders. [cite journal |last=Ansley |first=Greg |date=2005-12-16 |title=1000 extra police officers ready for Sydney lockdown |journal=The New Zealand Herald |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c_id=1501019&ObjectID=10360218] NSW Premier Morris Iemma said the violence revealed the "ugly face of racism in this country". [cite journal |last=Brown |first=Malcolm |coauthors=Dan Silkstone |date=2005-12-13 |title=Fresh violence rocks Sydney |journal=The Age |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/riots-fire-debate-on-racism/2005/12/12/1134236003072.html]

A 2004 report by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission said that more than two-thirds of Muslim and Arab Australians say they have experienced racism or racial vilification since the September 11 terrorist attacks and that 90% of female respondents experienced racial abuse or violence. [cite journal |last=Delaney |first=Brigid |coauthors=Cynthia Banham |date=2004-06-17 |title=Muslims feel the hands of racism tighten around them |journal=The Sydney Morning Herald |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/16/1087244979369.html |accessdate=2006-04-08]

France

France used to be a colonial empire, with still great post-colonial power over its former colonies, has used Africa as a reservoir for labor, especially in moments of dire need. During World War I, reconstruction and shortages made France bring over thousands of African workers. Out of a total of 116,000 workers from 1914-1918, 78, 000 Algerians, 54, 000 Moroccans and Tunisians were requistioned. Two hundred and forty thousand Algerians were mobilized or drafted, and two thirds of these were soldiers who served mostly in France. This constituted more than one-third of the men of those nations from ages 20-40. [Alain Gillette and Abdelmalek Sayadm L'immigration algerienne en France (Parus: Editions Entente, 1984), p. 50.] According to historian Abdallah Laroui, Algeria sent 173,000 soldiers, 25,000 of whom were killed. Tunisia sent 56,000, of whom 12,000 were killed. Moroccan soldiers helped defend Paris and landed at Bordeaux in 1916. [Abdallah Laroui, History of the Maghreb (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977, 351-12)]

After the war, reconstruction and labor shortages necessitated even larger number of Algerian laborers. Migration (or the need for labor) was reestablished at a high level by 1936. This was partly the result pf collective recruitments in the villages conducted by French officers and representatives of companies. Labor recruitment continued throughout the 1940s. Africans were mostly recruited for dangerous and low-wage jobs, unwanted by ordinary French workers. [Georges Mauco, Les etrangers en France: leur role dans l'activite economique (Paris: Armand Colin, 1932), p. 170; and Neil McMaster, Colonial Migrants and Racism: Algerians in Francem 1900-1962 (New York: St Martin's Press, 1997), p. 67.]

This large number of immigrants was of great help for France's rapid post-World War II economic growth. The 1970s were marked by recession followed by the cessation of labor migration programs and crackdowns on illegal immigration. During the 1980s, political disfavor with President Mitterand's social programs led to the rise of Jean-Marie Le Pen and other far right French nationalists. The public increasingly blamed immigrants for French economic problems. In March 1990, according to a poll reported in Le Monde, 76% of those polled said that there were too many Arabs in France while 46% said there were too many blacks); 39% said they had an "aversion" to Arabs and 21% had an aversion to blacks). [cite journal |last=Dwyer |first=Katherine |year=1997 |title=France's New Nazis: The Resistible Rise of Jean-Marie LePen |journal=International Socialist Review |issue=2 |issn=0020-8744
url=http://www.isreview.org/issues/02/LePen.shtml] In the following years, Interior Minister Charles Pasqua was noted for dramatically toughening immigration laws. [http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?id=266 "The Challenge of French Diversity"] , Kimberly Hamilton, Migration Policy Institute, Patrick Simon, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED), Clara Veniard, Migration Policy Institute.]

In May 2005, riots broke out between North Africans and Roma people in Perpignan, after a young Arab man was shot dead and another Arab man was lynched by a group of Roma. [cite news |title='Race killing' sparks French riot |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4594019.stm |publisher=BBC |date=2005-05-30] [cite news |first=Megan |last=Rowling |title=French riots borne of mutual exclusion |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=12707 |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=2005-06-06]

Chirac's controversial "Hijab ban" law, presented as secularization of schools, was interpreted by its critics as an "indirect legitimization of anti-Arab stereotypes, fostering rather than preventing racism"

Iran

The constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran provides for the teaching of non- at Austin, 2004] It is claimed by some, that anti-Arabism in Iran may be related to the notion that Arabs forced Persians to convert to Islam in 7th century AD ("See: Islamic conquest of Persia"). Author Richard Foltz in his article "Internationalization of Islam" states "Even today, many Iranians perceive the Arab destruction of the Sassanid Empire as the single greatest tragedy in Iran’s long history. [cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encarta |title=Internationalization of Islam |url=http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_1741575641/Internationalization_of_Islam.html] ("See also: Anti-Persian sentiments") Following the Islamic Conquest of Persia, many Iranians (also known as "mawali") came to despise the Umayyads due to discrimination against them by their Arab rulers. The Shu'ubiyah movement was intended to reassert Iranian identity and resist attempts to impose Arab culture while reaffirming their commitment to Islam.

More recently, anti-Arabism has arisen as a consequence of aggression against Iran by the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. During a visit to Khuzestan, which has most of Iran's Arab population, a British journalist, John R. Bradley, wrote that despite the fact that the majority of Arabs supported Iran in the war, "ethnic Arabs complain that, as a result of their divided loyalties during the Iran-Iraq war, they are viewed more than ever by the clerical regime in Tehran as a potential fifth column, and suffer from a policy of discrimination." [ [http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/786/re7.htm Al-Ahram Weekly | Region | Ethnicity versus theocracy ] ] Verify credibility|date=February 2008 However, Iran's Arab population played an important role in defending Iran during the Iran-Iraq war and most refused to heed Saddam Hussein's call for an uprising and instead fought against their fellow Arabs. [cite web |url=http://www.iranchamber.com/history/iran_iraq_war/iran_iraq_war1.php |title=Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988 |author= |work=History of Iran |publisher=Iran Chamber Society] Furthermore, Iran's former defense minister Ali Shamkhani, an Ahwazi Arab, was chief commander of the ground force during the Iran-Iraq War as well as serving as first deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In a report published in February 2006, Amnesty International claimed that the "Arab population of Iran is one of the most economically and socially deprived in Iran" and that Arabs have "reportedly been denied state employment under the "gozinesh" [job placement] criteria." Furthermore, it states:"land expropriation by the Iranian authorities is reportedly so widespread that it appears to amount to a policy aimed at dispossessing Arabs of their traditional lands. This is apparently part of a strategy aimed at the forcible relocation of Arabs to other areas while facilitating the transfer of non-Arabs into Khuzestan and is linked to economic policies such as zero-interest loans which are not available to local Arabs."

Critics of such reports have pointed out that they are often based on sketchy sources and are not always to be trusted at face value (see: Criticism of human rights reports on Khuzestan). Furthermore, critics point out that Arabs have social mobility in Iran, with a number of famous Iranians from the worlds of arts, sport, literature and politics having Arab origins (see: Famous Iranian Arabs) illustrating Arab-Iranian participation in Iranian economics, society, and politics. They contend that Khuzestan province, where most of Iran's Arabs live, is actually one of the more economically advanced provinces of Iran, more so than many of the Persian-populated provinces.

Some critics of the Iranian government contend that it is carrying out a policy of anti-Arab ethnic cleansing. [cite web |url=http://www.cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=A&Id=1626 |title=Ahmanidejad's Jihad |author= |last=Casaca |first=Paulo |authorlink=Paulo Casaca |date=2006-01-19 |publisher=Café Babel] [cite web |url=http://zope06.v.servelocity.net/hjs/sections/middleeast/document.2006-03-07.9070964039 |title=While the West fiddles, Iran's people... |last=Frampton |first=Martyn |date=2006-03-07 |publisher=Henry Jackson Society] While there has been large amounts of investment in industrial projects such as the "Razi Petrochemical Complex", [ [http://branch.isna.ir/mainkhouzestan/PicView.aspx?Pic=Pic-40262-1 ISNA - PicView ] ] local universities, [ [http://www.ajums.ac.ir/ دانشگاه علوم پزشکی و خدمات درمانی جندی شاپور اهواز ] ] [ [http://www.cua.ac.ir/ welcome to cua.ac.ir ] ] [ [http://www.put.ac.ir/WebUI/uniform/Default.aspx دانشگاه صنعت نفت ] ] and other national projects such as hydroelectric dams (such as the Karkeh Dam, which cost $700 million to construct) and nuclear power plants, [cite news |title=Iran to build new nuclear plant |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4498932.stm |publisher=BBC] many critics of Iran's economic development policies have pointed to the poverty suffered by Arabs in Khuzestan as proof of an anti-Arab policy agenda. Following his visit to Khuzestan in July 2005, UN Special Rapporteur for Adequate Housing Miloon Kothari spoke of how up to 250,000 Arabs had been displaced by such industrial projects and noted the favorable treatment given to settlers from Yazd compared to the treatment of local Arabs. [http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=48518]

However, it is also true that non-Arab provinces such as Kohkiluyeh and Buyer Ahmad Province, Sistan and Baluchistan Province, and neighboring Ilam Province also suffer high levels of poverty, indicating that government policy is not disadvantaging Arabs alone but other regions, including some with large ethnically Persian populations. Furthermore, most commentators agree that Iran's state-controlled and highly subsidized economy [cite web |url=http://www.iran-daily.com/1384/2415/html/focus.htm |title=Economic Focus |date=2005-11-01 |publisher=Islamic Republic News Agency] [cite news |author=Agence France-Presse |title=Iran on rough road to WTO membership |url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=15634 |publisher=The Daily Star |date=2005-06-04] is the main reason behind the inability of the Iranian government to generate economic growth and welfare at ground levels in all cities across the nation, rather than a state ethnic policy targeted specifically at Arabs; Iran is ranked 156th on the Heritage Foundation's 2006 Index of Economic Freedom.

In the Iranian education system ,after primary education cycle (grades 1-5 for children 6 to 11 years old), passing some Arabic courses is mandatory until the end of secondary education cycle (grade 6 to Grade 12, from age 11 to 17).In higher education System (universities), passing Arabic language courses is selective [ [http://www.iran-embassy-oslo.no/embassy/educat.htm Iranian embassy information page] ] [ [http://edu.tebyan.net/textbooks/0084/index.htm Iranian book of Arabic education] ] .

Czech Republic

On Sept. 2008, Muslims have been complaining about anti-Arabism and Islamophobia in the Czech Republic [ [http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/418/czech_national_news/27759/&cid=0&ei=lLrGSNK7G5mmwAHRxKekAw&usg=AFQjCNFbmS2-ll3YpPHrD0_0y9IklHh4Wg] ]

Great Britain

In 2008 A foreign Arab was attacked in the UK, he was called "Saddam Hussein" and "Bin Laden!!" [ [http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/justice/article1606049.ece] ] .

Israel

Characterizing the anti-Arabism of Oriental Jews (Mizrahi and Sephardic) as "vociferous", Conor Cruise O'Brien in "The Siege: The Saga of Israel and Zionism" writes that, "Anti-Arabism is, for obvious reasons, very widespread in Israel, among all Jews," cite book|title="The Siege: The Saga of Israel and Zionism"|author=Conor Cruise O'Brien|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=1986|pages=360|isbn=0671600443]

During the latter part of the Arab riots in October 2000 events, thousands of Jewish Israelis counter-rioted in Nazareth and Tel Aviv, throwing stones at Arabs, destroying Arab property and chanting "Death to Arabs". [cite news |title=The Or Inquiry - Summary of Events |url=http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=96428&contrassID=3&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y |publisher=Haaretz |date=2000-09-12 |accessdate=2006-04-08] "Haaretz" editorialized that that year's "Yom Kippur will be infamous for the violent, racist outburst by Jews against Arabs within Israel". [cite news |title=Anti-Arab riots spark Israeli soulsearching |publisher=BBC |date=2000-10-11 |accessdate=2006-04-08|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/966980.stm]

The Israeli political party Israel Beytenu, whose platform includes the redrawing of Israel's borders so that about 500,000 Israeli Arabs would be outside them, and under the jurisdiction of a future Palestinian State, won 11 seats in the 2006 Israeli elections. This policy, also known as the Lieberman Plan, has been described as "anti-Arab" by "The Guardian".cite news |title=41% of Israel's Jews favour segregation |first=Chris |last=McGreal |publisher=The Guardian |date=2006-03-04 |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1738508,00.html] Labour Party chairman Amir Peretz, referring to Yisrael Beitenu, has said "Anyone who opposes racism must not let the extreme right-wing bloc run Israel" [http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArtStEng.jhtml?itemNo=698848&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&title='title'] Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of Israel Beitenu, was later given the position of Minister of Strategic Threats by Ehud Olmert.Guardian columnist Jonathan Steele has described Lieberman's politics as "anti-Arab racism", quoting Arab MK Ahmed Tibi who has released racist anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli statements describing Lieberman as "a very dangerous and sophisticated politician who has won his support through race hatred". [cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Steele |authorlink=Jonathan Steele |author= |coauthors= |title=The rise of the rightwinger who takes his cue from Putin |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1937015,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12 |publisher=The Guardian |date=2006-11-02]

Some Israeli politicians and leaders have used negative language when discussing Arabs and Palestinians. In 2004, Yehiel Hazan, a member of the Knesset, declared at the Knesset that "The Arabs are worms. You find them everywhere like worms, underground as well as above." and went on to describe them as "murderers" and "terrorists". [ [http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=8245 Israeli MP: Arabs are worms] ] [cite press release |title=ADL Dismayed At Offensive Remarks Made By Member of Israeli Knesset |publisher=Anti-Defamation League |date=2004-12-14 |url=http://www.adl.org/PresRele/IslME_62/4602_62] Rafael Eitan, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, said on 12 April 1983 that Palestinians who endanger cars on the road should be treated aggressively and their freedom of movement should be narrowed until they will be like "drugged cockroaches in a bottle". In 2004, then Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim asked "What is it about Islam as a whole and the Palestinians in particular? Is it some form of cultural deprivation? Is it some genetic defect? There is something that defies explanation in this continued murderousness." [cite news |first=Yair |last=Ettinger |title=Boim: Is Palestinian terror caused by a genetic defect? |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=397851 |publisher=Haaretz]

Moshe Feiglin, a Likud activist who lives in an West Bank Israeli settlement, stated to "the New Yorker": “You can’t teach a monkey to speak and you can’t teach an Arab to be democratic. You’re dealing with a culture of thieves and robbers. Muhammad, their prophet, was a robber and a killer and a liar. The Arab destroys everything he touches.”. [cite news |first=Jeffrey |last=Goldberg |authorlink=Jeffrey Goldberg |title=Among the Settlers |url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/31/040531fa_fact2_a |publisher=The New Yorker |date=2004-05-31] In Hebron, the slogans "Arabs to the crematoria" and "Arabs - sub-humans" were once spray-painted on a wall, and anti-Arab graffiti has been spraypainted in Jerusalem. Leftists have noted that this graffiti remains for long periods of time compared to others, and have therefore painted swastikas beside the graffiti in order to hasten the city to take action. [http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=255169&contrassID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y]

A comic strip for children was carried in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish weekly, Sh'a Tova, that negatively depicted Arabs, and made the statement, "Yes, a good Arab is a dead Arab." [http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.html?tbl=RSDCOI&id=437c9cec32&count=2 U.S. Department of State Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 2005 - Israel and the Occupied Territories - November 2005] ]

In the article "The Arab Image in Hebrew School Textbooks" by professor Dan Bar-Tal of the Tel Aviv University makes a study of 124 textbooks used in Israeli schools and reports that "over the years, generations of Israeli Jews were taught a negative and often delegitimizing view of Arabs." The two main traits of Arabs in the textbooks are "primitiveness, inferiority in comparison to Jews" and "their violence, to characteristics like brutality, untrustworthiness, cruelty, fanaticism, treacherousness and aggressiveness.". In the 1980s and 1990s "Geography books for the elementary and junior high schools stereotype Arabs negatively, as primitive, dirty, agitated, aggressive, and hostile to Jews … history books in the elementary schools hardly mention Arabs … history textbooks of the high schools, the majority of which cover the Arab-Jewish conflict, stereotype the Arabs negatively. Arabs are presented as intransigent and uncompromising." [cite news |first=Lionel |last=Traubman |title=Reports on Palestinian kids’ hatred grossly exaggerated |url=http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/21480/format/html/displaystory.html |publisher=The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California |date=2004-02-06] [cite news |title=Israeli Textbooks and Children’s Literature Promote Racism and Hatred Toward Palestinians and Arabs |url=http://www.mideastjournal.com/israelitextbooks6.html]

The Bedouin claim they face discrimination and have submitted a counter-report to the United Nations that disputes the Israeli Government's official state report. They claim they are not treated as equal citizens in Israel and that Bedouin towns are not provided the same level of services or land that Jewish towns of the same size are and they are not given fair access to water. The city of Be'er Sheva refused to recognize a Bedouin holy site, despite a High Court recommendation. [cite news |title=Bedouin ask UN to help fight systemic discrimination in Israel |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/734096.html |publisher=Haaretz |date=2006-07-03]

Israeli Arabs complain of racism and discrimination and community leaders have said they will draw up a blacklist of grievances. The decision to draw up this list was taken after the terrorist attack of Eden Natan Zada. "This was a planned terror attack and we find it extremely difficult to treat it as an individual action," Abed Inbitawi, an Israeli-Arab spokesman, told The Jerusalem Post. "It marks a certain trend that reflects a growing tendency of fascism and racism in Israeli society generally as well as the establishment towards the minority Arab community," he said. [cite news |first=David |last=Rudge |title=Israeli Arabs: Israel is racist |url=http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/000267.php |publisher=The Jerusalem Post |date=2005-08-11]

Often Israeli-Arab soccer players face chants from the crowd when they play such as "No Arabs, No Terrorism". [cite news |title=Israeli's World Cup hopes saved by ... Arabs |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7349701 |publisher=Associated Press |date=2005-04-01]

Abbas Zakur, an Arab Member of the Knesset, was stabbed by a gang speaking Russian-accented Hebrew who shouted anti-Arab chants. The attack was part of a "stabbing rampage" and was described as a "hate crime". [cite news |title=Acre gang stabs, lightly wounds MK Abbas Zakur in hate crime |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/744039.html |date=2006-07-30 |publisher=Haaretz]

In 2006, a research institute poll reported that 41% of Israelis were in favour of Arab-Israeli segregation, 40% believed "the state needs to support the emigration of Arab citizens," and 63% believed Arabs to be a "security and demographic threat" to Israel. The data went on to report more than two thirds would not want to live in the same building as an Arab, 36% believed Arab culture to be inferior, and 18% felt hatred when they heard Arabic spoken.

In 2007 the Association for Civil Rights in Israel released a report claiming that the expression of anti-Arab views had doubled, and anti-Arab racist incidents had increased by 26%. [cite news |title=Israeli anti-Arab racism 'rises' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7136068.stm |date=2007-12-10 |publisher=BBC] The report quoted polls that suggested, 50% of Jewish Israelis do not believe Arab citizens of Israel should have equal rights, 50% said they wanted the government to encourage Arab emigration from Israel, and 75% of Jewish youths said Arabs were less intelligent and less clean than Jews.

In 2008 Arab Association for Human Rights reported that several parent removed their children from a daycare centre after they found out that a 16 month old boy was an Arab. [ [http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9283.shtml EI: Toddlers not immune from discrimination in Israel] ]

"See also: Israeli Arab Discrimination"

"See also: Anti-Jewish Arabism"

Ivory Coast

In 2004, the Young Patriots of Abidjan, a strongly nationalist organisation, rallied by the State media, plundered possessions of foreign nationals in Abidjan. Calls for violence against whites and non-Ivorians were broadcast on national radio and TV after the Young Patriots seized control of its offices. Rapes, beatings, and murders of white expatriates and local Lebanese followed. Thousands of expatriates and ethnic Lebanese fled. The attacks drew international condemnation. [cite news |title=The night westerners were hunted for being white |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/11/19/wapp19.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/11/19/ixnewstop.html |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |date=2004-11-19] [cite book |author=Handloff, Robert E., ed. |title=Ivory Coast: A Country Study |series=Country Studies |year=1988 |publisher=GPO for the Library of Congress |location=Washington |chapter=Ivory Coast - The Levantine Community |chapterurl=http://countrystudies.us/ivory-coast/72.htm]

Niger

In October 2006, the government of Niger announced that it would deport the Arabs living in the Diffa region of eastern Niger to Chad. [cite news |title=Niger starts mass Arab expulsions |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6087048.stm |publisher=BBC |date=2006-10-26] This population numbered about 150,000. [cite news |title=Niger's Arabs say expulsions will fuel race hate |url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L25138454.htm |publisher=Reuters |date=2006-10-25] While the government was rounding Arabs in preparation for the deportation, two girls died, reportedly after fleeing government forces, and three women suffered miscarriages. Niger's government had eventually suspended the controversial decision to deport Arabs. [cite news |title=Niger's Arabs to fight expulsion |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6081416.stm |publisher=BBC |date=2006-10-25] [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants World Refugee Survey 2007 - Niger |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=469638881e |format= |work= |publisher=US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants |id= |pages= |page= |date=2007-07-11]

United States of America

William A. Dorman, writing in the compedium "The United States and the Middle East: A Search for New Perspectives" (1992) notes that whereas "anti-Semitism is no longer socially acceptable, at least among the educated classes. No such social sanctions exist for anti-Arabism."cite book|title="The United States and the Middle East: A Search for New Perspectives"|author=William A. Dorman|editor=Hooshang Amirahmadi|year=1992|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=0791412253|page=302]

Philosopher Ayn Rand displayed strong (and sometimes ill-informed) anti-Arab feelings, which she sought to instill among her followers: "The Arabs are one of the least developed cultures. They are typically nomads sic. Their culture is primitive, and they resent Israel because it's the sole beachhead of modern science and civilization on their continent sic. When you have civilized men fighting savages, you support the civilized men, no matter who they are." [Ayn Rand Ford Hall Forum lecture, 1974, text published on the website of The Ayn Rand Institute [http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=media_america_at_war_israeli_arab_conflict] ] .

During the 1991 Gulf war, anti-Arab sentiments increased in the United States.cite journal |last=Oswald |first=Debra L. |year=2005 |month=September |title=Understanding Anti-Arab Reactions Post-9/11: The Role of Threats, Social Categories, and Personal Ideologies |journal=Journal of Applied Social Psychology |volume=35 |issue=9 |pages=1775–1799 |doi=10.1111/j.1559-1816.2005.tb02195.x] Arab Americans have experienced a backlash as result of terrorist attacks, including events where Arabs were not involved, like the Oklahoma City bombing, the Iranian hostage crisis, and the explosion of TWA Flight 800.cite web |url=http://www.humanitykingdom.com/library/general/arab-american.pdf |title=Arab American Institute 2001 report submitted to the United States Commission on Civil Rights |format=PDF |publisher=Arab American Institute ] According to a report prepared by the Arab American Institute, three days after the Oklahoma City bombing "more than 200 serious hate crimes were committed against Arab Americans and American Muslims. The same was true in the days following September 11."

According to a 2001 poll of Arab Americans conducted by the Arab American Institute, "32% of Arab Americans reported having been subjected to some form of ethnic-based discrimination during their lifetimes, 20% reported having experienced an instance of ethnic-based discrimination since September 11. Of special concern, for example, is the fact that 45% of students and 37% of Arab Americans of the Muslim faith report being targeted by discrimination since September 11.

According to the FBI and Arab groups, the number of attacks against Arabs, Muslims, and others mistaken as such rose considerably after the 9/11 attacks. [ [http://cfrterrorism.org/policy/hatecrimes.html Terrorism - Council on Foreign Relations ] ] Hate crimes against people of Middle Eastern origin or descent increased from 354 attacks in 2000, to 1,501 attacks in 2001. Among the victims of the backlash was a Middle Eastern man in Houston, Texas who was shot and wounded after an assailant accused him of "blowing up the country" and four immigrants shot and killed by a man named Larme Price who confessed to killing them as a "revenge" for the September 2001 attacks. [http://www.aaiusa.org/news/must_read03_31_03ny.htm] Although Price described his victims as Arabs, only one was from an Arab country.

Eric Boehlert has accused the US media, in particular Fox News, of "pandering to anti-Arab hysteria" by "fudging the facts and ignoring the most rudimentary tenets of journalism in their haste to better tell a sinister story about lurking Middle Eastern dangers". [cite web |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/feature/2002/01/19/bubba/index1.html |title=The prime-time smearing of Sami Al-Arian |last=Boehlert |first=Eric |authorlink=Eric Boehlert |date=2002-01-19 |publisher=Salon.com] John F. Sugg has accused prominent media terrorism expert Steve Emerson of persistent anti-Arab prejudice and of rushing to accuse Arab-Americans after the Oklahoma City bombing. [cite web |url=http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1443 |title=Steven Emerson's Crusade |last=Sugg |first=John F. |year=1999 |month=January/February |publisher=FAIR]

Prominent conservative commentators in the United States have voiced hostility towards Arabs. Bill O'Reilly has described Iraqis as a "pre-historic" and "primitive" group. [cite web |url=http://mediamatters.org/items/200406180005 |title=O'Reilly: Iraqi people are "primitive," "prehistoric group" |date=2004-06-18 |publisher=Media Matters for America] Michael Savage described Arabs as "non-humans" and "racist, fascist bigots" and advocated a nuclear attack on a "major Arab capital". [cite web |url=http://mediamatters.org/items/200405140003 |title=Savage: Arabs are "non-humans" and "racist, fascist bigots" |date=2004-05-14 |publisher=Media Matters for America]

Earl Krugel and Irv Rubin, two members of the Jewish Defense League, described by the US Department of Homeland Security as a terrorist organization, [ [http://www.tolerance.org/maps/hate/state.jsp?S=NY&m=3 SPLCenter.org: Hate Groups Map ] ] planned to bomb Arab-American Congressman Darrell Issa's office and the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, California. The two were arrested as part of a sting operation when they received a shipment of explosives at Krugel's home in L.A. and both met their end in prison. [cite news |title=Jewish extremist killed in jail |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4411408.stm |publisher=BBC |date=2005-11-06] The group was also suspected of involvement in the 1985 bombing of ADC leader Alex Odeh, though no arrests were made. [cite news |title=JDL chairman Rubin dies |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/West/11/14/obit.irv.rubin.ap/ |publisher=Associated Press via CNN |date=2002-11-14]

Stephen E. Herbits, the Secretary-General of the New York-based World Jewish Congress made several racist remarks and ethnic slurs in an internal memo against the president of the European Jewish Congress Pierre Besnainou: "He is French. Don’t discount this. He cannot be trusted, ... He is Tunisian. Do not discount this either. He works like an Arab." [Ratner, Lizzy and Anna Schneider-Mayerson. Memo from Old Rumsfeld Aide May Sink Bronfman Heir. Matthew Bronfman's bid to lead the World Jewish Congress is turning into a big mess. New York Observer, May 7, 2007, Available: http://www.observer.com/2007/memo-old-rumsfeld-aide-may-sink-bronfman-heir] The World Jewish Congress in Israel has condemned the statements as both hateful and racist. "It appears that the struggle in the World Jewish Congress has now turned racist, said MK Shai Hermesh (Kadima), who heads the Israeli board of the WJC. Instead of creating unity among the Jewish people, this organization is just creating division and hatred." [Lefkovits, Etgar. Top WJC official makes Arab jibe at EJC chief. Jerusalem Post. May 4, 2007, Available: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1178198609617]

Western media

Parts of Hollywood are regarded as using a disproportionate number of Arabs as villains and of depicting Arabs negatively and stereotypically. According to Godfrey Cheshire, a critic on the New York Press, "the only vicious racial stereotype that's not only still permitted but actively endorsed by Hollywood" is that of Arabs as crazed terrorists.cite news |first=Brian |last=Whitaker |authorlink=Brian Whitaker |title=The 'towel-heads' take on Hollywood |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,355880,00.html |publisher=The Guardian |date=2000-08-11]

Like the image projected of Jews in Nazi Germany, the image of Arabs projected by western movies is often that of "money-grubbing caricatures that soughtworld domination, worshipped a different God, killed innocents, and lusted after blond virgins." cite journal |last=Shaheen |first=Jack G. |authorlink=Jack Shaheen |year=2000 |title=Hollywood's Muslim Arabs |journal=The Muslim World |volume=90 |issue=1–2 |pages=22–42 |issn=0027-4909 |doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2000.tb03680.x]

The 2000 film "Rules of Engagement" drew criticism from Arab groups, described as "probably the most racist film ever made against Arabs by Hollywood" by the ADC. Paul Clinton of the Boston Globe wrote "at its worst, it's blatantly racist, using Arabs as cartoon-cutout bad guys".

Jack Shaheen, in his book "Reel Bad Arabs", [cite book |last=Shaheen |first=Jack G. |authorlink=Jack Shaheen |title=Reel Bad Arabs |year=2001 |publisher=Interlink Publishing Group |isbn=1-56656-388-7] surveyed more than 900 film appearances of Arab characters. Of those, only a dozen were positive and 50 were balanced. Shaheen writes that " [Arab] stereotypes are deeply ingrained in American cinema. From 1896 until today, filmmakers have collectively indicted all Arabs as Public Enemy #1 – brutal, heartless, uncivilized religious fanatics and money-mad cultural "others" bent on terrorizing civilized Westerners, especially [Christians] and [Jews] . Much has happened since 1896… Throughout it all, Hollywood's caricature of the [Arab] has prowled the silver screen. He is there to this day – repulsive and unrepresentative as ever." [cite news |first=John |last=Levesque |title=Arabs suffer in the hands of Hollywood |url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/63118_tv21.shtml |publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=2002-03-21] .

Some feel the obese, corrupt oil sheik has become the new fat, grotesque Jewish banker or merchant as a negative stereotype in Western media [cite news |first=James J. |last=Zogby |title=The Other Anti-Semitism |url=http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj9811&article=981112 |publisher=Sojourners Magazine |issn=|0364-2097 |date=November–December 1998] . Ironically, the Arab leaders that resemble these caricatures the most are often the most dependent on US support for their positions.

According to Newsweek columnist Meg Greenfield, anti-Arab sentiment presently cause misconceptions about Arabs, and hinder genuine peace in the Middle East.

Groups that fight against discrimination

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) was started in 1980 by United States Senator James Abourezk. It is the largest Arab-American grassroots civil rights organization in the United States. Former US Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar is the current president. ADC is at the forefront in addressing anti-Arabism - discrimination and bias against Arab Americans. [ [http://www.adc.org American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee web page] ]

Founded in 1985 by James Zogby, the Arab American Institute (AAI) is a non-profit, membership organization and advocacy group based in Washington D.C. that focuses on the issues and interests of Arab-Americans nationwide. The AAI also conducts research related to anti-Arabism in the United States. According to an AAI 2001 poll of Arab-Americans: "32% of Arab Americans reported having been subjected to some form of ethnic-based discrimination during their lifetimes, 20% reported having experienced an instance of ethnic-based discrimination since September 11. Of special concern, for example, is the fact that 45% of students and 37% of Arab Americans of the Muslim faith report being targeted by discrimination since September 11." [http://www.aaiusa.org/PDF/JZ%20October%20Testimony.pdf]

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a civil liberties and advocacy group for Muslims in North America that was created in June 1994. cite web|url=http://www.cair.com/factsaboutcair.asp |title=25 Facts about CAIR: Did you know? |accessdate=2007-08-25 |publisher=CAIR ] [ [http://www.cair.com/default.asp?Page=About CAIR:About CAIR] ] It has been active against anti-Arabism as well. [Philippa Strum, [http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/DUSS_Arab_America.pdf American Arabs and Political Participation] , Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, May 2006.]

In Britain, the Greater London Council (GLC) and Labour Committee on Palestine (LCP) have been involved in fighting anti-Arabism through the promotion of Arab and Palestinian rights. The LCP funded a conference on anti-Arab racism in 1989. [cite journal |last=Edmunds |first=June |year=1998 |month=May |title=The British Labour Party in the 1980s: The Battle Over the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict |journal=Politics |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=111–118 |doi=10.1111/1467-9256.00068] The National Association of British Arabs] also works against discrimination. [ [http://www.naba.org.uk/ The National Association of British Arabs] "Who we are and what we do" page.]

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which was founded to combat antisemitism and other forms of bigotry, actively investigated and spoke out against the rise in anti-Arab hate crimes following the September 2001 terrorist attacks.cite news |first=Joe |last=Eskenazi |title=State's skyrocketing anti-Arab incidents pain area Jews |url=http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/17057/edition_id/336/format/html/displaystory.html |publisher=j. |date=2001-10-19] In 2003, the ADL urged the Speaker of the United States' House of Representatives to approve a resolution condemning bigotry and violence against Arab-Americans and American Muslims. The American Jewish Committee, and American Jewish Congress have issued similar responses. [cite press release |title=ADL Urges House of Representatives to Consider Resolution Protecting Arabs, South Asians, Muslims and Sikhs |publisher=Anti-Defamation League |date=2003-07-30 |url=http://www.adl.org/PresRele/Mise_00/4288_41.htm] In 2004, the ADL national director issued the following statement: "we are disturbed that a number of Arab Americans and Islamic institutions have been targets of anger and hatred in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks." [cite book |last=Elaasar |first=Aladdin |title= |publisher=AuthorHouse |year=2004 |isbn=1-4184-1055-1 ] [cite press release |title=ADL Says Americans Must Remain United, Reject Group Hatred in Aftermath of Terrorist Attacks |publisher=Anti-Defamation League |date=2001-09-14 |url=http://www.adl.org/presRele/dirab_41/3919_41.asp]

In the 1990s, the Anti-Defamation League clashed with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in a legal dispute regarding sensitive information the ADL had collected about ADC members' positions on the Arab-Israeli conflict. In 1999, the dispute was finally settled out of court without any finding of wrongdoing.cite news |first=Julie |last=Wiener |title=ADL settles with Arabs, others to wrap up 6-year lawsuit |url=http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/12169/ |publisher=j. |date=1999-10-01] In 2001 the ADL attempted to bar Arab members of CAIR from attending a conference on multicultural inclusion. In 2007 the ADL accused the Council on American-Islamic Relations of having a "poor record on terrorism." [ [http://www.cair-florida.org/ViewArticle.asp?Code=AA&ArticleID=20 FL rights group rejects ADL demand to bar Muslim from panel] - CAIR press Release] CAIR, in turn, accused the ADL of "attempting to muzzle the First Amendment rights of American Muslims by smearing and demonizing them".Fact|date=February 2008

Organizations

* American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
* American Arab Institute
* Council on American-Islamic Relations
* Greater London Council

ee also

* Anti-Persian sentiments

References

External links

* [http://www.aaiusa.org/PDF/JZ%20October%20Testimony.pdf An October 2001 report on civil liberties in the U.S. including an appendix of some anti-Arab hate-based incidents]
* [http://antiarabbigotry.blogspot.com/ The American Gulag - A record of anti-Arab bigotry in America]
* [http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/review/article_full_story.asp?service_id=9959 Aljazeera.com: What do Israelis say about the Arabs]
* [http://www.adl.org/PresRele/dirab_41/3919_41.asp ADL statement against Anti-Arab prejudice]