“There Will be anti-Semites No Matter What the Jews Do”

Yeah, but when the Jewish State acts outrageously, there certainly will be a lot more of them

That, apparently, is the conclusion of Coordination Forum for the Countering Anti-Semitism in Israel. The report was conducted by the Jewish Agency and the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. According to the JTA here:

The report, conducted by the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, found that more anti-Semitic incidents were recorded during the first three months of 2009 than during the entire previous year. Israel's Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip was cited as the cause for the dramatic rise.  

From this we may conclude that – according to the Israeli government itself – when Israel goes to war against a civilian population, killing over 1400, and destroying vital civilian infrastructure, the result is more anti-Semitism around the world, including harm and death to Jews.

That's what's really new about the "new anti-Semitism". It is affected by the behavior of the Jewish state.

I suppose that some will say, "So what -- this is the necessary price for a Jewish state. And as bad as anti-Semitism in Europe may be, it is really small potatoes when weighed against other factors." Nobody can use the growth of anti-Semitism as a decisive argument against there being a Jewish state.

True. But also true that anti-Semitism hasn't declined because of the existence of Israel, the way that many Zionists argued that it would. On the contrary, Israel's behavior has become a lightning rod for attitudes towards Jews everywhere, for good or for ill. When Israel behaves better than usual – as it more or less did during the period from 1993-5 -- anti-Semitic incidents in Europe almost entirely vanish. That's the good news. Even in 2008, with the siege, the Occupation, and everything else, anti-Semitism wasn't that prevalent.

Had Hamas and Israel resumed the cease-fire amidst a prisoner-exchange, precious lives, Palestinian and Jewish, could have been spared.

"Better to be a live Jew than a dead mentsh," we are told by the "tough Jews". Survival first, then morality. "Erst kommt das Fressen, dann kommt die Moral," as Brecht wrote.

Even, apparently, if other innocent Jews suffer and die as a result.

That's part of the price we need to pay. Or so we are told.