Occupy WAll street antisémite?

Accusations fondées ou complot de certains conservateurs?

"Is Occupy Wall Street anti-Semitic? Some groups on the political right really want you to think so.

If you’ve been watching cable news over the past couple of days, you’ve probably seen the ad that shows Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama praising the Occupy Wall Street movement — followed by the question “What is happening at the Occupy Wall Street protests?” and clips of protesters making anti-Semitic remarks. One man shouts “Jews control Wall Street” and holds a sign that says “Hitler’s Bankers - Wall St.”

“Why are our leaders turning a blind eye to anti-Semitic, anti-Israel attacks?” the ad asks. “Tell President Obama and leader Pelosi to stand up to the mob. Hate is not an American value.”

The ad is put out by the Emergency Committee for Israel (ECI), whose board members include neoconservative columnist Bill Kristol and ultra-conservative former presidential candidate Gary Bauer.

The idea that OWS is anti-Semitic has found an audience in some parts of the right. Rush Limbaugh argued that the terms “Wall Street” and “bankers” are just “anti-Semitic code” for Jews.

Glenn Beck’s The Blaze wrote that “each day of the Occupy Wall Street protests seems to come with its fair share of anti-Semitism.”

“The Jew-hatred among protesters and sympathizers is diverse and unapologetic. It is, in fact, atmospheric,” Abe Greenwald wrote for for Commentary last week. He adds: “Where the Tea Party couldn’t be tagged as racist no matter how hard liberals tried, Occupy Wall Street protesters are literally boasting of their Nazi credentials.”

And John Hinderaker wrote on the conservative Powerline blog: “Given the extraordinary media attention that was paid to fictitious claims of racism at Tea Party rallies, it is amusing to see the press avert its eyes from repeated incidents of anti-Semitism at Occupy Wall Street protests, even as Democratic politicians endorse the “movement” almost unanimously and without qualification.”

But though the Anti-Defamation League condemned the comments portrayed in the ECI’s video, it also noted in its statement that there’s “no evidence that these incidents are widespread.”

“Thus far, however, anti-Semitism has not gained traction more broadly with the protestors, nor is it representative of the larger movement at this time,” the statement said.

But they didn’t totally let OWS off the hook. “As the focus of the demonstrations continue to develop and evolve,” the statement adds, “ensuring that the movement does not get hijacked by extremists or anti-Semitic elements is critical. Public rallies like OWS often draw a wide range of people with various personal or organizational agendas, including those seeking to exploit public rallies for their own purposes.”"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIlRQCPJcew&feature=player_embedded