SPECIAL
COMMENTARY
`BEACON' from page 34
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very, very careful."
Besides, Foxman says, "Haider is a
populist, a xenophobe, an oppor-
tunist, but he is not a Nazi nor an
antisemite. And unlike the Le Pens
or Buchanans, he's at least tried to
explain his associations and apolo-
gize for them. Now that he's in a
position of responsibility, let's test
him."
Foxman has long stood apart in
advocating that Jews learn to accept
apologies. He's publicly buried the
hatchet with, among others, Pat
Robertson, Jesse Jackson and Nelson
Mandela. He's consistent.
The question, are Haider's apolo-
gies for real? AJC's Harris sees a cyn-
ical politician who's still courting the
same racist constituencies, sending
out his messages in code instead of a
straight-arm salute. "He's attempted
to recast history and redefine victim-
ization," Harris says. "He's attempt-
ed to highlight the positive side of
the SS. He's crossed a line by his
coddling of a horrific past. That's
not acceptable."
In the balance, Harris's position is
certainly more emotionally satisfying.
It may even be a truer reading of
Haider's deepest thoughts. The trouble
is that, as The Economist says, it puts
us on a slippery slope.
Unfair as it may sound, there isn't
a single argument leveled against
Haider that can't be applied to the
Republican Party in South Carolina
and, to a degree, throughout the
Old Confederacy. They've taken it
upon themselves to defend the
honor of a long-since defeated war-
rior tribe, all the while pretending
the tribe fought for something other
than a horrific system of crimes
against humanity. They cling to
symbols that evoke horror in their
erstwhile victims. They maintain the
highest personal standards, yet
appeal with nods and winks to a
wretched constituency that dares not
show its face. And, yes, they are
xenophobic, anti-immigrant and
very right wing.
Aren't there differences? Of
course. We're two generations
removed from the crimes of the
Nazis, and three generations further
away from the crimes of the Confed-
eracy. Memories fade.
And this: Haider's minions are now
a junior partner in Austria's legislature.
The Southern Republicans control
ours.
Boycott South Carolina, then? Not
necessarily. Just be consistent.
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