E/CN.4/2004/18 page 9 adds weight to the comment of the German playwright Bertold Brecht, that: “The womb that gave birth to this foul beast is still fertile.” It is therefore important to make the rise of anti-Semitism, like that of Islamophobia, the subject of an in-depth study, which will look into its underlying causes, its manifestations and the ways and means available to combat it. 16. A full, objective study of the question is needed not only to identify its characteristics as an ancient form of discrimination but also to shed light on the heated debate raging around the following questions: the link between historic anti-Semitism, which reached its paroxysm in the holocaust and which is deeply connected with the culture and history of Europe, and the new forms and manifestations of anti-Semitism related to the conflict in the Middle East; the link between anti-Semitism as a form of discrimination and Zionism as a form of nationalistic ideological policy; and the link between responses to the policy conducted by the Government of Israel and the rise of anti-Semitism. The debate on these very basic questions runs not only through all political, intellectual and religious currents in different countries but also through the Jewish community in all its diversity. A healthy debate on these matters should finally reveal the dilemma at the heart of discrimination, namely the choice between the temptation to withdraw behind one’s own experience and the determination to move on from that experience to a universal feeling of compassion and solidarity for the victims of all forms of discrimination. E. Measures taken by the Governments 1. United States of America 17. Since the 1990s, a fierce debate has been taking place in the United States on whether or not to maintain the policy of affirmative action introduced in the 1960s as a way of assisting the integration of ethnic, racial and female minorities in American society through preferential access to education, jobs and services. Some people consider that the individuals making up those minorities have by now derived sufficient benefit from the policy and enjoy a standard of living and social position which is comparable to those of the majority, so that pursuing the policy any further would lead to reverse discrimination. Some states, like California, based on this reasoning have dismantled their affirmative action policies. Others, on the other hand, believe that the effects of affirmative action measures are still inadequate and that individuals belonging to ethnic, racial and female minorities continue to be exposed to discrimination in the areas of education, training and employment. 18. The previous Special Rapporteur expressed the view, after a visit to the United States in 1994, that “30 years of intense struggle against racism and racial discrimination have not yet made it possible to eliminate the consequences of over 300 years of slavery and racial discrimination, particularly where African Americans are concerned” and that “affirmative action programmes should be revitalized in order to offset the negative consequences of the policy pursued during the 1980s in the fields of health, housing, education and employment” (see E/CN.4/1995/78/Add.1, para. 112). 19. The debate as to whether affirmative action should be pursued any further has been given added relevance by two recent decisions taken by the United States Supreme Court. In Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger, the Law School of the University of Michigan defended its admissions policy, which gave preference to persons belonging to ethnic or racial minorities. On 23 June 2003, the Court ruled that diversity of the student body constituted a