'Criticism of Israel Is Not Inherently Anti-Semitic': An Open Letter From Jewish Writers
'Criticism of Israel Is Not Inherently Anti-Semitic': An Open Letter From Jewish Writers
'We find this rhetorical tactic antithetical to Jewish values, which teach us to repair the world, question authority, and champion the oppressed over the oppressor.'
We reject antisemitism in all its forms, including when it masquerades as criticism of Zionism or Israel’s policies. We also recognise that, as journalist Peter Beinart wrote in 2019, “Anti-Zionism is not inherently antisemitic—and claiming it is uses Jewish suffering to erase Palestinian experience.”
The fact that this even requires saying is a testament to how thoroughly drenched the (so-called) "west" is in regurgitated pro-Israeli propaganda.
Israel itself is drenched in a culture of racist anti-Palestinian tropes, and denial of the ethnic cleansing called the Nakba.
The crimes of the Third Reich are invoked disingenuously to construct a counterfactual demonization of the Palestinian people.
Meanwhile, Jews in the West are often antagonized in their communities and families if they challenge the prevailing dogma.
There is a soft but tragic irony, that many liberal Jews feel free to approach their religious heritage critically and skeptically, but any who question political doctrine are greeted as heretics.
The Jews are the only people for whom criticizing the government of the country they're typically associated with is interpreted as racism. If I say the Chinese government is committing crimes against humanity no one thinks I'm a racist. If I say Donald Trump is a moron, no one thinks I hate all Americans. If I say the Israeli government shouldn't be responding to Hamas' attack the way they are? Oh man, now I'm an antisemite and hate all Jews!
The fuck is wrong with this world?
It's public relations spin. If you haven't noticed, the Israeli government isn't exactly what one would call ethical. They use every trick in the book to insulate themselves against criticism, up to and including crying antisemitism.
It's disgusting, really. After WWII, many people did what they could to distance themselves from even the barest hint of antisemitism, and with good reason: the actions of the Nazis were reprehensible. Israel has taken that cultural awareness, unwillingly purchased with the blood of their ancestors, and used it to commit genocide of their own.
Yep, guilt over WW2 from Western governments (no country went to war to save the Jews, it was a byproduct of wanting to kick Hitler's ass) without realising they're now enabling the same thing to happen to another ethnic group.
The fuck is wrong with this world?
Religion.
Ok maybe not all of it, and not all religious people. Kinda like how #metoo wasn't actually about all men, just the problematic ones. When I say religion is what's wrong with the world I'm not talking about memaw going to church on Sunday. I'm talking about people fucking people blowing each other up in the furtherance of what they perceive to be some divine goal.
Sure, the type of person to feverishly go to war over some stories would probably be extremely opinionated without religion, but you don't see anyone going down to the fucking Renaissance faire with a rifle because of the guys dressed as pirates.
Believing things strongly isn't the problem. It's the system of organized moral superiority that's the problem.
If I say the Chinese government is committing crimes against humanity no one thinks I’m a racist.
I see you haven't met any tankies
They're such a small group of extremists that their opinion doesn't matter, that's all! 😂
The foundational myth of Israel is that Jewishness is a national essence holding a supreme right to control over particular territory, above the rights of those who contest the right.
Conceding the distinction between antisemitism and criticism of Israel is conceding the fallaciousness of the myth on which depends "Israel's right to exist".
Protecting the myth depends on disparaging any Jewishness of critics and disparaging the humanness of the occupied population.
Jews must be united in their claim to the lands, and any opposing the claim must be opposed, as an opponent of undivided and untainted Jewishness.
I would actually disagree on China, the position that it was possible the WIV was the cause of COVID was successful painted as xenophobic or racist, rather than a viable option.
Which always struck me as odd considering a bunch of your people eating random jungle meat so much they cause worldwide diseases sounds like you could be way more racist about it. Yet, somehow that was painted as the less racist option.
I haven't read the article, but the title made me go "what the fuck"?
Of course it's not antisemitism. It would only be antisemitism if you said "those people are bad because they are Jews".
Or am I wrong?
You have to remember that you are on lemmy here that is inherently more left and pro Palestine. There are people that get their news through sources that are using this argument against anti Israel arguments.
This letter is meant for those people.
In Germany the public discourse as lead by political parties and mainstream media , but also cultural organizations is pretty much claiming any criticism of the shape of thr Israeli state, any analysis towards the occupation as a source of violence or current criticism of israeli war crimes as antisemitism.
Because of that jewish protests for palestinian human rights have been banned like arab and leftist protests, jewish protesters have been violently arrested by police, palestinians have been kicked out of book faires, art exhibitions and other events where just before they were supposed to receive prizes. The head of the main government party has loudly cancelled a meeting with Bernie Sanders because he would be too critical of Israel. Sanders is a jew and has lived in Israel in the past.
So in Germany the term antisemitism is instrumentalised to supress any serious criticism of Israel, which includes in particular jewish criticism of Israel.
By the perversion of the term, Germany is acting antisemitic by banning jewish voices from the public, sometimes with police violence and denyingthe existence of plurality in the jewish communities.
Incidently they try to blame arabs and other immigrants for antisemitism in Germany, deflecting from the widespread antisemitism in German mainstream society. Just two month ago the vice-prime-minister of the state of Bavaria was uncovered to be a Holocaust endorsing Neonazi in his youth and instead of it harming his election it helped his election. Also now the Bavarian state attorneys are investigating the people who brought this Neonazi past to light.
The US is cracking down on protests right now based on this pretext
And not just right now. For decades you would lose your job in academia and media for showing too much sympathy for Palestinians.
Always amuses me how there's endless discourse about Islam being antisemitic and therefore movements associated with muslims are jew-hating pogroms, but the reality is almost all antisemitic attacks across the "Western world" are done by white christians.
It's purely projection from the columnists and newsreaders who see antisemitism as a tactic to shut down anti-colonial protests.
What do you guys think about Thunberg's statement? In my country it's framed as antisemitic and FFF Germany renounced it but I don't think so
I don't understand why FFF would denounce it, they're a climate strike movement, nothing to do with this. I feel like someone at the "top" of FFF managed to get their own agenda into this, it's so strange for someone like them to condemn a call for ceasefire.
I am not Jewish, but I am married to an Israeli and have spent a decent amount of time in Israel, having traveled to many areas of the country.
The current situation is not surprising and it really comes down to one thing: LAND & RESOURCES.
All of the rhetoric about apartheid, anti-semitism, genocide, pogroms, etc, etc, etc are merely cover-ups for the real issue: Israel is a TINY piece of land that now supports close to 10 million people. The birthrate in Israel among everyone is among the highest in the world. Even secular Jews rarely have fewer than 3 kids. Muslim Arabs and Orthodox Jews frequently have 8, 9, 10 or more kids.
I have been visiting Israel fairly regularly over the last 20 years and I have seen the visible effects this uncontrolled population growth has had. Land is at a premium, everything is expensive and scarce, and it is FREAKING CROWDED. Towns and villages often support far more people than they were designed to support. Everyone there is worried about water and land and money.
And so you get to the real issue - this is about a fight over land. It’s a fight over which group is going to have a place for their own families and future generations to live there. It’s about fights over resources like water.
I think a lot of the discussion is very rightly focused on the war crimes and human rights abuses, but you're absolutely correct.
I personally think that Netanyahu made many huge mistakes, including building the wall, and he should resign and leave politics forever, but I'm going to criticize him only after Hamas is eliminated.
Now, any pro-Palestinian voice is perceived as pro-Hamas. I heard the crowd chanting "from the river to the sea", which basically means "kill all Jews". It is antisemitism, yes.
I personally think that Netanyahu made many huge mistakes, including building the wall, and he should resign and leave politics forever, but I'm going to criticize him only after Hamas is eliminated.
Idunno man this kinda sounds like as a politician he has no incentive to eliminate Hamas and every incentive to radicalize more Palestinians against him.
Wild, you are the person the article was written to inform.
Yet you missed the point entirely..