Notes on Anti-Jewish Hatred
The failure of condoning antisemitism with silence.
A few weeks after the horrific Oct. 7th attacks, I wrote an op-ed for The Daily Beast that I hoped would be something of a wake-up call for those on the far-left—and in progressive spaces generally—that antisemitism was metastasizing and the broader movement has a responsibility to enact zero tolerance for anti-Jewish hatred.
At the time, it felt as though any opinion whatsoever on the Gaza crisis was vulnerable to being hostilely conflated with biases held by any given observer operating in bad faith, and naïvely, I thought bringing attention to some of the worst examples of antisemitism might give folks a chance to reflect, re-adjust, and make it clear that hatred against Jewish people would not be tolerated.
It’s been 29 months since the attacks, and in that time, it’s pretty clear that antisemitism in the United States has only worsened — not just from any one political ideology but across the board.
This is not just a problem of the right or the left or the center, but when I observe someone in left or left-leaning spaces claim the left doesn’t have an antisemitism problem, I don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.
Of course the left has an antisemitism problem.
Let me give you an example of something that happens like clockwork.
Anytime I post online about an antisemitic hate crime, there are responses from real people on the left (not bots) that engage in an absurd whataboutism exercise.
“Yeah, that’s terrible, but what about Gaza?”
“Okay, now do Israel.”
“Have you posted anything about Gaza?”
Well, I have posted (and written pieces) about the horrific violence against innocent Palestinian civilians, but it remains unclear to me why acknowledging the murder of any Jewish person by a vicious antisemite is required to be coupled with disclaimers that include an itemization of other acts of violence.
Why is the life of any Jewish person only to be honored and their death only to be mourned and the atrocity that took their life only to be held accountable if—and only if—other atrocities are acknowledged in the same breath?
That never made sense to me, and I once naïvely chalked it up to incompetence. The past few years have made clear that it’s an intentionally undermining tactic and an active erasure of violence against Jewish people.
We can talk all day about how most people on the left don’t do this, which is true, but if we’re not holding things like this accountable and establishing a strict standard across the movement that this behavior is unacceptable, does it really matter if it’s most people on the left or a small fraction?
An authentic rejection of hatred does not come with the expectation of something in return; it is done solely for the sake of rejecting that hatred.
Let me give you another example. For some on the far-left, in order for me to demand accountability for Netanyahu and stopping the deeply inhumane violence inflicted on Palestinian civilians and supporting self-determination for the Palestinian people, I must also claim that Israel shouldn’t exist, let alone defend itself.
That is not only batshit insane and wildly impractical beyond any reasonable adult’s comprehension, but it has accelerated into using this mindset as an excuse to harass, discriminate against, assault, and murder not only anyone with any association with Israel, regardless of their politics, but any Jewish person anywhere.
For some of these people, any act of discrimination or violence against an Israeli citizen, no matter their background, and/or any Jewish person anywhere, no matter their views, somehow gets drawn into an irrelevant debate over Zionism.
I personally support a two-state solution, but I fail to see how that discussion is in any way relevant when teenage boys are heckled at a hockey game for wearing kippahs or when a college student has “Zionist” shouted at her on campus because she’s wearing a Star of David necklace or when Jewish people are maimed and murdered by an antisemitic sociopath throwing a Molotov cocktail at them solely for raising awareness about innocent Israeli citizens being held hostage by Hamas or when a Jewish gathering is the target of a mass shooter who clearly just wants to murder Jewish people and any Jewish person will do.
Many people on the far-left will immediately condemn actions like these but will also fail to acknowledge how this mindset is partly an outgrowth from tolerating with their silence the use of “Zionist” as a catch-all slander for anything related to Judaism and Israel.
I am well aware there are Jewish people who oppose Zionism—and progressive Zionists—who are horrified by the actions of Netanyahu’s government, and I would never equate good faith criticism of Netanyahu and the Israeli government with being antisemitic.
Moreover, I’ve been deeply and consistently critical of Netanyahu and the current Israeli government, and not once have I ever been called antisemitic for voicing my views.
But I will also not tolerate the conflation of Judaism and the people of Israel with the horrific actions of Netanyahu’s government, and I really don’t think the far-left and much of the left generally is doing enough to have zero tolerance for that either.
It’s not that our Jewish siblings don’t just feel unsafe, as though this is some failure of psychological strength on their part.
They are, in fact, not safe. They are clearly not safe. Not here in the United States. Not in Israel. Not anywhere in the world.
And to deny that is to be completely detached from reality.
The time for discussion on this and considering bad faith argumentation on it and permitting the enabling of it is over. It should have been over long ago.
If you’re the kind of person on the left who believes that expressing antisemitic views through other vehicles is appropriate, I want nothing to do with you.
I don’t care how many other causes we agree on. I don’t care if you’re a huge champion of trans equality. I don’t care if you’ve supported my work.
We’re just done. There will be no email. There will be no text. I am not going to go fifteen rounds with you in unpacking why the antisemitic thing you said actually means something else when we both know what you clearly intended.
If you express hatred or antipathy or even what you feel is some “harmless” stereotype against the Jewish community, you have decided to end our relationship.
I am not your non-Jewish colleague or friend who will tolerate your bullshit, hateful thinking.
I wouldn’t tolerate it with misogyny or white supremacy or any other form of hatred, and I am sure as anything not going to tolerate it with antisemitism.
There is no need for nuance here because the nuance doesn’t exist. If you’re a grown adult who buys into any form of anti-Jewish hatred, you are not my friend or my valued colleague.
It’s simple as that. The choice is yours.
This whole thing is great, but this particularly resonated (emphasis mine):
"I am well aware there are Jewish people who oppose Zionism—***and progressive Zionists—who are horrified by the actions of Netanyahu’s government***, and I would never equate good faith criticism of Netanyahu and the Israeli government with being antisemitic."
I am tired of people deciding they get to define Zionism...in a way that doesn't align with how most Jews define Zionism...and then use their definition as the foundation for their antisemitic behavior. Which they then claim isn't antisemitic at all. It's all very convenient...and no different than how bigotry operates against other groups too.
Thank you! think the thing that got me most, early on after Oct. 7, was the women's groups who refused to acknowledge or condemn the horrific sexual assaults and murders of women on that day. Groups that always push that we must believe women who say they've been assaulted then cast doubt on the Israeli women who reported being raped (even when the Hamas attackers recorded and posted it online). I'm a lifelong feminist and am horrified that Jewish women are no longer safe in supposedly progressive women's groups.