Israel intentionally conflates itself with Judaism (religion) and Jewishness (ethnicity), so animosity they generate ends up being felt by the Jewish community at large. Failure to recognize this is just running cover for both the Israelis and the antisemites.
Israel intentionally conflates itself with Judaism (religion) and Jewishness (ethnicity)
Look, the Jewish People are both defined by ethnicity and religion, but the way you speak of that dynamic shows a profound ignorance of it. This isn’t some Israeli conspiracy, most self-identified Jews are at least somewhat ethnically Jewish. Not all are religious, though many respect tradition regardless. That ethnic group historically originated from the Levant, and Judaism as a religion views the Levant as a holy land.
The only real Judaic aspect of Israel’s war on Palestine is Zionism, which can range from the belief that an Israeli has a basic right to exist in the Levant (alongside others), to the belief that Israel should dominate the Levant (and expel others). Netanyahu is on the latter end of that spectrum, and supports mass violence against and forced displacement of Palestinians to meet that end, which is indefensible. We cannot accept Israel, U.S. ally or not, to be engaged in a holy war.
But anyone deciding to point the finger at Israel when they encounter real-world antisemitism isn’t actually making a statement about Israel. They are deflecting blame away from bigots, and suggesting that they might at least have some excuse for their hate. I don’t have any tolerance for that.
My dude, this is what happens when you create an ethno state. Especially when you purposely conflate ethnicity, religion, and nationality into one stigma which you create organizations to define and police.
Antisemitism as it’s currently defined is in part a byproduct of cognitive dissonance applied at the geopolitical scale. You cannot claim to define Jewish people by both ethnicity and religion, and then claim there are Jewish people who are not not religiously motivated.
Israel claims to be the state representing Judaism as a religion and Jews as an ethnicity. Israel heavily lobbied for things like the application of the IHRA definition of antisemitism by allied countries. That definition is conflating anti-zionism with antisemitism, which means conflating all of Judaism with Israel.
So Israel is responsible for some antisemitism as its actions cause hate against Israel and Israel works to make this hate go towards all Jews instead. This serves to purposes. The first is to always claim antisemitism, when Israel is rightfully criticized. The second is to hold all Jews outside Israel hostage to support Israel and to make them less safe, so they feel like they need to support Israel as a “safe haven”.
Israel profits from antisemitism and antisemitism profits from Israel, which is why some of the greatest supporters of Zionism have been staunch antisemites. Finally when it comes to people being attacked as “antisemites” for criticizing Israel, these are disproportionately Jews. Jews that are against Zionism are a great danger for the narrative of Israel, so they take special care to attack them.
Look, I left something unsaid, certainly. I can’t say that this particular incident would have happened or not if Israel were not currently engaged in genocidal acts on a daily basis. What I can say is that Israel clearly uses antisemitism as a shield and a pretense for those genocidal acts, and in less dire times, for the decades of lower level but equally unjust and horrific oppression that has characterized the occupation of Palestine from the beginning.
The ONLY time I experienced targeted antisemitism (graffiti & threats at my synagogue) as an American Jew growing up in a liberal area, was in the lead up to the second intifada as the Camp David Accords fell apart. So yes, antisemites are responsible for their own antisemitism, and antisemitism like any kind of prejudice is fundamentally unjustifiable - of course. And no, by that token, of course nothing Israel could do would justify antisemitism. What a moralistic statement like that misses, however, is the reality that antisemitism ebbs and flows with the state of the conflict in the holy land, and that Israel uses it as a self-reinforcing narrative to justify their ongoing crimes against humanity, paradoxically reinforcing the very thing they claim to be fighting against, and making the world less safe for the people they claim to fight for.
And to make it all very clear. I am blaming antisemites for antisemitism. Conflating Jewish identity with the state of Israel is antisemitic. Zionists are antisemitic.
Please don’t blame Israel for antisemitism. There is literally nothing Israel could ever do to justify antisemitism.
Blame Israel for what they are doing to Palestine. Give Israel it’s much deserved consequences for war crimes and genocide.
Blame antisemites for antisemitism. Ethnic hatred is unjustifiable.
Israel intentionally conflates itself with Judaism (religion) and Jewishness (ethnicity), so animosity they generate ends up being felt by the Jewish community at large. Failure to recognize this is just running cover for both the Israelis and the antisemites.
Look, the Jewish People are both defined by ethnicity and religion, but the way you speak of that dynamic shows a profound ignorance of it. This isn’t some Israeli conspiracy, most self-identified Jews are at least somewhat ethnically Jewish. Not all are religious, though many respect tradition regardless. That ethnic group historically originated from the Levant, and Judaism as a religion views the Levant as a holy land.
The only real Judaic aspect of Israel’s war on Palestine is Zionism, which can range from the belief that an Israeli has a basic right to exist in the Levant (alongside others), to the belief that Israel should dominate the Levant (and expel others). Netanyahu is on the latter end of that spectrum, and supports mass violence against and forced displacement of Palestinians to meet that end, which is indefensible. We cannot accept Israel, U.S. ally or not, to be engaged in a holy war.
But anyone deciding to point the finger at Israel when they encounter real-world antisemitism isn’t actually making a statement about Israel. They are deflecting blame away from bigots, and suggesting that they might at least have some excuse for their hate. I don’t have any tolerance for that.
My dude, this is what happens when you create an ethno state. Especially when you purposely conflate ethnicity, religion, and nationality into one stigma which you create organizations to define and police.
Antisemitism as it’s currently defined is in part a byproduct of cognitive dissonance applied at the geopolitical scale. You cannot claim to define Jewish people by both ethnicity and religion, and then claim there are Jewish people who are not not religiously motivated.
Israel claims to be the state representing Judaism as a religion and Jews as an ethnicity. Israel heavily lobbied for things like the application of the IHRA definition of antisemitism by allied countries. That definition is conflating anti-zionism with antisemitism, which means conflating all of Judaism with Israel.
So Israel is responsible for some antisemitism as its actions cause hate against Israel and Israel works to make this hate go towards all Jews instead. This serves to purposes. The first is to always claim antisemitism, when Israel is rightfully criticized. The second is to hold all Jews outside Israel hostage to support Israel and to make them less safe, so they feel like they need to support Israel as a “safe haven”.
Israel profits from antisemitism and antisemitism profits from Israel, which is why some of the greatest supporters of Zionism have been staunch antisemites. Finally when it comes to people being attacked as “antisemites” for criticizing Israel, these are disproportionately Jews. Jews that are against Zionism are a great danger for the narrative of Israel, so they take special care to attack them.
Look, I left something unsaid, certainly. I can’t say that this particular incident would have happened or not if Israel were not currently engaged in genocidal acts on a daily basis. What I can say is that Israel clearly uses antisemitism as a shield and a pretense for those genocidal acts, and in less dire times, for the decades of lower level but equally unjust and horrific oppression that has characterized the occupation of Palestine from the beginning.
The ONLY time I experienced targeted antisemitism (graffiti & threats at my synagogue) as an American Jew growing up in a liberal area, was in the lead up to the second intifada as the Camp David Accords fell apart. So yes, antisemites are responsible for their own antisemitism, and antisemitism like any kind of prejudice is fundamentally unjustifiable - of course. And no, by that token, of course nothing Israel could do would justify antisemitism. What a moralistic statement like that misses, however, is the reality that antisemitism ebbs and flows with the state of the conflict in the holy land, and that Israel uses it as a self-reinforcing narrative to justify their ongoing crimes against humanity, paradoxically reinforcing the very thing they claim to be fighting against, and making the world less safe for the people they claim to fight for.
And to make it all very clear. I am blaming antisemites for antisemitism. Conflating Jewish identity with the state of Israel is antisemitic. Zionists are antisemitic.