While bigots and conspiracy theorists continue to target Jews far in excess of any other religious minorities in America, a combination of neo-Nazi events like Charlottesville and ongoing allegations of anti-Semitism against high-profile progressives has shaken confidence that either the political left or the right are staked in protecting our community. Instead, we see that anti-Semitism is becoming part of mainstream discourse across party lines. Those of us on the left have an obligation to stand up and stop it from derailing and destroying the justice movements we have helped to build, and continue to be a vital part of in the United States.
There are those who say anti-Semitism can be ignored as a “side issue” in Trump’s America, and that there are too many vulnerable people in too much peril for us to be “distracted” or “divided” by focusing on anti-Jewish hate. They are mistaken. Hate emboldens hate. As Eric K. Ward has written here, anti-Semitism fuels white supremacy. In fact, anti-Semitism is the core ideological foundation of white supremacist ideology in Trump’s America. If we ignore the smoke of anti-Semitism rising, the American progressive movement will find itself engulfed in flames.
“We cannot allow the voice of the Jewish left to become token ‘progressive Jews’ who provide their movements with a kosher stamp for tolerating and ignoring real anti-Semitism, but who are wildly out of step with our communal values and beliefs, like Jewish Voice for Peace. While many of us are deeply critical of Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu both in terms of policy and rhetoric, nearly 70 percent of American Jews feel attached to Israel. Anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel are not the same, but it is very common for anti-Semitism to claim anti-Zionism as its first line of defense—and then to protest that ‘criticism of Israel’ is ‘not allowed,’ and then blame Israel for hideous blood-libel-like crimes on flimsy or nonexistent evidence. Only 12 percent of American Jews believe that Palestinian leadership is sincere in its efforts for peace. We take the violent, Holocaust-denying, eliminationist rhetoric of the Palestinian leadership every bit as seriously as we take the violent, racist rhetoric of some settler leaders on the West Bank. An overwhelming number of American Jews see Israel’s flaws clearly, as we see America’s flaws—but we do not believe that Israel is a genocidal, colonial state.
“Such rhetoric spoken in our name is tokenization, pure and simple. We must push back against tokenization, which is a form of dehumanization, and demand that voices that are representative of mainstream Jewish views be empowered and respected within the progressive community. Just as we name anti-Semitism, we must also name tokenization and refuse to cede space in the movement to extremists. I believe as we push back we will find avenues for partnership with moderate voices on issues such as human rights for asylum seekers in Israel and concerns about political corruption and inequality. Engagement can be painful, but it is the only option if we are going to stop the left from being overrun by anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, and tokenization.
“As we are naming hatred, and flexing our political muscle to demand accountability, and pushing for true representation and empowerment, it is important that we center on those members of our community who are truly the most vulnerable. We must stand with members of the Lubavitch community in the face of street violence. We must stand with those who cannot ‘pass’ and are targeted with violent anti-Semitism. We must be sensitive to the unique pain and fear that Jews of Color, multiracial Jews, and their families face when tensions between communities are running high. We must remember to call out the homophobia that often stands alongside anti-Semitism. We must be the model of intersectionality that progressive leaders are abandoning. We must hold ourselves to the high standard that they have failed to achieve.”
How Jewish Progressives Can Stand Up Against Left Anti-Semitism – Tablet Magazine
Loki is the Philosopher King 