THE EMOTIONAL PLAGUE OF ANTISEMITISM

And no, hating Jews is not a stand for social justice

I’m the last person in the world to encourage false positivism, and I’ve spent the last year of my life trying to hold systems accountable. Love does not acquiesce to injustice. Sometimes Love says “No.” I understand that.

But I’m also a student of political non-violence, and I know that as Gandhi said “the end is inherent in the means.” Everything we do is infused with the consciousness with which we do it. We cannot be bringers of peace if we ourselves are not peaceful, and we cannot be bringers of justice if we ourselves are not just.

From the start of the current horror in Israel and Palestine - and indeed starting long before - I have argued passionately for the rights of Palestinians. I have never been unconscious or uncaring regarding their plight, and starting years ago I made clear my position in both personal as well as public settings.

After October 7 I argued against a large scale military invasion of Gaza, and ever since it began I have called for a ceasefire. I have respected (and joined) those protesting the willingness of the United States to unconditionally support Israel’s military operation.

But something has changed in the last month or so; many emotional and psychological fascists are hiding behind the cover of social justice warrior. As an American - and as a Jew - I find this terrifying … because it literally is.

If a Black American says that something which we just said is racist, then we all know it’s the height of incorrectness to say “No it’s not.” Why? Because the Black person would know better than we how a comment comes across, and it is their experience we are to respect. I agree with that.

But when it comes to Jews, apparently we don’t have the right to say if something you just said was antisemitic. In fact, if we even suggest such a thing we’re likely to met with some form of “THERE YOU GO AGAIN! NOT EVERY CRITICISM OF ISRAEL IS ANTISEMITIC! I’M NOT AN ANTISEMITE AND YOU DON’T GET TO TELL ME THAT!!!”

But what if you are? Not every criticism of Israel is antisemitic - many concerned Jews today feel no relationship whatsoever to Israel - but to deny the antisemitic bile exploding like a monster’s vomit in our culture today is absurd.

I’ve heard it said about other minority groups, “No, you need to listen to us now” - and I agree with that. But do Jews not have the same right to be listened to, to tell our own story? We feel very little permission to express ourselves when others feel they have the right to tell us our history and tell us what it means. To be a Jew today is for many of us to feel shut down. And it makes us feel frightened, as well. For many of the counterfeit narratives being thrown around today are the most ancient, dangerous and libelous antisemitic tropes.

So of course the antisemitic response to that comes quickly: “Shut down?! You guys own Hollywood! You own the media! You shut down everyone who doesn’t agree with you! Now it’s our turn to tell you a few things!”

And whether they say it or not, the phrase then often left hanging in the air these days is this: “You fucking Zionist.”

Every Jew understands that such explosions of hate have been precedent to some of the most evil chapters in our history. Yet even some Jews are rushing to agree with those who demean us today! Perhaps their podcast will then be spared; their celebrity will go uncanceled. But some of them might want to read up a bit more on Jewish history. If they come for the Jews, they’ll come for you too.

I hope and pray this fever will pass, but so did Jews in pre-Holocaust Germany. In the meantime, I’m encouraged by how many people are clearly unwilling to demonize or dehumanize either Palestinians or Jews. It says in A Course in Miracles that God does not give us victory in battle; He lifts us above the battlefield. There, in that field above, Jews and Muslims have been friends for centuries and more. May this horrible chapter in our history one day be seen as something terrible we went through but then made our way beyond.

If anyone wants to support us getting there, I submit that the best way to do that is to bless us both.