A MYSTERIOUS, IRRATIONAL ANIMUS

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As an American Jew, I’ve been going through a process I think is common among people like myself. I’ve always been a liberal left-wing Jew. I’ve long stood for the rights of the Palestinians. I’ve acknowledged unjust policies in Israel, although at the same time I’ve known enough to realize the situation is far more complicated than many people think. Most importantly, I’ve stood up for my Arab friends in their stand for Palestinian rights.

Now, with hatred for Jews flowing through our society like poison gas, I look around and see how many people we thought were friends are silent in the face of it.

If protesters were talking about LGBTQ or Black people with a fraction of the slanderous, dangerous, and hate-filled rhetoric now being thrown around about Jews, would that not have been rightfully and appropriately nipped in the bud? To be clear, this is not an indictment of the current student protest movement in general; there are, as they say, bad apples in every bin. But chants like “We want justice! How do we get justice? Burn down Tel Aviv!” are not a non-violent insistence on social justice. Khymani James, a student leader of Columbia University’s anti-Israel Gaza Solidarity Encampment, openly states that "Zionists don’t deserve to live." Yes, such things are happening. They are not small one-off events.

Racism is racism; bigotry is bigotry; prejudice is prejudice. The excuses people are coming up with today to justify or deny their antisemitism, perhaps even to themselves, is appalling.

I have respect for anyone standing up for justice, and that includes those who stand up for justice for Palestinians. I have done so my entire life, as a matter of fact. But calling for the destruction of the Jews is no different than calling for the destruction of anyone else.

I have great respect for the young Jews who’ve taken to social media over the last few days to speak up for their racial identity (and yes, we are a race); it can be a scary thing to do these days. I think Jews in general have been so thrown aback by all the hatred recently that it has taken many of us a while to come forward. We’ve known much of the criticism of Israel is valid, and we’ve been as horrified as anyone by the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu. But something has changed over the last few weeks and we can no longer deny it: A lot of the people out there don’t just hate Israel. They hate us.

To any of you who might feel like commenting on this post in a way that justifies antisemitism, know that I will remove your comment.

I am a Jew. I am a proud Jew. We are no better but no worse than anyone else. We know the ancient curse of antisemitism, and we know the historical horrors with which it has erupted repeatedly for millennia. It is a mysterious, irrational animus. I pray with all my heart that Jews and non-Jews alike will awaken to its dangers, not only in the past but right here right now, and will take a stand.

In whatever way you can, for the sake of all that is good and true, please stand.