As most of us know outside the WASP circle, that prejudice is never too far away. Yesterday was the anniversary of Oct. 7, 2023, a terrible day for Israel. Israel's counterattack has created issues going beyond Gaza, into Europe and United States.
Zionism, the desire for Jews to live in Israel as designated by the UN partition of 1948, is a legitimate mission. If Israel over-reacted in their response to the Hamas attack, and if that response constitutes genocide, are questions separate from Zionism. However, in a world where anti-semitism is never far away, Zionism is being equated with genocide, encouraging anti-semitism.
Complicating the situation for Jews in diaspora, the politics of Israel, not unlike in the United States, is very polarized. Israel is to hold elections on October 27th. Depending on the outcome, Israel may double down defensively, or instead seek to repair its recent image.
The destruction of Gaza and the continuing mid-east wars has placed Israel under a magnifying glass. what people se id often tainted by prejudice and long embedded assumptions. The reality of what has happened to the people of Gaza cannot be hidden, it is a sad legacy of the modern state of Israel.
ReplyDeleteI am so sick of people using the term genocide to describe Israel's actions in Gaza. Those who promote that description generally fall into three categories:
ReplyDelete1) They either hate Jews and want to see them all dead (and Israel destroyed).
2) They are anti-Semitic sympathizers and bigots who know better, but they let their hatred of Jews and Israel overrides the facts.
3) They are idiots who are either ignorant of what the term means, what Israel has done in Gaza and the real attempt at genocide that forced Israel's actions there. They are the "useful idiots" who are willing to parrot the words of the anti-semites just to look like they're worldly or even-handed.
There is no equivalency here, and no genocide by Israel.
I give ANYONE who even brings up the word genocide and tries to frame Israel's actions the same treatment that I would give to Klan members who advocate killing minorities in this country.
They are all cut from the same cloth.
anon@9:37: I doubt that you're Jewish, if you were, you might be more concerned with the fallout from the Israeli response.. Oct 7th was a very low tech attack, and a complete failure by Israel security. Prior to this response, Israel's military actions and reactions were not questioned, at least here and in Europe.
ReplyDeletePut aside genocide, the domicide is very obvious.
Regardless of which "cloth" anti-semitism is cut from, Jews the world over are effected by world opinion of Israel...That is a fact, and that opinion has never been lower.
"...that opinion has never been lower."
DeleteAnd I would say that is because of the fools that entertain the lies of Israel's enemies, whether they're non-Jewish or not.
Denial that he low opinion is a rational response to bad policy, and blame those who have that opinion, will not make it better.
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