Good Jews, Bad Jews
JVL Introduction
In an insightful and thought-provoking interview published by Equator, Jewish historian and activist Barnaby Raine argues that current public discourse about antisemitism is defined by two claims:
“First, that Jews are victims of Muslims and the pro-Palestine left, and, second, that the proper response to racism is more aggressive policing…
“This framing pulls the entire discourse rightwards, allowing the far right to reposition themselves as the ‘only true defenders’ of Jews because they are the ones most willing to target Muslims.”
Raine pulls no punches. He is quite clear that:
“The immediate trigger [for rising antisemitism today] is the deliberate conflation of Israel’s actions with Jewish people”, with “the Israeli state treating diaspora Jews as human shields”.
The struggle for Palestine represents a huge threat to the Western order and in response governments and right-wing ideologues suddenly emerge as protector of the Jews:
“The current image of Jews as the ‘protected minority’ of Western power is a strategy for defending that power while simultaneously throwing Jews under the bus. The entire setup must be contested.”
Read more below.
RK
This article was originally published by Equator on Wed 6 May 2026. Read the original here.
Good Jews, Bad Jews
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A really good read, with thoughtful comments on how AS is being used to disassociate Israel’s Genocide of the Palestinians, when in fact it’s a major reason for the rise in AS. What I would like to add is, the MSM, including the BBC, are actually supporting Israel, in the Newspapers and on the BBC News Programmes. A. by not telling the truth about what Israel is doing to the Palestinians and B. Not telling the truth about the Protesters, they frame it that they are the cause of the rise in AS, yet if they told the truth, AS would not be on the rise.
I believe that the MSM in its support of Israel bends the truth ie, if they said that Israel is not Governed by Jews or supported by Israeli Jews, that the Cabinet, the IDF, Mossad agents are not Jews, they are Zionists, that the majority of Jews across the World are against what they are doing to the Palestinians, including Genocide. Then it would be Zionists that would be hated and not Jews. They could show the videos of the IDF beating Jews that are out on the streets protesting against their Government in what it is doing to the Palestinians. Then there would not be any rise in AS. Here’s my complaint to the BBC.
My Complaint to the BBC!!
The Panorama program, about Jews being afraid.
You are implying that Jews are afraid because of those going onto the streets, to protest about Israel’s Genocide etc.
Not only is that wrong, it’s a lie. I’ve seen Jewish people out on the same protests. If your line was true, they wouldn’t be out on the streets with them.
If the BBC cared about the Palestinians, that are being slaughtered, even today, the Zionist settlers are stealing…
A really good read, with thoughtful comments on how AS is being used to disassociate Israel’s Genocide of the Palestinians, when in fact it’s a major reason for the rise in AS. What I would like to add is, the MSM, including the BBC, are actually supporting Israel, in the Newspapers and on the BBC News Programmes. A. by not telling the truth about what Israel is doing to the Palestinians and B. Not telling the truth about the Protesters, they frame it that they are the cause of the rise in AS, yet if they told the truth, AS would not be on the rise.
I believe that the MSM in its support of Israel bends the truth ie, if they said that Israel is not Governed by Jews or supported by Israeli Jews, that the Cabinet, the IDF, Mossad agents are not Jews, they are Zionists, that the majority of Jews across the World are against what they are doing to the Palestinians, including Genocide. Then it would be Zionists that would be hated and not Jews. They could show the videos of the IDF beating Jews that are out on the streets protesting against their Government in what it is doing to the Palestinians. Then there would not be any rise in AS. Here’s my complaint to the BBC.
My Complaint to the BBC!!
The Panorama program, about Jews being afraid.
You are implying that Jews are afraid because of those going onto the streets, to protest about Israel’s Genocide etc.
Not only is that wrong, it’s a lie. I’ve seen Jewish people out on the same protests. If your line was true, they wouldn’t be out on the streets with them.
If the BBC cared about the Palestinians, that are being slaughtered, even today, the Zionist settlers are stealing Palestinians homes and farms in the West Bank, they are using force, even killing them if they try to stop them, watched on by the IDF, who only step in, if the Settlers are losing.
There were videos on X showing hundreds of Palestinians running to the Lorrie’s carrying food that Israel allowed through the barriers, the IDF were up on a hill shooting them. If the BBC wasn’t Biased, you would have had a Panorama programme, saying, this is one of the reasons why Palestine Action is protesting on the streets and remind the viewers, that there are always some Jews out protesting with Palestine Action. One, that would be true and two, the public would know that Jews are out there supporting Palestine Action.
Thank you for allowing me to have my say
Bernard Grant
There is much I agree with in Barnaby Raine’s interview but there is also much I disagree with.
The statement that ‘Antisemitism is rising today because it offers a language of discontent for those living in the wake of successive historical failures.’ is insupportable.
No evidence has been supplied for such a statement. If this was true then the discontent of the former mining areas of the North East would have manifested itself as anti-Semitism. It hasn’t.
Instead it was channelled into hostility to migrants and found its expression in Brexit.
I see no evidence for an increase in anti-Semitism. What there has been is a deliberate conflation between Jews and Israel’s Genocide. Jews have become the moral alibi for British imperialism’s support for the Genocide.
I accept that those living in Golders Green may feel that there is an upsurge in anti-Semitism and they are under attack but are they? Zack Polanski was right when he said the perception is different from the reality.
Barnaby has constructed a whole theory based on anti-Semitism becoming a new discourse of the oppressed. I doubt it.
One person with mental health problems stabs 2 Jewish people (& a Muslim). An attack on a Manchester synagogue where the police caused most casualties. An attack on a Kenton former synagogue now a mosque. This is nothing like the wave of anti-Black racist violence of the 50s, 60s and 70s.
It ignores the constant attacks on Muslims today. There is no state racism against Jews. Zionism seeks to make Jews into their colonial pawns and keep the diaspora isolated and vulnerable. The scapegoats for Israeli Apartheid. Very few people on the left and in the Palestine movement fall for this.
Academics like to construct holistic theories but Barnaby has made complex what are quite simple phenomenon. Israel is not only the most dangerous place in the world for Jews but it propagates the idea that Israel controls the Western elites.
Another islamophobic article. I see he goes with 2 jews stabbed instead of the fact a muslim was stabbed too. And then 2 synagogues fire bombed when one wasn’t a synagogue anymore and will be a mosque. The fact he believes anti muslim hate is all about jews is quite unreal. As a muslim i am subjected to hate every day and not once have jews ever been mentioned. But he obviously finds it easy to airbrush the facts so…
The argument for rejecting nationalism in favor of humanity across borders is compelling. This paper successfully examines how a long history of exile should foster solidarity with other groups marginalized by the Western world order.
A brilliant piece of writing. About the best contribution I’ve read to the current debate about anti-semitism, what it is and how it can be combated. Masterly historical analysis, that demonstrates the historical roots of the phenomenon. Congratulations to Equator, andvto JVL, for publishing it.
Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist party, sorry of the Muslim faith or a leftie marcher?