Dismantling antisemitism and apartheid in Israel must go hand in hand
JVL Introduction
Those who call for Palestinians to have the same rights as we have find themselves accused of antisemitism by major Jewish organisations , write Elsa Auerbach, Sara Roy and Eve Spangler in a recent London Review of Books blog.
As neo-Nazis come to ever more public prominence in the US, most recently along the route of Boston’s St Patrick’s Day Parade, it is vital to “remain steadfast in dismantling antisemitism and fighting racism in all its forms”.
So they are appalled that these Jewish leaders are claiming that recent reports about Israeli apartheid will fuel antisemitism.
On the contrary: “We must assert unapologetically that opposing Israeli apartheid is not antisemitic; it is antiracist.”
Our safety as Jews comes from securing the safety of others, in fighting injustice wherever it occurs.
This article was originally published by London Review of Book, Blog on Tue 5 Apr 2022. Read the original here.
The Safety of Others
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I would like to be able to share this as the comparisons with Ukraine are so relevant now.
As a Jew and son of holocaust survivors, I agree with the views expressed in this article.
The article mentions Ukraine as a point of reference and comparison, while also mentioning “Jewish exceptionalism”. I agree, but The point must be made clear: Jews, be they a religious, a cultural, an ethnic, or even a national community, have the right to seek (respective) self determination.
BUT – that claim for self determination, in the current context, must not ignore the nature of Zionism as a settler-colonialist ONGOING project. Otherwise, the comparison with the situation in Ukraine falls through. Zionists claim: the Arabs in general, Palestinians in particular, wish to annihilate us, simply because we are Jews.Therefore, anything we do – crimes against humanity included – is legitimate self-defence.
Only a realistic analysis of Zionism can counter that argument.