The United States is in the midst of a crisis of empire, brought on by Donald Trump and the Republican Party, which would rather see the nation burn than cede an inch of ground to Democrats. On the left, a newly energized population has dubbed itself “the resistance,” and is turning out in force to vote, protest, and call their representatives. But there’s a problem.
Antisemitism is par for the course on the right, where extremists engage in Holocaust denial, foment conspiracy theories about some sort of “Jewish elite,” and engage in like acts of hatred. And it’s a playbook used worldwide by people like Vladimir Putin. This deeply-rooted hatred of Jewish people is something the left should be opposing in loud voices, but it’s not. Instead, antisemitism is largely tolerated, despite the escalating rhetoric and the states.
Why? Why can’t the left condemn antisemitism in the same terms that it decries other forms of injustice?
One theory proposed by some members of the American Jewish community is the left’s inability to separate Jewish people from Israel, and the left’s rabid hatred of the idea of Israel as a Jewish state. Jewish people of conscience and varying positions on Israel argue that the left veers into antisemitism with its rhetoric about Israel, perpetuating injustice. American Jews are frequently called to answer for the sins of Israel — their opinions on the matter aside — and any discussion of oppression is countered with “but what about Israel?”
This is a grave and hateful mistake in a climate where Twitter freely hosts people talking about “ovens,” “the big nose tribe,” and other dogwhistles. When Facebook tolerates antisemitic rhetoric, saying it doesn’t violate their terms of service. While Jewish lesbians are ordered to put their pride flags away because they contain a Star of David — a symbol that predates Israel.
In a social climate where the right treats Jewish people as the propagators of some sort of scheme for new world order, the left wishes to hold each and every single one accountable for the misdeeds of a country some feel no connections to. Other members of the American Jewish community are zionist. Or believe in a two state solution, or a secular state, or any number of other things. But the left appears disinterested in engaging with the reasons why some Jewish people feel connected with Israel, with the existential crisis that was the Holocaust and is the continued persecution of Jewish people all over the world.
Outcry about the human rights abuses committed by the state, such as shooting down clearly unarmed and identified medics, bulldozing homes, and treating Palestinians like criminals, is rarely accompanied by introspection into other abusive states. Israel is exceptionalized, turned unique. Every Jewish person is expected to precede any comment with an Israel apologia to avert the inevitable “yes but.” This constant barrage tends to make people unwilling to discuss this political issue.
The consequences of this are serious. It’s not just internet rhetoric that amplifies and buries discussion under a tidal wave of hatred, spilling over into the lives of the people who see this content, like the children who repeat what they see on hateful YouTube advertisements. For those who believe that “words can never hurt you,” there are real physical ramifications to the tolerance of antisemitism in the United States.
The New England Holocaust Memorial just reopened after multiple acts of vandalism committed in 2017. In the winter and early spring of that year, a string of threats and vandalism against Jewish Community Centers forced closures and necessitated armed guards, terrifying members of the community. Last June, three synagogues in Los Angeles were forced to close due to bomb threats. That same summer, a synagogue in Ohio was vandalized with a swastika. Arson destroyed a historic synagogue in New York City.
These threats and vandalism started almost immediately after the 2016 election. That is not a coincidence. Trump and his white nationalist cronies emboldened the worst slime from the underbelly of America to slither out. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s “documenting hate” project shows a series of antisemitic attacks across the country, including bomb threats, vandalism, and physical assaults.
This should trigger a crisis of conscience on the left. This increase in naked hatred should be cause for collective outrage and calls for action. But it’s not. Instead, there is an uneasy silence. Antisemitic comments from celebrities, politicians, and other public figures are rarely acknowledged, let alone called out. When Jewish people identify antisemitic users on social media and point out specific instances of abuse, they’re told these “don’t violate terms of service” and sometimes they’re even suspended for talking back to abusive users. Jewish public figures receive a tidal wave of death threats, racist images, and other abuse on social media and the response is a collective shrug.
Whatever one’s position on Israel, it should be possible to separate a Jewish state from Jewish people worldwide, not least because being Jewish doesn’t automatically imply uncomplicated support for Israel, or any at all; the same left that cries “not my president” and attempts to distance itself from the current administration does not extend the same courtesy of righteous distancing to Jewish people. And being supportive of Israel does not justify or excuse being targeted for hate, whether it’s harassing phone calls, abusive internet comments, or attacks on places of worship and community gatherings.
The American left has a moral imperative to resist antisemitism, just as it does to resist all forms of hatred and oppression. Hate must be identified and weeded out from the ranks of the left, and the left must push back and refuse to tolerate it on the part of the right. Must hold people accountable for hateful words and actions and call for a reckoning when, for example, members of Congress boost antisemitic conspiracy theories. Must listen to Jewish people when they identify hate in their communities and must heed their calls for help.
If the left cannot identify with the suffering of a community that has dealt with centuries of abuse, scapegoating, and oppression, its progressive credentials should be called into question.
Photo: Wynand van Poortvliet/Creative Commons