How to manage antisemitism as Israel and Hamas go to war
It is not antisemitic to criticize Israel, but it is antisemitic to gloat over the deaths of Jewish people.
Thank you for enjoying this free-to-all Monday edition of my newsletter. And a special thanks to the paid subscribers who make it possible, and who receive the Tuesday and Thursday editions as my thanks.
My previous post was a lighthearted description of my recent visit with my friend Mike Rothschild follow a book event where he talked about the impact of antisemitism in the world, particularly among conspiracy theorists. Neither us had any idea how soon antisemitism would explode anew, following the horror of this past weekend when Hamas launched air strikes against Israeli civilians, and Israel retaliated in kind.
It is not antisemitic to criticize the actions of Israel’s government — that’s not a controversial position. But those who are gloating over the deaths of Jewish people in the wake of Hamas’ surprise attack (well over 1000 at last count) are being antisemitic.
If you follow my work you’ve heard me rue the deep systemic antisemitism that saturates conspiracy theory culture. It’s common for people to need “a bad guy” to blame for whatever part of their life is dissatisfactory, and antisemitism satisfies that in a way that goes hand-in-hand with belief in conspiracy theories.
Israel has retaliated against Palestinian communities, and some people are now gloating over those deaths too. Horrifyingly, some Christian Nationalists are likely to be pleased by the entire conflict, seeing both Jews and Muslims dying horribly. Racism is a poison.
This is not just me being hyperbolic. All over the world, people are preparing to be physically attacked or killed because they have the same ethnic background as the combatants in Israel and Hamas. Here’s a headline from Politico:
European countries ramp up security for Jewish community in wake of Hamas attacks on Israel
The Anti-Defamation League lists many shocking examples of celebration of the deaths of the Israeli civilians:
Anti-Israel Activists Celebrate Hamas Attacks that Have Killed Hundreds of Israelis
When videos emerged from London yesterday of people celebrating the Jewish deaths, police stepped up security:
Israel attack: London police patrols increase amid celebration claims
Even Chinese newspapers are reporting a surge in antisemitic rhetoric:
Israel-Gaza war makes global impact as countries step up security around potential Jewish targets
This is not a political blog and it’s not an attempt to report world events. My focus here, as always, is to identify the thought patterns that lead to belief in false conspiracy theories. These current events have brought these beliefs to the foreground. It’s probable that everyone reading this has some friends who have expressed (either in person or on social media) some satisfaction in the deaths that have resulted, on either side. It’s not always easy to clearly separate legitimate criticism from race-based gloating, and we’re seeing some of our friends fall into this trap.
My suggestion, if you wish to reply to some social media post by a friend who has blurred this distinction, is not to call them out directly — probably very few of us have friends with any desire to be openly racist, but many of our friends can be accidentally racist. Offer reminders of the difference between legitimate criticism and racism; something along the lines of “I agree with how horribly those governments are behaving, and what a tragedy so important, valuable, loving, innocent humans are dying.”
Absolutely nothing happening in the Middle East warrants a gloat.
Overall I believe your premise was well stated. I still cringe every time I hear people talk about race and racism. I recall an article in National Geographic many years ago which highlighted the fact that there is only one race, the human race. There is no scientific basis for race within the Homo sapiens sapiens species. The concept itself, as I recall was created in ante-bellum days by a doctor who was trying to explain the inferiority of blacks. Recently, on a high school graduating class blog someone stated how different things are today compared with our graduating year. I highlighted how so much is still the same in spite of advancements, as there have also been retreats.
We all live in bubbles. Individual ones, bubbles à deux, team, tribe, nation, ..
It all looks kinda real stupid. And delusional.
Hey! Wake up! Break out!
We have nothing to lose but our fears!