There have been an
increasing number of protests against Israel’s war in Gaza across the world, but also notably in American
universities. Many in the media and political scene have been calling these univerity protests antisemitic. For instance Benjamin
“Netanyahu Calls U.S. Student Protests Antisemitic and Says They Must Be
Quelled. “What’s happening in America’s college campuses is horrific,” the
Israeli prime minister said in a televised statement. “Antisemitic mobs have
taken over leading universities.”[1]
The Times goes on to
report,
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on
Wednesday that protests at U.S. universities against Israel’s war in Gaza were
“horrific” and should be stopped, using his first public comments on the
subject to castigate the student demonstrators and portray them as antisemitic.
Mr. Netanyahu’s comments could harden division over
the demonstrations. They could also give ammunition to Republican leaders who
have criticized the protesters and accused university administrators and
Democrats of failing to protect Jewish students from attack.”[2]
But are they antisemitic? For one
the idea that it is inherently antisemitic to protest this war is blatantly
absurd, the coalition of people who oppose the ongoing hostilities is far
reaching and broadly represented across society, and criticism of a first world army killing such large numbers of civilians is easily justifiable. But this term is being used in
much the same way that the term 'antivaxxer' was used during covid; to label any criticism
of the lockdowns or the mandates as simply fringe views. In the same way some
use the term 'antisemitic' simply to seek to pigeon whole opponents to what the
IDF is doing is Gaza as fringe dwellers. But it is especially inaccurate to
describe these protests as antisemitic, when many of the protestors themselves
are Jewish, and they are specifically Jewish opponents of the war.
For example the Jewish
Voice for Peace website says,
“Our elected officials and the U.S. media, desperate
to maintain unquestioning support for the Israeli war machine in service of
their own interests, have responded by exploiting fears of rising antisemitism
and smearing peaceful, anti-war protests as dangerous, anti-semitic mobs.
As the largest anti-Zionist Jewish organization in the
world, we unequivocally reject the conflation of antisemitism with anti-Zionism
and reaffirm in the strongest terms that there is no place for antisemitism in
our movements. We condemn the false accusations of antisemitism leveled against
principled, anti-war protesters to discredit our movements.
We understand these accusations for what they are: a cynical distraction from the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. Over 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, with thousands more feared dead. They are currently unearthing the bodies of their loved ones in mass graves. In Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have taken shelter, Israel’s military is preparing to invade.”[3]
These Jewish
advocates clearly are not basing their opposition to the war in support for
Hamas, or anti-Jewish sentiment, but rather in their understanding of the Passover
event from the book of Exodus.
Here is another
example,
“Judaism has a history that goes back probably around
3,000 years, and Zionism [as a political ideology] has history that goes back
around 200,” he tells Teen Vogue. “While I think the Jews have a historic
connection to the land that's currently controlled by Israel, that does not
necessarily mean that Zionism is part of the Jewish religion.”
For more than a week, students at Columbia and
neighboring Barnard have occupied the main lawn in tents. They’ve been
arrested, suspended, and evicted from university housing. They’ve braced for a
visit from US House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said the Ivy League school ought
to send the National Guard to campus. These protesters are demanding that the
university divest from companies with economic ties to or investments in
Israel, and grant amnesty to demonstrators who have been punished. Similar
encampments have popped up at dozens of colleges across the US, and hundreds of
students have been arrested, some in violent clashes with police.
Amid this backdrop, young Jewish people who oppose the
war in Gaza are finding creative ways to use their faith to resist the violence
arguably being waged in their name. Just last week Columbia students organized
a ceasefire seder on campus for Passover, the Jewish holiday that celebrates
the liberation of Jews from bondage in Egypt. Nearly 300 people were arrested
at a similar demonstration outside Senator Chuck Schumer’s house in Brooklyn.”[4]
Some Christians
confuse Zionism with Jewish identity. This stems from a misunderstanding that
all Jews are on the same page when it comes to the reestablishment of the
nation of Israel today, and also a misreading of the scriptures that imports
much of what is said about ancient Israel and attributes it to the modern Israeli nation. But Zionism and Judaism are not synonymous. Just as evangelical and Protestant are not synonymous, the picture is far more complicated and much
of what passes for Protestantism today is far from any of its biblical
foundations and roots. So is this also true with the Jewish community, there are wide and diverse opinions on many issues.
Some Christians may
be afraid to criticize this war openly, because they fear they will be seen as
antisemitic, or not standing in solidarity with the Jewish people. But the
Jewish people themselves do not agree on the morality or practicality of this
war, and how could they? Every nation or people has its divisions.
The important thing
we should do, is not look at this through a lens of solidarity, but instead we
should be dedicated to examining the truth of what is happening at every level.
I think these Jewish protestors are correct, the accusations of antisemitism
towards those calling for a ceasefire, or peace, are cynically seeking to turn criticism
away from their actions towards those who are protesting those actions, as they
say,
“We understand these accusations for what they are: a
cynical distraction from the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. Over 34,000
Palestinians have been killed, with thousands more feared dead. They are
currently unearthing the bodies of their loved ones in mass graves. In Rafah,
where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have taken shelter, Israel’s
military is preparing to invade.”
One can walk and talk
at the same time. By that I mean it is possible to despise and condemn Hamas
and it is possible to say that Israel is not justified in doing all that it is
doing. And you are not antisemitic for saying so. It is in fact the plain
truth.
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