United Methodists are responding to Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth ,a statement of faith and urgent call to action from Christians in Palestine. UMKR seeks, through nonviolent means and in partnership with Palestinian Christians, freedom, justice and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis.
This subject, closely connected to so many key developments
in the news in 2018 – such as the Dept of Education Civil Rights
desk changing the definition of anti-Semitism used to investigate
accusations on campuses, the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act (ACTA), anti-BDS legislation throughout the country and the lawsuits that has engendered – has become a huge ongoing debate in the press and among activists, one that promises to continue in the year to come.
The question under debate: is opposition to Israeli policy, and by extension the ideology of Zionism that led to the creation of Israel and informs the policies of the Israeli government, the same thing as bigotry against Jews, since Israel is the only country in the world with a majority Jewish population and it chooses to define itself as “a Jewish state” and the state of all the Jewish people. By the way, both of those definitions of Israel are inaccurate: the former because a significant portion of Israel’s population is not Jewish (20% or more) and the latter because many Jews worldwide do not accept Israel as representing them or speaking for them and are offended whenever Israeli leaders try to suggest otherwise.
The bottom line: No, anti-Zionism is
not anti-Semitism and there are
thousands of Jewish citizens in the
US and countries around the world
to say so.Anti-Zionism is a political
positionbased on universal human rights
and opposition to an ideology and
political enterprise that necessarily
embodies racism and ethnic cleansing to
achieve its goals. Anti-Semitism is
bigotry against people on the basis of
their religion and/or ethnicity.
While every author on the subject feels compelled to acknowledge that anti-Semitism may sometimes creep into the conversation about Israel and Zionism (and we just did too!), it is hardly a prevalent theme in dedicated activists’ work for Palestinian rights. However, exxagerating the occasional appearance of anti-Semitic tropes from supposedly pro-Palestinian corners has been a primary tool of Israeli apologists to silence accurate criticism of Israeli oppression of the Palestinians.
What IS prevalent is the frightening rise of outspoken and manifestly violent bigotry in American society in many forms, including anti-Semitism, since the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency. These trends seen in far-right segments of American society should be an urgent concern of our elected officials, rather than seeking to demonize legitimate nonviolent political action, whether they do so at the bidding of powerful lobbyists or even their own constituents.
Over 40 Jewish organizations
worldwide, including the U.S.
group Jewish Voice for Peace
have weighed in on this debate
with a landmark statement that
opposes equating Anti-Semitism
with criticism of Israel.
(UMKR's note: the statement
acquired additional signers after
some articles were published.)
Given the appearance of that global statement, one might guess that this debate is not raging in the United States alone. In Europe, the success of the Palestinian rights movement and political efforts funded by the Israeli government to combat that success have led to government leaders’ attempts in several European countries to suppress legitimate political speech and action that is actually protected under those countries’ constitutions, just as in the U.S. For more on that, see England, France and Germany in our Around the World report in this newsletter.
READ MORE
NY Times, Michelle Goldberg: Anti-Zionism Isn’t the Same as Anti-Semitism
LA Times, Editorial Board: Enough already. Not all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitism.
The Forward: Jewish Groups Say Israel Criticism Is Not Anti-Semitic
Jewish Voice for Peace: First ever: 40+ Jewish groups worldwide oppose equating
antisemitism with criticism of Israel
Shalom Rav, Rabbi Brant Rosen: Unacceptable and Inhumane: A Response to Rabbi Jill Jacobs
The Forward: No, BDS Is Not Anti-Semitic, And Neither Is Ilhan Omar.
+972 Magazine: After Liberal Zionism
Mondoweiss: A message of encouragement for the ‘self-haters’
Mondoweiss: My Judaism is anti-Zionism
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ABOUT OUR NEWS SOURCES
The articles we include in our lists to 'Read More' – in our newsletters and on our website – are provided as an informational service for our readers, and the views expressed may or may not be shared by UMKR.
Some selections may be repetitive;because some periodicals have paywalls, we provide a variety of sources in the hope that every reader will find some of them accessible, with or without a subscription.
THE U.S. SCENE
A National Debate
Anti-Zionism &
Anti-Semitism
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News & Analysis UMKR News & Alerts
Download 2018 Review: Part One –
Download 2018 Review: Part Two –
The Big Stories of 2018
________________________
Read these sections of
Part Two on our website:
• The Top Stories
• People in the Spotlight
• Events IN Israel/Palestine
• U.S. Scene: Anti-Zionism, Anti-Semitism
• U.S. Scene: More from Trump Admin
• U.S. Scene: On Campus
• U.S. Scene: Legislation- State, Federal
• U.S. Scene: Changes on the Horizon
• Around the World
• Successes: BDS & More
• Last, But Not Least
• For Information Junkies
UMKR Newsletter