The End Jew Hatred Movement

[marybourg]

Its backers call it an unapologetic voice that’s fighting a growing problem, antisemitism, while its critics say it is an attempt to inject hawkish rhetoric into a national effort to combat anti-Jewish persecution. Amid that debate, the movement’s growth, and its successful spearheading of resolutions nationwide, show how an initiative founded by conservative activists has wielded influence in the conversation about antisemitism, even in liberal political spaces.



https://www.jta.org/2023/05/12/ny/the-end-jew-hatred-movement-is-spreading-across-the-country-and-sparking-controversy?utm_source=JTA_Maropost&utm_campaign=JTA_DB&utm_medium=email&mpweb=1161-57414-20856

[Beastly Boy]

1. Antisemitism is not political

It is no big surprise that it finds condemnation across the political spectrum. I see no justification in objecting to any effort to fight antisemitism on the basis of politics.

[Behind the Aegis]

2. Normally, I agree with you, but I must disagree here.

"Antisemitism is not political"

Oh, but it is. It shouldn't be, but it is. Just like it finds condemnation across the political spectrum, it finds "uses" across the political spectrums as well. Usually, anti-Semitism is only considered "bad, evil" when the other side does it.

[Beastly Boy]

3. Perhaps I should have used "pan-political" instead

This may be more appropriate to what I was trying to say. Antisemitism is not affiliated with any political view, faction or philosophy, and politics does not cause antisemitism. This has been the case for thousands of years, and is not unique to current American politics. Antisemitism is more an expression of xenophobia, which is a universal instinct, an instance of hatred being focused on a well defined and easily identified vulnerable target. It may be expressed in political terms to cover up and justify the real reason behind it, but these attempts are inevitably superficial and transparent. Your post clearly speaks to this hypocrisy.

Opposition to antisemitism, on the other hand, is more of an intellectual choice than an instinct (except for the victims of antisemitism, for whom it is a matter of self-preservation), a choice which is far more difficult to make, especially in the face of societal pressures. It is an expression of tolerance and humanism. It transcends politics, and, as in the case of antisemitism itself, politics does not drive people to make this choice. This is why I welcome it no matter where it comes from, and can see no justification for objecting to expressions of tolerance and humanism on political grounds. If anyone finds "hawkish rhetoric" attached to these efforts, fight the rhetoric, don't try to derail the principle.