Ultimately We Are Alone -- Schumer
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, a Jewish Democrat who is the majority leader, delivers a speech on antisemitism in the U.S. Capitol, Nov. 29, 2023:
“Jewish Americans are left alone at least in our eyes to ponder what this all means, and where it could lead,” Schumer, the Jewish New York Democrat, said in opening Wednesday’s Senate session. “Can you understand why the Jewish people feel isolated when we hear some praise Hamas and chant its vicious slogan?”
The slogan he was referring to, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” is one embraced by a member of his own party, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American who advocates for a single Israeli-Palestinian state. She is also among a growing group of progressive lawmakers calling for a permanent ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Schumer started out, as he often does, by proudly noting his status as the most senior Jewish elected official in U.S. history. But he articulated what many Jews — who vote overwhelmingly for Democrats — have said over Thanksgiving meals, Shabbat gatherings and after synagogue services: After years of alarm at the rise of antisemitism on the right, many fear that the left is also becoming inhospitable, with some progressives praising the Hamas attack.
“In some cases, people even celebrated what happened, describing it as the deserved fate of ‘colonizers’ and calling for ‘glory to the martyrs’ who carried out these heinous attacks,” Schumer said. “Many of the people who have expressed these sentiments in America aren’t neo-Nazis, or card-carrying Klan members, or Islamist extremists. They are in many cases people that most liberal Jewish Americans felt previously were their ideological fellow travelers.”
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https://www.jta.org/2023/11/29/politics/ultimately-we-are-alone-schumer-calls-out-antisemitism-on-the-left-in-a-speech-on-the-senate-floor?utm_source=JTA_Maropost&utm_campaign=JTA_DB&utm_medium=email&mpweb=1161-65295-20856
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function, even-temporarily one hopes, in the case of long-time, previously respected posters? I find it makes participation possible, even rewarding in some cases. I’ve noted, with sorrow, your seeming withdrawal from the Jewish Group and hope you can find your way back.
It is frustrating, especially when I see shit, if thrown at non-White persons, would immediately be seen as bigoted, such as "some of my best friends are...", "but this Jew over there agrees with me", "are you really a Jew given you weren't born one?", and on and on. Then there is the gentilesplainin' which is really fucking annoying.
If you want me to be honest, the reason I haven't posted much in the Jewish Group of late is because I don't feel Jews are respected here, so what's the point. I also don't feel safe here. I also feel there are those among us who would rather blow sunshine out their collective assholes than deal with the reality facing many Jews and I really don't have the time nor energy to deal with such pollyannish prigs.
This was sent to me by my brother, and it reflects some of what Schumer said, and, honestly, it is how I am feeling:
I know there are some good people out there (and here) who are supportive of Jews, but it seems, to me, another Holocaust could come along, and all we would see would be crocodile tears and whines "oh, who could have guessed that would happen again?!" I am sickened.
