The Antisemitism Thread

Pakistani Actress Veena Malik tweets made-up Hitler quote, which Twitter later deleted

https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/south-asia/veena-malik-hitler-twitter-israel-palestine-b1846893.html

Why isn't she booted off completely?

Edited by Forenperser on May 14th 2021 at 11:25:29 AM

With all the shit happening in Israel, anti-semitism incidents are surely to be on the rise.

I was torn between posting this in this thread and the Israel/Palestine thread, because there's some overlap, but there's been a spurt of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. where attackers yelled out pro-Palestinian rhetoric.

Also, I saw through my Twitter feed that in Manchester, there are some pro-Palestine protests against Marks and Spencer, apparently mostly because the founders were Jewish, and one of the protestors carried this charming sign about Jews being Christ killers.

So yeah. I know it's a popular refrain about how criticism of Israel is not inherently anti-Semitic. And I wouldn't dispute the truth of that as a broad statement. But there is plenty of anti-Semitism that just substitutes the word Israel or Zion for Jews.

It's always like that, unfortunately.

Anti-Israel Protest always draw blatant Antisemites towards them.

Edited by Forenperser on May 22nd 2021 at 3:03:47 PM

I do have to add the caveat though that at least one of the New York incidents involved both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protestors (say that three times fast).

Also, I should note in fairness that the synagogue vandalism in Arizona wasn't necessarily done as anti-Israel protests. I mean because of the timing, it seems likely, but there's been plenty of synagogue vandalism by Nazi types in the U.S.

Edited by Hodor2 on May 22nd 2021 at 8:16:10 AM

Due to a recent increase in global attacks against Jews like myself, Zionist and Non-Zionist alike, I have removed the contents of my troper page until further notice as an act of protest against the injustice and prejudice faced by my global family, by blood or by adoption, and encourage any others to stand up to Jew-Hatred.

I will not be silent on this matter.

No amount of so-called "Jewish Privilege" ever stopped anyone from harassing my people then. It will not stop them now. Only united as a family, and with help from G-d and our friends can we withstand the tide of vitriol against us.

Justice must prevail.

#AmYisraelChai!

So anyway, I would hope that pro-palestinian public officials will denounce anti-semetic actions, regardless of who does them or why.

I would hope...

Second Person arrested after brutal beatdown of a jewish man in New York

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/555238-second-person-arrested-in-assault-of-jewish-man-near-times-square

Unfortunately, the main instigator, Waseem Awawdeh, is out on bail and more than ready to do it again. Disgusting.

It seems like a Tennessee hat store is now selling yellow Star of David patches with "Not Vaccinated" written on them.

As a result of this, hat maker John B. Stetson is severing ties with the store.

Also, after YEARS of Pro-Hitler Tweets, CNN FINALLY axes freelancer Adeel Raja

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cnn-adeel-raja-adolf-hitler_n_60a23201e4b063dcceab99a9

...da fug? Like, with a name like that, don't they realise that they'd be up against the wall right along the Jewish undesirables?

Like, I don't expect far-right nutters to be smart, but you'd think they'd at least understand self-preservation.

Edited by Kayeka on May 30th 2021 at 10:54:46 AM

I think The guy is pakistani since the article mentions he wrote from Islamabad, so it's less far-right nuttery and more hatred of Israel mixing up with anti-semitism.

Edited by raziel365 on May 30th 2021 at 2:38:34 AM

Israeli citizens of all backgrounds have been criticizing their government and military for YEARS without lapsing into Jew-Hatred.

There is a point where it becomes clear that certain people use criticism of Israel as an excuse for Jew-Hatred. When you attack a Haredi Jew for looking the part, never mind that Haredi relations with Zionism often range from ambivalent to outright dismissive, you have lost all right to complain about human rights.

A Jew-Hater using someone else's grievance with the Israeli Gov't as an excuse to attack Jews in general would be as legitimate as Hitler using the Nuking of Japan as an excuse to order his troops to kill any American they come across.

Likewise, I also notice that a lot of people who claim Stalin was worse than Hitler follow a Neo-Nazi agenda or otherwise are acting in bad faith.

Admittedly, the two tyrants have a lot in common, but they were each horrible in their own way.

I personally dislike the term "antisemitism". It was invented to try and give Jew-Hatred an air of legitimacy, and causes other Jew-Haters to try and weasel out of being called on their prejudice by claiming that they themselves are "semitic" or claiming that Jews are not.

Edited by SkyCat32 on Jun 30th 2022 at 8:37:54 AM

Yeah, this is honestly one of the reasons why I have become so wary of the term "Anti-Zionism".

It is very, very rare that Anti-Israel protests are not hijacked by Antisemites.

I personally dislike the term "antisemitism". It was invented to try and give Jew-Hatred an air of legitimacy, and causes other Jew-Haters to try and weasel out of being called on their prejudice by claiming that they themselves are "semitic" or claiming that Jews are not.

Here's the thing, though: It doesn't work. Everyone knows that antisemitism means hating Jews - nobody's arguing in good faith that the term has any actual connection to Semitic people in general.

When somebody tries to tell you that they can't be antisemitic because they're part of a Semitic people, they're not being ignorant - they're bullshitting you.

Edited by DrunkenNordmann on May 30th 2021 at 7:40:03 PM

As a Jew, I do not want to give people the satisfaction of using bad faith arguments that they don't hate Jews. I realize "antisemitism" has been used as a term by people who oppose Jew-Hatred and other manifestations of untreated prejudice, but I use stronger terms such as Jew-Hatred or anti-Jewish prejudice because I don't feel like sugarcoating such behaviour.

I am considering referring to Islamophobia as anti-Muslim prejudice or Muslim-Hatred as well.

I believe that prejudice as a whole is an incurable-but-treatable disease, and that it takes personal investment not to let it consume us. There are many strains of the virus known as prejudice. Each strain has its own symptoms, and it would be gross oversimplification to call any form of prejudice "misplaced" from other strains.

Jew-Hatred—otherwise known as "antisemitism"—has been around in primitive forms since the dawn of Hebraic civilization. However, we have outlasted many civilizations who desired our destruction. I think many of these civilizations destroy themselves by wasting too much energy on trying to destroy us at the expense of everything else.

I can only hope that all of the people who currently antagonize us recognize their mistakes.

I understand where you're coming from, but it's what he said, everybody knows that Antisemitism refers to hatred of Jews in particular.

Everybody who uses this kind of argument that they can't be antisemitic because Arabs are Semites too is arguing in bad faith.

I mean, it's the same reason "homophobia" doesn't mean that you hate uniform salad. Antisemitism means hatred of Jews, it's what it was invented to mean.

It's like how "alt-right" was coined because calling yourself a fascist or white supremacist in public wasn't really feasible anymore - which of course backfired on them because the euphemism threadmill is a thing and now everyone caught on again.

I see what you guys are getting at.

I realize that people who say they can't be "antisemitic" because they are of "Semitic" descent are acting in bad faith. I just don't want to hear those particular bad faith arguments.

That said, I must admit I feel a grim satisfaction at knowing that Insistent Terminology used by Jew-Haters is now being used against them.

Hoist by Their Own Petard indeed.

Edited by SkyCat32 on May 30th 2021 at 3:15:23 PM

As I said, the euphemism threadmill.

You can try to dress up something with a new word, but it will inevitably take on the same connotations regardless.

It's the same with people who constantly insist their instance on using "globalism" doesn't have any ulterior motive.

Much like how "Climate Denial" doesn't mean someone disbelieves in the changing of the seasons.

Prejudice is a brain hack that is baked right into our default settings. You can't actually transcend prejudice (which is why anyone still claiming that, say, America is a post racial society is a racist). It's a character flaw, much like greed. People understand that you can't actually eliminate greed from your own personality, and that mitigating the destructive effects of one's own temptation to become greedy requires a life-long commitment to mitigate it's effects, with no promise of ultimate victory. We would be better off if more of us thought of prejudice and bigotry this way.

That's a better way of putting it.