I believe in Palestinian liberation. Without antisemitism.
I am a white Jew who has spent much time the past few years deeply engaged in learning about the ways race impacts my experience and those of others in the U.S. I have spent time in allyship, in solidarity, in advocacy and in teaching others who are interested in learning about race. After the Israeli-Palestinian conflict last May, however, my allyship, solidarity and advocacy began to dissolve. Instances of antisemitism began to rise and not only did I not feel a shared commitment in the fight for justice from those I had fought for and with, I felt direct antisemitism targeted at me and my community.
Most recently, this attack came in the form of an open letter from my children’s school, signed by many of their teachers and some of my own professional colleagues, who I know mean well. The letter is rife with antisemitism as I understand it. It is letters like this that made me step away from engaging in racial justice work the past few months, because how I can advocate with those who turn their backs on me? It is this letter, though, that is bringing me back to the work. I am back because this hits too close to home to stay quiet.
In the words of Hillel the Elder, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” So here is my response, as I feel called to stand now for myself. I represent only myself and I do not posit to speak for the entire Jewish community. I am not an expert on Israel nor on Israeli-Palestinian relations or history. There is much I don’t know and it’s highly possible that as I continue to learn and engage, I will change my mind. While I wait and continue to learn, however, I am not going to stay quiet. I share this response in the spirit of opening a dialogue, exploring modern antisemitism and inviting everyone to learn more so that we may find ourselves in solidarity once again.
It is important to undertsand the Jewish experience in America to contextualize where I stand. Jews are currently 2% of the US population but they are the target of 52% of the religious hate crimes in our country. In my hometown of San Diego, hate crimes against Jews are 64% of religious hate crimes. Since the Israeli/Hamas conflict last May, acts of antisemitism have more than doubled. In San Diego, acts of antisemitism in our schools have also increased since last May and I receive emails regarding these acts of hatred that have been directed at my kids’ friends in different schools on a regular basis. Many in my community are feeling scared, silenced and shunned, yet there is a dire lack of voices regarding our experiences. This makes sense when you consider we are 2% of the country. That is 2 Jews for every 100 people; if 50% of us have the will, the skill and the platform to speak up, that is 1 for every 100. I can tell you 50% of us do not feel confident or knowledgeable enough and so many stay silent. I know there are many things I don’t know. What I do know, however, is that in the face of rising antisemitism and many Jewish students hiding their identities on campuses across the country, educators have a responsibility to be careful with their language. Our words, our framing of content and our positions on current events have the ability to make or break safe spaces for students.
A widely used definition of antisemitism is this: “Antisemitism is the marginalization and/or oppression of people who are Jewish based on the belief in stereotypes and myths about Jewish people, Judaism and Israel.” In the context of trying to understand this letter as antisemitic, “Israel” is the key word in this definition. Because of the single story told in this letter and the lack of historical context, the way Israel is portrayed plays into the myths and stereotypes about the country — who they are, what they want and why they act the way they do. If this letter were to acknowledge the complex, intersecting stories at play in the Middle East, while still advocating for Palestinian liberation, it would not be antisemitic. But it doesn’t, and so it is. Another helpful definition addresses three dimensions of the ways in which Israel is spoken of: delegitimization, demonization and double standards. This letter contains all three elements in its framing of Israel.
As a Jew, Israel is an extremely important place to me. It’s history, culture and the fact it was founded as a safe haven after the Holocaust, given to us by the U.N. and Britain because no other country would take Jewish refugees (including the U.S.), mean that it is an emotional and spiritual safe place and I hold it deep and dear in my heart. Land was never stolen from anyone. Jews and Arabs (Palestinians) lived there side by side when Israel was created and since then, including upon its founding, the Arab world has denied every single opportunity it’s been given to create a state for the Palestinian people for antisemitic reasons. Israel is not a perfect country and yes, there is mistreatment of Palestinians that needs to be addressed, remedied and fought for and you will find many Jews critical of Israeli policies that harm Palestinians. It is possible to criticize specific Israeli policies, but when the criticism devolves into a general demonization of Israel as a whole, it is antisemitic.
There are legitimate security reasons for certain places of Israeli occupation and this is something that is constantly overlooked. Palestinian liberation cannot be discussed and fought for without also fighting for Israel’s neighbors to recognize it as a legitimate country and guarantee its safety in the region. The two go hand in hand. The Palestinian plight is often framed and talked about in a silo without also talking about Israel’s status with its neighbors, who for decades have sought its extermination and delegitimatization. When liberal racial justice advocates fight for Palestine without naming and acknowledging this context, as a Jew I feel threatened because the last time Israel gave up land to the Palestinian people in an attempt at peace, Hamas came in and took over. Hamas has written into its charter the extermination of Jews as a primary goal. Their charter is also extremely anti-LQBTQ+, anti-female, etc…
The stats shared in this letter do not recognize or address the thousands of rockets Hamas shot into Israel during the same time period that is discussed. Most of these rockets were shot down and Jews (and the 20% of Israel that is Arab) were saved, partly because of the defense funding provided by the U.S. The stats also do not address the fact that Hamas deliberately builds its headquarters, weapons storage, etc…underneath schools, hospitals and neighborhoods so that when Israel does defend itself from Hamas attacks, they are forced to make the choice of what to hit. As I understand it currently, Israel is as humantarian as can possibly be in these defense responses and works with the Palestinian communities to provide advanced warning. These communities, under the rule of Hamas, are often told to stay put or are not given the information provided to ensure their safety.
Additionally, the letter also negates the idea of Zionism. This is antisemitism. Zionism takes effort and research to understand, but at its core is the belief that Jews should have a country of their own as a safe haven from antisemitism in other countries. Many, many Jews, including myself, disagree with some Israeli policies and actions to build settlements (in territories technically theirs, won in a war started by their Arab neighbors) in the name of Zionism, but the act of building settlements is not what Zionism is. To criticize Zionism is to say Jews don’t deserve their own safe space and that is generally understood by the Jewish community to be antisemitic. This is one of many definitions that has been manipulated and redefined by anti-Israel protestors attempting to change the conversation. As an aside, many of the resources linked in the letter are blatantly one-sided and the one Jewish resource, Jewish Voices for Peace, is widely disregarded within the Jewish community as antisemitic.
There are many more definitions I would argue with that are present in this letter as well as in many liberal discussion spaces. Words like apartheid and settler colonialism that are used to equate Israeli treatment of Palestinians with other racial justice issues are inaccurate, to the extent I define them and understand the complexities of the history of the Middle East. The history of this area is so tremendously complicated and from abroad, without doing due diligence to learn the history and all its complexities for BOTH sides, we cannot simply apply the same language used in the U.S. It leads to misunderstanding and simplistic reductions of the situation. In my view, Israel is not an apartheid state and its history does not meet the definition of settler colonialism, although I recognize this is an easy point to debate.
Lastly, the letter references the importance of implementing the original ethnic studies curriculum in response to CA’s new ethnic studies mandate. As usual in politics there are many twists and turns this curriculum and mandate have taken. To briefly summarize, the original version of the curriculum was widely denounced as antisemitic by multiple diverse groups and our governor stated it would never see the light of day. Thanks to a major loophole in policy and some cunning political moves by the Palestinian authors of the curriculum, it was recently adopted by SDUSD and other major districts across the state. Since San Diego has adopted and implemented the original version of the curriculum, antisemitic attacks and incidents on school campuses have risen exponentially this year and as I said above, many in the Jewish community are scared for our children. Antisemitism in San Diego schools has reached a point that multiple school boards have recently felt a need to pass official resolutions denouncing antisemitism. We cannot disconnect or ignore the way we teach and talk about Israel from this context. When we see a correlation like this, it is our duty as advocates for justice to start asking questions about where hatred and misunderstanding come from and to reflect on our own participation to ensure we are standing up for all communities. As a Jew, I generally feel a very large lack of support from other communities.
Some may read this response and argue that none of the language in the open letter, and none of what I have responded to, qualifies as antisemitism. To that, I’d like to say that when a person of color declares a comment or an action is racist, my response is, “Tell me more. Can you help me understand why?” When Jews call out antisemitism and the response is to deny it and argue, “We criticize you for shutting down all conversation about Israel,” I find myself trapped and unheard. How revolutionary might it be if we all responded, “Can you tell me more?” when someone says they feel mistreated? It is not impossible to criticize Israeli policies without demonizing the country and scaring American Jews. It is not impossible to come together in conversation to better understand unique perspectives.
I would challenge the signers of this letter to read a book like Noa Tishby’s Israel if they are genuinely interested in engaging in this discussion and advocating for Palestine. It is possible to advocate for Palestinian liberation in a way that still supports the Jewish community and demonstrates understanding of the history of Israel, but it requires work and learning to do so. I also question the double standards implicated in this letter. Israel is not the only country struggling with civil and social issues, but it is often the sole focus of many social justice protests. Countries such as China, Russia, Myanmar and others, with documented stories of extreme oppression, do not face the same rhetoric and hatred as Israel. If one feels the need to denounce Israeli policies, I would expect similar denouncements regarding the treatment of Iranians, Syrians, Uyghurs, and more.
I write this with the utmost love and respect for all who signed this open letter. I believe there were good intentions and goodwill. This is an opportunity to engage with the larger Jewish community and to bring people together in conversation to build bridges and understanding. There is so much to learn and understand before writing and signing a letter like this; this response barely scratches the surface. As part of 2% of the United States, as an educator who cares deeply about the wellbeing of all students and as a person who believes in connection above all, I look forward to when conversation can build bridges instead of criticism devolving into divisiveness.
