IfNotNow Spreads More Lies About Israel
By Yoni Michanie, former CAMERA Campus Advisor and Strategic Planner
The trope that Jews (or in this convenient case, the Jewish state) are the cause of another people’s suffering is not a new one. In fact, New York Times author Bari Weiss has traced it back to the time of Jesus’ crucifixion in Roman-occupied Jerusalem, and explains:
“In the New Testament, it is a small band of Jews who get Rome — then the greatest power in the world — to do their bidding by killing Christ. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, speaks to the Jews about Jesus in the book of John: “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your own law.” But the Jews punt the decision back to Pilate: “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” And so, Pilate does the deed on their behalf. In the book of Matthew, the implications of this manipulation are spelled out: “His blood is on us and our children,” the Jews say — a line that has been so historically destructive that even Mel Gibson cut it from his Passion of the Christ.”
That is why the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), adopted a working definition of antisemitism which includes the following two clauses:
- Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.
- Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.
It should therefore come as no surprise that IfNotNow, a self-proclaimed Jewish-American “progressive” organization, violated both of these clauses on the eve of Passover.
Click here to read the rest on the CAMERA on Campus blog
