This is a very difficult post for me to write, but I think it’s necessary.
When I was younger, I saw no conflict between being a patriotic American and wholeheartedly supporting the state of Israel. My father fought in the Second World War, and I lived through the horrifying disclosures that emerged in its aftermath–the pictures from the concentration camps, the “Black Book” detailing Nazi atrocities that my mother cried over…It was painfully obvious that Jews needed a country where they would be safe from the persistent and often deadly anti-Semitism that had followed us since biblical times. When my mother put her dimes and quarters in one of those ubiquitous “blue boxes” or sent dollars to plant trees in Israel, I saw no conflict between that support and a deep and abiding allegiance to my own country.
Benjamin Netanyahu has exploded that confidence. Worse, his regime has increased anti-Semitism against American Jews–and for that matter, Jews globally.
Substantial numbers of Israelis are opposed to Netanyahu, and I certainly don’t want to join the chorus of those painting all Israelis as culpable, just as a majority of Americans cannot be held responsible for Donald Trump. (Reams of polling confirm that a majority of us vehemently oppose the venality and stupidity of America’s current leadership.)
American Jews are currently re-examining what has been our reflexive support for Israel in the light of that country’s recent actions. If survey research is to be believed, a majority of us strongly disapprove of the Netanyahu government –especially what we view as a wildly disproportionate response to the horrific savagery of October 7th. Several American Jewish organizations publicly support the Palestinian cause and a two-state solution.
These days, it is quite possible to be pro-Jewish and anti-Zionist–at least, anti what Zionism has become–and that posture has become increasingly common.
It is also, obviously, possible to be pro-Zionist and profoundly anti-Semitic. Donald Trump is a pre-eminent example.
As a recent, thoughtful article in the Guardian, written by a Professor of Jewish studies, put it, the joint military strikes on Iran are forcing a “reckoning between two urgent, legitimate, and partially contradictory imperatives – and neither should be abandoned.”
Too many Jewish organizations, such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and American Jewish Committee (AJC) have suggested that this is the time to get behind the war effort and not to ask questions. But to say that Americans should not ask questions about the relationship between Israel and the United States because it might raise antisemitic conspiracy theories means handing over the tools of democratic accountability. That is too high a price.
A few days ago, I shared a post in which I distinguished between patriotism and nationalism. The position being taken by the ADL mistakes a nationalist reaction for a patriotic one. Genuinely patriotic Jews in Israel have argued against the actions of the Netanyahu government, and American organizations like Jewish Voices for Peace and JStreet have opposed those actions as well. It is possible to be pro-American and anti-MAGA, and it is equally possible to be pro-Israel and anti-Netanyahu. Indeed, I’d argue that being pro-America requires one to be anti-MAGA, and that being pro-Israel requires opposing Netanyahu.
As the Guardian article noted, there are plenty of people who have never needed a pretext to hate Jews, and in the wake of the attacks on Iran, “social media has been awash in the language of “puppet masters”, “dual loyalties” and insinuations that Jewish money bought American blood.” Far-right influencers increasingly echo Nazi propaganda. “This is the dual-edged reality of a political moment in which criticism of Israel has become newly acceptable across the American political spectrum.”
A healthy critique of the Israeli government is entirely appropriate, but it is different from–and does not and cannot excuse– anti-Semitism.
It’s hard to disagree with the Guardian article’s observation that “it is valuable and necessary to ask questions about Israel’s role in US foreign policy. It is not defensible to praise Holocaust revisionists or to blame the Jews for killing Jesus. And the fact that the same figures can go from one to the other is part of why this moment is so dangerous, and so fraught.”
The way to fight anti-semitism is not to stop criticizing Israeli policy. It is to distinguish between that policy and Jewish identity. Benjamin Netanyahu’s legacy will be that he has enabled anti-Semites to ignore that distinction–imperilling both Israel and the Jewish people.
As with Trump, Netanyahu is exploiting any paranoia regarding Hamas and all the other “organizations” that he deems an existential and lethal threat to anything Israel, because he wants to stay out of jail.
Trump was easily led into the Iranian attacks by Bibi as yet another distraction away from the Epstein scandal. And why does Lindsey Graham has this thing about Iran? He’s become a screeching war monger and is fairly dancing with glee (Don’t close your eyes and imagine Graham dancing)now that his pet stooge has ordered the bombers in. Why?
If our coming elections are thwarted by yet more “distractions”, we may have another civil war. Peaceful demonstrations will be used as fuel for the thugs to come out guns blazing. Stay tuned.
Thank you, Sheila, little as I know about the Jewish religion and the innerworkings of the Israeli government I am well aware that todays Israel is NOT the Israel the nations supported statehood for in 1948.
Questions should always be asked about any war effort; BEFORE preemptive attacks, not after a middle of a weekend night attack. America’s killing of school children and school staff on wholesale level is a shame we will never be able to erase. The questionable support of Netanyahu by Trump is no surprise; both are war mongers and killing is their answer to any differences.
Your statement grabbed me from the beginning “…It was painfully obvious that Jews needed a country where they would be safe from the persistent and often deadly anti-Semitism that had followed us since biblical times.” The Bible seems to be at the base of all that is unholy in every war; Old Testament or New Testament or other religious testaments used by leaders of nations as excuse to seek power.
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu together, doubling their powers, are the primary reason for the current war against Iran; and the only reason for the preemptive attack with no plan from either to end or back out of the killing. Neither of them can be considered religious leaders and Trump has put the U.S. in the middle of a war that can only escalate to nuclear level, which Trump has wanted since his comments “…why can’t we just nuke ’em?” in 2016. He is also seeking the “spoils of war” (OIL) which he questioned why the U.S. did not use that advantage at the end of other wars.
“The way to fight anti-semitism is not to stop criticizing Israeli policy. It is to distinguish between that policy and Jewish identity. Benjamin Netanyahu’s legacy will be that he has enabled anti-Semites to ignore that distinction–imperilling both Israel and the Jewish people.” Is The Donald using his Jewish family members as a cover to establish his tight relationship to Bibi”
Epstein and Netanyahu, now there’s a pair for the next decade of anti-Semitism and self-inflicted paranoia by Jews.
Like you, Sheila, I too wholeheartedly supported Israel at the beginning of that country’s existence. That is until I saw the first newsreels of Israeli soldiers using automatic weapons on Palestinian teens who had thrown rocks at them. It’s been downhill ever since.
Just as my unquestioning support for this country has gone through a change…for the better I believe… I now support the ideas of America as expressed in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I do not support the US government when it acts against those ideals, just as I imagine many Israelis do not support their government when it behaves in ways reminiscent of their own oppression. Learning to differentiate between ignorant allegiance and a commitment to moral principles has been a life’s journey I wish for all Americans and Israelis.
I had great hope of seeing big changes in the Israeli government after the supreme court ruling that the Ultra-Conservative Hasidic Jews were NOT exempt from military service in Israel. I saw this as a possible shift in the hardline politics that Netanyahu has embraced for years as that block struggled with the reality that the policies they backed would have real world consequences for themselves.
There is also a possibility with that changing reality Netanyahu, like Trump, needed a BIG distraction and this was an opportunity for a collaborative hail mary and launching a new middle east war is providing a hoped for distraction while furthering nationalistic goals.
Today’s column was certainly a difficult one to read as well as to write. It requires thinking and discernment to distinguish between crass generalized.racist labeling of deeply divided population groups; and calling out the immoral and unwise behavious of some of the political factions within those populations.
Sheila threaded the needle exquisitely today. Not all Jewish people support Netanyahu’s nationalist policies. Just as not all Moslems support the Ayotola and not all people of German heritage backed Hitler and not all Russians stand with Putin. And not all “Christians” can stomach Trump and MAGA, either. We must take care with our race-based accusations and labeling, especially in the face of power-grabbing politicians who refuse to help us think clearly or ask discriminating moral questions.