Conflating criticism of the state of Israel with antisemitism is dangerous

 

An open letter to the editorial board of the Telegraph-Journal from Fredericton Palestine Solidarity

On January 31, a Telegraph-Journal editorial linked our local street protests to the attack on Sgoolai Israel Synagogue in Fredericton, stating “yet here at home, many rallies held in [the October 7th attack’s] wake have demonstrated antisemitism is very much alive in our own time.”

Fredericton Palestine Solidarity stands proudly with our friends and neighbours against antisemitism and antisemitic violence. We have made statements in clear opposition to this attack, attended the Synagogue on January 28th in solidarity with our community, and donated as individuals to the repair of the windows. We cannot state more clearly our movement’s opposition to antisemitism. In the words of S.A. Bachman: “Being pro-Palestine and against antisemitism go hand in hand. All systems of oppression reinforce each other, none can be fought in isolation.”

Indeed both antisemitic and islamophobic intimidation and violence have increased since October 7th. We cannot believe in a safe community that is free to speak its conscience without addressing both of these. Alarmingly, we’ve seen antisemitism used as a weapon to silence legitimate criticism of Israel across the world. Conflating criticism of the state of Israel with antisemitism effectively distracts from the dangerous rise in antisemitism among far right white supremacists. As written by Harvard Jewish elder Bernie Steinberg, “I have monitored, with vigilance, the kinds of speech that Israel-aligned parties are calling “antisemitic,” and it simply does not pass the sniff test. Let me speak plainly: It is not antisemitic to demand justice for all Palestinians living in their ancestral lands.”  (more...)

Conflating criticism of the state of Israel with antisemitism is dangerous