The recent escalation in violence in Israel and Gaza has opened up a new space for the Palestinian justice movement, allowing it to capitalize on the general moment for justice that has sprung from movements like “Me too”, Black Lives Matter and calls for justice for aboriginal groups in the United States and Canada. In response, many pro-Israel groups have aggressively pushed back, framing Israel, and, by proximity, Jews, as targets of unfair criticism and harassment, reminding Jews and non-Jews, that supporting Israel must be our foremost concern
In the last couple of week alone, a full-page ad was published in the Toronto Star (and several other Canadian papers), with over 200 Jewish signatory organizations. Also, the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) launched a campaign, including a widely-distributed letter, focused on combating antisemitism, as a way of encouraging contributions to the UJA federation. In both cases, a grim picture of the state of affairs in Canada was presented, decrying a huge spike in antisemitic incidents, stating (in the UJA appeal) that over 50 such events took place in the month of May, in Toronto alone.
In North America, this is part of an ongoing campaign to keep the focus on antisemitism rather than on the events happening in Israel-Palestine. Over the past months, the campaign has centered on an aggressive push to get all levels of government, as well as prominent institutions, to adopt the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism, that has been repeatedly operationalized to silence critics of Israel. The ad in the star and the UJA letter are clear escalations of the effort to get us to focus on antisemitism and not engage in meaningful discourse around the moral and ethical dilemmas that “Jewish safety” in Israel-Palestine has created for another.
As I write, I am struck by how well we have been taught to begin any exploration of the nuances of antisemitism by first denouncing it, in all its forms. This expectation means that any discussion must begin with “of course antisemitism is wrong and a scourge on a civil society.” We must be able to have a broader discussion and challenge the use of antisemitism as a diversion tactic to keep us from dealing with difficult learning.
The prime target of the UJA campaign is Jews; it scrapes at our wounds, reminding us of our history of trauma, pulling us backward rather than drawing us forward. It quotes largely dubious accounts of events, using unproven and/or misleading statements to maximize our fear. This includes referring to “mock evictions notices posted on the doors of Jewish homes.” While notices were delivered to some homes in Toronto, in order to simulate what it might be like for a Palestinian in the West Bank to receive such a notice, there is no evidence that Jewish homes were targeted. Also, naming this as “antisemitism” frames any attempt to bring home the realities of what is happening in the Occupied Territories as antisemitic, rather than as an act of political activism.
The Star ad, instead of Jews, targets Canadians as a whole and, rather than enflaming victimhood, it focuses on a different trauma – guilt. It states that the great concern is not the antisemitic events themselves but “the reluctance of Canadians to stand in solidarity with their fellow citizens, who are under attack.” The ad is reminding Canadians, without directly saying so, of Canada’s antisemitic history, particularly its unwillingness to bring in Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.
The ad goes on to link anti-Zionists with antisemitism, pointing to incidents where pro-Palestinian protestors “target” Jews who support Israel. The ad also points to “Canadian institutions that whitewash or simply ignore [antisemitic] acts, thereby contributing to antisemitism.” In other words, not explicitly siding with Israel or showing any acceptance of Palestinian resistance, including movements like BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel), are acts of antisemitism.
It is perhaps understandable that a Jewish reader might be unaware of the underlying intention behind the language used in the ad - that our duty as Canadians is to support Jews, which includes supporting Israel. Instead, they got only the intended point – antisemitism is rising, and we should be worried.
In both examples I have given here, the Other is never mentioned or considered. This omission is not accidental. The intent is to bring the focus inward, to exclude experiences that would have us consider the Other – to think beyond our tribe. In the Star ad, Palestinians, and Arabs in general, are seen only as contributors to antisemitism, lacking a narrative of their own, and thereby placed outside of Canadian society and Canadian norms.
What I am asking of my Jewish community is to resist these attempts to insulate us from the larger society we are fortunate enough to participate fully in, at all levels.
The insidious nature of the campaign to call attention to antisemitism lies in how it separates Jews from the justice movement by suggesting that we are the primary targets of discrimination. Have we thought of how this must come across to Black, Brown, Indigenous, Muslim and LGBTQ communities? We have a place in society that requires us to act as stalwarts for human rights and social justice, rather than drawing all the attention to concerns for our own safety and using guilt as a weapon to have Canadians pronounce their loyalty to us, above others.
Contrary to how this may appear to some, I am not making a political argument. Instead, I ask you to consider that we all stand up together for the basic Western values of dignity and justice - that we focus on our power, not our vulnerability - that we act as protectors for all, not just ourselves. To be Jewish, for me, is to embrace these values and to embrace all people, not to use our power and influence to push our own agenda, particularly at the expense of another. To be truly safe, we must all be safe. This requires shared action, not siloed campaigns that emphasize “us” over “we”.
Jeffrey J. Wilkinson, PhD