I often wonder about what phone conversations between the grandmothers of young, vehemently anti-Israel Jews sound like:
“Hello, Irma, how’s that grandson of yours?”
“Daniel?”
“Yes, that one. Is he studying for college finals now?”
“Oh, you know kids, Miriam. I think he spent the day shutting down the 110 South.”
On December 13 at 9 a.m., members of IfNotNow (INN) sat in the middle of all lanes of the 110 South freeway and called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
I can forgive those shortsighted protestors who identify as Jews for bringing the 110 South to a complete stop (though their immaturity only hurt hard-working commuters). But I can’t forgive them for bringing a giant, seven-foot-tall menorah to the middle of one of Southern California’s most congested highways during morning rush hour, prompting some angry drivers to exit their vehicles and push and shove some of the protestors as they grew tired of waiting helplessly in a traffic jam that could be seen for miles.
In one video, an enraged commuter is seen pinning a protester to the hood of a car. A full-scale brawl seemed ready to erupt.
Imagine that: You’re already running late to work, desperate to clock in a few more hours to buy your family some extra Christmas presents, and the only people in your way are what look like a bunch of infantile Jews and their massive menorah.
G-d help us.
At precisely the exact moment when Jews need more sympathy and compassion, IfNotNow enabled thousands of L.A. drivers to associate us with utter selfishness.
At precisely the exact moment when Jews need more sympathy and compassion, IfNotNow enabled thousands of L.A. drivers to associate us with utter selfishness. It’s even more unforgivable given the organization’s marginalization in the greater Jewish community, most of whom disassociate from it.
Who would expect thousands of angry, non-Jewish commuters to understand the nuances between a bunch of fringe, anti-Israel Jews, and the majority of Jews, who support Israel?
For the record, it was IfNotNow that responded to Oct. 7 by posting, “Israel makes every day under apartheid a living hell for Palestinians. Human beings can’t live like this … Blood is on the hands of Israel’s fascist government, army, and everyone who has aided their crimes against Palestinians.”
Before the Israel Defense Sources even entered Gaza, INN blamed Israel, and only Israel.
Unforgivable.
Regarding the protest, The Los Angeles Times reported, “Organizers with IfNotNow, the progressive Jewish group behind the protest, apologized to drivers but said they felt there was no other way to make their voices heard to stop the killing and mass displacement in the Middle East.”
Really? They thought apologizing to drivers, including blue-collar workers, those facing emergencies, and others with infants in their backseats, would make up for shutting down a freeway? It’s almost as foolish as believing they could sit, arm-in-arm, across those lanes and actually affect American foreign policy toward Israel.
Seventy-five people were arrested for failing to disperse. According to The Times, “A protester with his arms bound behind his back said ‘Free Palestine’ when asked for comment as officers led him away.
That’s it? That’s all he or she had to say? If I hear one more young, brainwashed, self-identifying Jew yell “Free Palestine” without any regard to Jewish suffering, I’m going to reapply for Iranian citizenship. At least back in Tehran, when young people protest, they do so against actual tyranny because, unlike INN, they live in a brutal theocracy that executes them for Instagram posts.
What truly breaks my heart is a certain suspicion that if I invited these misguided, young Jews to join a Los Angeles protest against the regime in Iran, they would only participate if they could also bring their Palestinian flags and drag Israel’s name through the mud.
Innocent Palestinians are paying a terrible price for Hamas’ indescribable evil. Their suffering as a result of decades of degenerate leadership is devastating, and it’s real. But blocking a freeway, sitting in the middle of Sunset Boulevard at evening rush hour or illegally taking over the Capitol Building rotunda in Washington, D.C. do nothing to help Palestinians. These thoughtless PR stunts only accomplish two goals: They enable the protestors to feel good about themselves, and they confuse a lot of people about Jews. “Our action is grounded in our nonviolent philosophy and doing what we can with our bodies and voices,” one protester told The Times.
Jewish civil rights activists, they ain’t.
The Jews who marched — and — died alongside Black Americans during the Civil Rights movement had the right values. Some hitch-hiked from New York City to Mississippi to support human rights. Their activism meant something.
What IfNotNow wrought on the 110 South was activism for viral memes and short attention spans.
Perhaps they view themselves as next-generation Jewish Che Guevaras. But ask thousands of L.A. drivers last week and they will probably describe these protestors as a bunch of selfish, privileged youth.
It pains me to observe that the organized Jewish world bears some responsibility for all this. In the world of Jewish advocacy, all you need is youth. And if you’re young, you must be heard, and you must be right.
In this world, offering donors statistics about next generation engagement often guarantees more funding. The traditional Jewish establishment has approached young people from a place of love, but also from a place of fear — a decades-long fear of losing them.
How have some of these organizations kept young Jews on board? They’ve consistently made them feel that their views, however immoral, are still precious.
But you can be young, and be completely wrong.
Young anti-Israel Jews remind me of a faction of people in the Hanukkah story — the Tobiads.
Yes, the Tobiads. We’ve all heard of the Maccabees, but there was another group of Jews that have mostly been forgotten in the history of Hanukkah.
The Tobiads were Hellenizing Jews who lived in Jerusalem. After being exiled, it was the Tobiads who convinced the notorious Antiochus IV to recapture Jerusalem. They actually lobbied him to defeat their fellow Jews and, in 175 B.C.E., he invaded Judea at their request. We know the rest from the story of Hanukkah.
Today, we don’t remember the Tobiads; we remember and celebrate the Maccabees. We are descendants of the Maccabees. As for the descendants of the Tobiads, where are they now?
I recently described INN’s antics to a Holocaust survivor. She slapped her arm and responded, “Your people suffered the worst massacre since the Holocaust and your only contribution was to sit in the middle of a highway?” My friend then asked me if I knew the definition of the Yiddish word, “putz.”
Jews thrive in democracies, and the Jewish world has no shortage of Jews who will denounce Israel’s every move because they know Israel will never assassinate them. It would be remarkable if the Arab and Muslim world, including the Palestinians, had such similar groups that consistently protested Hamas, Hezbollah and Middle Eastern tyrants. If these groups actually existed, it would mean there are democratizing elements at play, and, let’s face it, that no one would be afraid of being targeted as a protestor.
It would be remarkable, but let’s not count on it.
Tabby Refael is an award-winning writer, speaker and weekly columnist for The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.Follow her on X/Twitter and Instagram @TabbyRefael
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