How Jewish Lives Matter Became All Lives Matter

I used to be quiet on social media. About a year ago, I posted my opinion on a topic and people started to attack me, so I quickly deleted it and decided it was better just to shut up. Then, two weeks ago, I thought “enough is enough” and started sharing my views again. Mostly, I’ve been posting stories about all the anti-Semitism happening around the world.

I never wanted to be “Mr. Anti-Semitism,” the guy who always posts links about it and calls it out. It’s depressing and can be annoying when it pops up in your feed. As a comedian, I’d much rather stick to trying to make everyone laugh.

But in light of recent events in the U.S. targeting Jews with little to zero media coverage, I felt I finally had no choice but to advocate for my people. What’s more, as a liberal American Jew who has lost all faith in the Democratic Party standing up for Jews, I was tired of hearing that if Joe Biden wins the presidential election, it will be OK.

On March 7, 2019, the New York Times ran a story with the headline “House Votes to Condemn All Hate as Anti-Semitism Debate Overshadows Congress.” This was a defining moment for any Jew paying attention to what the Democrats were really up to when it came to us Hebrews.

A few months before, 11 Jews at a Pittsburgh synagogue were shot and killed in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack on U.S. soil. While the screams still were playing in the heads of the survivors, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) thought it might be a good time to kick us when we were down by declaring that American Jews were guilty of dual loyalty.

Instead of “canceling” her, as we are quick to do if it comes to light that a comedian made an inappropriate joke years ago, the Democratic Party (and the media) continued to put her on a pedestal.

To appease Jewish voters, a bill was introduced condemning anti-Semitism. It was kind of meaningless when it comes to actually stopping people from hating Jews, but it was a nice gesture, I guess.

What happened to that bill? According to The New York Times, “It started as a resolution condemning anti-Semitism. Then, anti-Muslim bias was added in. After that came white supremacy. And by the end, it cited ‘African-Americans, Native Americans, and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, immigrants and others’ victimized by bigotry.’ ” 

What happened to that bill? According to the New York Times, “It started as a resolution condemning anti-Semitism. Then, anti-Muslim bias was added. After that came white supremacy. And by the end, it cited ‘African-Americans, Native Americans, and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, immigrants and others’ victimized by bigotry.’ ” 

After 11 Jews were killed in cold blood, I was shocked that a major party I had supported for years now had a resident Hitler youth running around the halls of Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and most Democrats made what was essentially a “Jewish Lives Matter” bill into an “All Lives Matter” bill. What happened to the few Democrats who said it was not right to do this? The media condemned them, along with the Republicans that stuck up for Jews.

If you are Jewish and liberal, there are understandable reasons why you might harbor some resentment toward the Democratic Party these days. This is not the party of our fathers and grandfathers anymore. It’s been hijacked.

You don’t have to become something you’re not and take up all the Republican ideologies just because you feel politically homeless. You can join me in the party of “I’m not getting suckered into either of your dumb clubs.”

To my Black friends, I understand the pain you feel when you witness one of your own unjustifiably killed and you want to shout to the world, “Black lives matter!” and someone comes along and says, “All lives matter!”

However, what we don’t have as Jews is the outcry from the media. To illustrate that, just recently two stories involving hate emerged: one from the Black community and one from the Jewish community.

Black American story: Bubba Wallace found a noose hanging in his garage. Every major news organization covered it. The FBI investigated the incident. It was determined to be a door pull that had been tied by the garage’s previous occupant. 

Jewish American story: A Nevada Jewish man was stabbed in the head by a man shouting anti-Semitic slurs. There was barely any coverage.

Now, it could be considered very bad taste even to compare these two. What is this, a hate-crime contest? It’s still very sad to me that even though the noose was not a hate crime, a Black race car driver has nooses on his mind in 2020.

Jewish American story: A Nevada Jewish man was stabbed in the head by a man shouting anti-Semitic slurs. There was barely any coverage.

So why the comparison? Because several people have asked why I post disproportionately about Jewish hate crimes instead of Black hate crimes. Aside from the obvious answer — that I’m Jewish and wouldn’t expect Black people to post equally about anti-Semitism on their Facebook pages — I feel that if I’m not posting about what is currently happening to Jews in America, almost no one is.

“Black lives matter” is a slogan that shouldn’t be inclusive to all or its important message will be lost, just as our anti-Semitism bill was diluted to total ineffectiveness.

What Pelosi did with that bill and what Omar continues to do to the Jews is disgraceful. To my fellow liberal Jews who still are with the Democrats, don’t let your hatred for President Donald Trump blind you to what’s really happening here.

Daniel Lobell is a comedian and storyteller based in L.A. He writes the comic book series “Fair Enough.”