“Criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic!”
That is a great lie. It’s told by Jews. It hurts Jews. It damages Israel.
It’s a lie because it’s meant to silence those who speak against anti-Israel rhetoric.
It’s a lie because it’s propagated by those who are the enemies of Jews and of Israel.
It’s a lie because it hits us as a truth embracing the ideology of critiquing without judgment, but…
It’s a lie because it misses “unless…” at its end.
The truth is that “not all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, unless…”
1- The critic is anti-Semitic;
2- The critic is anti-Israel;
3- The critic has not spoken, nor acted lovingly toward Jews or toward Israel.
The “N” word can only be used by African Americans and even then it’s damaging. In fact, blacks who use this word diminish the race. We Jews must guard our tongue and be careful when criticizing Israel. People of high stature who publicly and harshly critique Israel merely hand over ammunition to our enemies who use these words against us.
There is a joke about two Jews in a room having three opinions. Our Talmudic studies are based on argument and disagreement. But there is a huge difference between healthy discourse among family members and singing in the choir with our enemies. Israel is a tiny country among a sea of foes who would love to see her total annihilation. Just read the headlines from neighboring Iran. We Jews too are few in number.
When, last year, Amos Oz declared that he will no longer attend events hosted by Israeli embassies abroad, as a protest against “extremist Israeli policies” he gave support to the BDS movement.
When Bernie Sanders does not attend AIPAC, exaggerates Gaza casualties twice and places no blame on Hamas, he emboldens anti-Israeli terrorist groups.
When Sanders’ Jewish outreach director, Simone Zimmermann writes “F&ck you, Bibi… you sanctioned the murder of over 2,000 people this summer…” who needs enemies with such “friends?”
David Ben-Gurion said a long time ago – and he was right – that our conflict is not about Jews and Arabs, but about Jews and the world- a world that is by large not Jewish, a world that should bear certain responsibilities toward its Jewish minority.
Natan Sharansky, an Israeli leader and former Soviet “refusenik” identified the “3 D’s” to determine when anti-Israel criticism crosses over into anti-Semitism: demonization, delegitimization and when Israel is held to a double standard. We must speak up against injustice. We must hold Israel to a higher standard.
But, we should criticize our beloved land cautiously and responsibly without arming our enemies.
