While I certainly see certain forms of "demonization" more in the realm of "regionalism", another form of bigotry quite popular, especially on the left, anti-Semitism is also quite fashionable, even if it is more rare; and, it is. When I see someone commenting on Israel and one of the first things they say is, "Not all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic.", I pretty much write that person off as ignorant, stupid, and/or a bigot. If that is the starting point of a person's argument, then I don't see it as one of good faith. There are times the lines are quite blurred and it really is a matter of perspective, but what really chaps my ass, is the number of non-Jews who are suddenly experts in anti-Semitism, and while they would never, and I mean never, tell a minority group of which they do not belong what their experience is or isn't, or other minorities who would not tolerate such a statement, meaning they wouldn't allow someone to "'splain'" to them about their reality, when it comes to Jews, suddenly the opinions, knowledge and experiences of Jews are moot!
I am really sick of people trying to tell me what anti-Semitism really is or isn't and what the effect of anti-Semitism has on the Jewish ethos. I have also grown tired of self-loathing Jews, part-time Jews (you know, the ones that are "Jewish" only when Israel is mentioned), and the court Jews. The last group is the most infuriating and worrying, in my opinion, because their stitch is mired in what seems to be an educated point of view, but is usually a bastardized version of truth or facts, or as Colbert calls it, "truthiness". I also dislike the intellectual laziness of those who try to smash other peoples' narratives onto the Jewish experience and/or Israel, especially the ones who crow about "it's just like what the US did to Native Americans.", (NO IT AIN'T!) or the constant use of Nazi terminology, or the overuse and misuse of certain vocabulary, or even warping the very meaning of words to fit their narrative.
People also have to realize most anti-Semitism doesn't even revolve around Israel, and yet, soon as anti-Semitism rears its ugly head, that is the direction we are taken. Talk about irony, it is usually the same people who constantly bray about "conflating Israel and anti-Semitism" who are the ones doing it! When the massacre in Pennsylvania took place, I was angered, but not in the least bit surprised, at the number of articles and posts where Israel made an appearance. Frankly, I view those articles and remarks in the same way I view people who talk about "black on black crime" when the subject is police/systemic violence against African-Americans. It is a distraction and has nothing to do with each other, except in the minds of those trying to justify bigotry.
I will add this article here, because I am just not in the mood...
Young Zionist Jews say they’re fighting antisemitism on social media. What are they accomplishing?
NEW YORK (JTA) — Two weeks after the recent flareup of violence in Israel and Gaza, as fights over Israel and Palestine raged on social media, Julia Jassey wondered aloud whether any of her effort was worth it.
Jassey, a student at the University of Chicago, has spent the better part of a year immersed in online skirmishes surrounding Israel and antisemitism. Last summer, as racial justice protests swept the country, she and a few other college students founded Jewish on Campus, an Instagram account chronicling antisemitism and anti-Zionism facing Jewish students. It was modeled after similar accounts documenting racism at universities and high schools.
In recent weeks, Jewish on Campus has collected anonymous anecdotes of antisemitism online and in person in the wake of the Israel-Gaza conflict. Jassey said the account has been inundated with submissions. At the same time, harsh critics of Israel have taken aim at her and her personal posts — including some people she knows from school.
“We can’t even have meaningful discussions, we just fight,” she tweeted on June 3. “It’s toxic, and it brings us nowhere productive. Where do we go from here? I don’t know about you, but I am tired of it.”
Jassey is part of a small group of young, assertively Zionist Jews with an active social media presence who have taken it upon themselves to call out and respond to anti-Zionism, antisemitism and the many instances in which they believe those two concepts overlap.
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