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Tuesday, September 10, 2019

"But left-wing antisemites don't kill people!"

One argument made by people on the Left - especially since Bari Weiss' book on antisemitism was released - is that there is no comparison between left wing "anti-Zionism" and right-wing antisemitism, because only the right-wing antisemites are violent.

I don't think Weiss says that at all, but this is a typical take - right wing antisemites have guns and have shown that they will kill Jews, while left-wingers only protest.

It is true that left-wing antisemites in America are not physically dangerous at this time. That is America, today. Many Palestinian terror groups that have killed many Jews over the years are are left-wing groups like the PFLP and DFLP, so the Left is not inoculated against antisemitic violence. we have also seen left-wing argument supporting Palestinian terror.

But is actual violence the only metric that matters? If Jews cannot feel comfortable walking though college campuses (or British subways) without being berated because they are presumed to be anti-Palestinian, is that not an issue that should be brought up? When Jews in college dorms are singled out for fake "eviction notices," is that not antsemitism?

Yes, right-wing antisemitism is dangerous. It is also, thankfully, rare. Most Jews walking on the street are not going to run into a violent right-wing antisemite. (Far more likely they would be attacked by a person of color, at least in New York.)

But left-wing antisemitism, disguised as anti-Zionism, is all over the place. They have rallies and demonstrations and "Israel Apartheid Week" displays all over. Jews do not feel comfortable expressing their views because of the intimidation and threats that the BDSers and friends use to shut down any pro-Israel speech.

To say that violent antisemitism is the only threat worth bothering to mention is like saying that women shouldn't complain about a work environment where men sneer at them and make jokes about their bodies - because they aren't actually getting raped.





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