By Daled Amos
Last August, there were protests after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man. The protests turned angry, and the words “Free Palestine” were spray‐painted on the driveway of the Beth Hillel Temple.
On August 27, 2020, IfNotNow condemned this as antisemitism:
They even followed up that tweet, making it very clear that the left also has to be held accountable for antisemitism:
One day later, after the far-left let IfNotNow know they had gone too far in
standing up for Jews,
the group weaseled out of their condemnation of antisemitism:
Of course, IfNotNow's mistake was not that the "phrasing" fell short -- their condemnation enraged their left allies because it went too far. And worse, they think their condemnation of the defacing of a synagogue was a "distraction" by focusing on an attack on Jews and away from police violence and Black Lives Matter.
But INN was not finished yet.
Just as IfNotNow refuses to take any kind of stand on Israel ("We do not take a unified stance on BDS, Zionism or the question of statehood."), they avoid actually spelling out just what was wrong with their condemnation, to begin with.
Instead, they retweet others, under the guise of "uplifting" other viewpoints.
By backtracking, IfNotNow gave legitimacy to the idea that a synagogue showing an Israeli flag with a Star of David warrants a response, like defacing the synagogue with "Free Palestine".
Which raises some questions about what Jews should be allowed to do, and what protesters should be allowed to do in response:
o Is burning down a synagogue also OK? ("America's synagogues are burning: A turning point for U.S. Jews").
o Are Jews allowed to wear a Star of David? ("New York Jewish man assaulted for wearing Star of David necklace" "What is that around your neck? Does that make you a f**king Zionist?" the attacker reportedly shouted before punching the victim in the face)
o Are Jews allowed to wear a kippah out of doors? ("Some American Jews are taking off their kippahs and Stars of David amid a wave of antisemitic incidents")
o Are Jews allowed to keep kosher? (Pig's Head Among Kosher Food in South African anti-Israel Protest)
o Are Jews allowed to speak in Hebrew, the national, indigenous language of Israel? (Israeli student in Paris says he was beaten unconscious for speaking Hebrew)
Just how far does IfNotNow feel they have to go to make excuses for their far-left allies?
Other tweets by INN are also problematic.
IfNotNow is just as desperate to make excuses for the "Palestinian freedom movement" as it is to stifle its own criticism of the far-left:
It's an odd tweet: the Palestinian Arabs are no threat to Jews -- but the only way Jews will be safe is for the Palestinian Arabs to get equal rights, i.e. dismantle Israel. Thanks, but those guys attacking Jews on the street beat you to that message.
Put aside their apparent ignorance of the Hamas Charter (or IfNotNow's dishonest attempt to avoid the hadith the charter quotes about killing Jews). IfNotNow deliberately understates the danger facing Jews from those 'freedom-living' Palestinian Arabs and their allies as being merely "isolated."
Just to summarize:
o London: Palestinian activists use a bullhorn to tell people the rape the daughters of Jews
o Russia: a man walks up to a Jew who is minding his own business and casually kicks him just for being Jewish...like assaulting a Jew is no big deal.
o Winnipeg: a man walks up to some jews, spits on their flag, wipes his feet on it, and then proceeds to push and threaten them when they try to get him to stop.
o Toronto: an "anti-zionism" protest turns violent and a Jew is beaten with sticks...in broad daylight...in Canada
o Los Angeles: Jews getting attacked
o More Jews being attacked in Los Angeles, where outdoor dining is totally safe unless you are a Jew
o If the beatings don't make the point, a caravan of verbal abuse will make sure to make the point.
o Germany: Rioters surround a synagogue and break the windows with rocks while chanting "shitty Jews" in German\
o New York City: Jews are attacked and have things thrown at them, in the middle of the city, in broad daylight.
o Jews get chased by cars trying to run them over
o a Jew are taunted and verbally abused by "anti-zionists" while a Jew lays unconscious on the sidewalk
o Toronto: a Jewish catering service has its windows smashed
o Jews are attacked with some kind of small explosive projectile (maybe a firework), in a busy city in broad daylight.
o Dearborn, Michigan: yelling “intifada, intifada” - a call for rioting, violence and death against Jews.
o London: they chant in battle cry in Arabic that translates as “Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It refers to the Muslim massacre of Jews of the town in the 7th century.
o Model Bella Hadid chanting "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free" a slogan Hamas uses to call for Genocide.
No, these attacks are not isolated, and they are still going on.
