We
see it with
cycling. We see it with Eurovision.
Jews are being politely asked to drop out of competitions - for the safety of all. Because the antisemites have a veto over what Jews can do by threatening violence.
Karin Horen, a longtime New Zealand resident, author, cancer survivor, and community activist, was running for the Takapuna Local Board as part of the A Fresh Approach ticket. Despite her deep community involvement and mixed Māori, English, and Jewish family ties, she was abruptly dropped from the ticket.
The reason: she is Jewish, born in Israel, and like all Israelis of her generation served in the IDF over 30 years ago. Her team explained that Auckland Council’s security services had raised concerns about threats from radical “Free Palestine” groups. They said there was extensive “chatter” about her, upcoming candidate events were deemed unsafe, and they feared for the security of themselves and their families.
At first her ticket, A Fresh Approach, tried to explain that this was a local election and Gaza is not an issue.
But that only made the threats worse.
As a result, the ticket demanded that Horen remove all their branding from her campaign. They admitted it was a “worst-case scenario,” but insisted safety came first, even though the role itself was a minor, low-paid local office.
And they told their constituents:
Cowardice has a new name: "safety concerns."
They could have at least denounced the threats. They could have expressed sadness that they were forced to make this move. But they didn't.
This is how antisemitism can get mainstreamed - by letting the antisemites win.