There's a Huge Difference!

300,000 people marched for a free Palestine yesterday in D.C. Millions more marched in cities all over the world. We joined the masses in Hamtramck, Michigan. Unfortunately, there are still folks (mis)characterizing this pro-Palestinian movement as some sort of antisemitic side hustle celebrating Hamas. It’s just the opposite. In fact, right now, so many Jewish people are calling for a ceasefire and an end to the decades-long occupation. They know, better than anyone, the difference between Judaism and Zionism. There’s a huge difference! 

I heard one young Jewish-American say, just the other day, that they are afraid of the rising antisemitism in the U.S. It’s real! They also lamented that the rise in antisemitism is being weaponized to mute every critique of Israel. They said that chanting “from the river to the sea” at a protest is not stoking antisemitism. They said that the real cause of the rise in hate is what the state of Israel did to the people of Gaza before October 7 – and what the state of Israel has done to the people of Gaza since October 7.

Unfortunately, far too many folks, on both sides of the aisle, struggle to differentiate between Israel’s government and actual Jewish people. It would help, I think, if there was a lot more reporting in the corporate media about the surge of Jewish leaders, in North America and in Israel, who are publicly calling out the policies and pathologies of the Israeli government – and who are affirming the full humanity of Palestinian people (not just paying lip service to their “plight”). 

But instead, the “news” fuels the ghosting and the gaslighting and the mindless mischaracterizations of Palestinian-Americans like my congressional rep Rashida Tlaib. In this wildly anti-Arab and Islamophobic cancel culture, the willingness for Jewish folks to courageously stand up and speak out is incredibly inspiring. They are willing to lose everything. Everything except their integrity, dignity and humanity. I am following their lead.