Thank you for the post. It is seems to me that Jewish “anti-Zionists” (I mean, those who agitate against Israel, not those who intellectualize and fantasize about social-democratic pluralistic states, etc.) fall into this dynamic but even more so. I think those who smugly proclaim, like Robert Sapolsky, that there is “no link” between criticism of Israel and anti-semiticism are engaged in the same type of vapid preening. Mostly what it says about them is that they don’t feel as though they have any skin in the game, and that therefore they exist on some plane on “pure morality,” in a way that reminds me of Maoists or religious fanatics for whom only their religion matters.
I agree! They see no irony in taking the red hand symbol that is a celebration of killing Jews and claiming it's a symbol of their desire for peace. It's like something out of Orwell's 1984, war= peace. Really their movement has more irony than a George Elliot novel., because they claim the red hand symbol is the same as the one that used to stand for opposition to the use of child soldiers in war. No, that's a different symbol, a red hand with an image of a soldier (in white) inside the hand. And as we all know, the Palestinian education system emphasizes to small children the importance of attacking and trying to kill Jews. This reminds me of the Chinese Cultural Revolution's atrocities, when children were recruited to kill anyone who disagreed with Maoism, just as you say.
Great post! If any Palestinian leaders have, since October 7th, ever said they wanted to coexist peacefully with Jews, I must have missed it. Instead, their demand has consistently been that all Jews, Christians, Druze and Yazidi leave Israel or submit to being killed. The posters, memes, and the pins people prance around at the Oscars displaying, all contain slogans or images promoting violence against Jews. If I saw or heard anyone involved in the Pro-Palestinian movement advocating peaceful co-existence and suggesting a way this could be achieved, I would be willing to consider that some of them are not actually antisemitic. But so far, all I have seen is blood thirsty war mongering and calls to attack Jews worldwide.
Nailed it, again, as usual. If these people sincerely cared about "Palestinians" there are infinite ways to help them, none of which involve spitting on people, vandalizing property, harassing and abusing Jewish students on social media, occupying a university building, chanting into bullhorns, or wallowing in their own filth in a campus encampment. It's 100 percent about them, zero percent about the Gazans. The "pro-Palestine" movement is a magnet for society's disturbed misfits.
Love this. The psychodrama is spot on. These folk are acting out their aggrieved internal landscapes. Because they haven’t done the most important work, the work of understanding self, being honest with self, and taking responsibility for the s*** in their lives. So they dump it wherever they can get a return.
“For Yahweh’s portion is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. For the LORD’S portion and chosen share is His people; Jacob (Israel) is the allotment of His inheritance.”
Thank you for the post. It is seems to me that Jewish “anti-Zionists” (I mean, those who agitate against Israel, not those who intellectualize and fantasize about social-democratic pluralistic states, etc.) fall into this dynamic but even more so. I think those who smugly proclaim, like Robert Sapolsky, that there is “no link” between criticism of Israel and anti-semiticism are engaged in the same type of vapid preening. Mostly what it says about them is that they don’t feel as though they have any skin in the game, and that therefore they exist on some plane on “pure morality,” in a way that reminds me of Maoists or religious fanatics for whom only their religion matters.
I agree! They see no irony in taking the red hand symbol that is a celebration of killing Jews and claiming it's a symbol of their desire for peace. It's like something out of Orwell's 1984, war= peace. Really their movement has more irony than a George Elliot novel., because they claim the red hand symbol is the same as the one that used to stand for opposition to the use of child soldiers in war. No, that's a different symbol, a red hand with an image of a soldier (in white) inside the hand. And as we all know, the Palestinian education system emphasizes to small children the importance of attacking and trying to kill Jews. This reminds me of the Chinese Cultural Revolution's atrocities, when children were recruited to kill anyone who disagreed with Maoism, just as you say.
Precisely THIS 💯 👇
Rather than freeing Palestine or making the world a better place, there is a whole lot of performative psychodrama going on.
Thank you for asking the question which the "anti-Zionists" never seem to want to answer.........
Great post! If any Palestinian leaders have, since October 7th, ever said they wanted to coexist peacefully with Jews, I must have missed it. Instead, their demand has consistently been that all Jews, Christians, Druze and Yazidi leave Israel or submit to being killed. The posters, memes, and the pins people prance around at the Oscars displaying, all contain slogans or images promoting violence against Jews. If I saw or heard anyone involved in the Pro-Palestinian movement advocating peaceful co-existence and suggesting a way this could be achieved, I would be willing to consider that some of them are not actually antisemitic. But so far, all I have seen is blood thirsty war mongering and calls to attack Jews worldwide.
Nailed it, again, as usual. If these people sincerely cared about "Palestinians" there are infinite ways to help them, none of which involve spitting on people, vandalizing property, harassing and abusing Jewish students on social media, occupying a university building, chanting into bullhorns, or wallowing in their own filth in a campus encampment. It's 100 percent about them, zero percent about the Gazans. The "pro-Palestine" movement is a magnet for society's disturbed misfits.
Superb column, Pat! We’ve known that much of this is performative, but you have an extraordinary ability to illuminate the idea with such clarity.
Hope your trip is going well, Pat. Another excellent post, that will likely fall on deaf ears of those who should really be listening.
Love this. The psychodrama is spot on. These folk are acting out their aggrieved internal landscapes. Because they haven’t done the most important work, the work of understanding self, being honest with self, and taking responsibility for the s*** in their lives. So they dump it wherever they can get a return.
“For Yahweh’s portion is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. For the LORD’S portion and chosen share is His people; Jacob (Israel) is the allotment of His inheritance.”
Deuteronomy 32:9