Fifteen months into Israel’s holocaust some leftists continue to uphold Jewish supremacy. Many supposedly on the side of humanity continue to boost an ideological stick enabling a genocide, authoritarianism and a movement promoting “mass deportation”.
Recently Caitlin Johnstone posted: “First end the active genocide, THEN talk to me about your concerns regarding a rise in antisemitism. This isn’t one of those ‘we can walk and chew gum at the same time’ things. No, we absolutely cannot, because ‘antisemitism’ is used to deflect criticism of the genocide. Even if everything Israel defenders are saying about rising antisemitism was true (and it most assuredly isn’t), genocide is an infinitely more urgent concern than hurt feelings and graffiti. Resolve that first, then we can talk about your far less urgent concerns.”
Johnstone should be applauded for her courageous statement. Premised on the notion that antisemitism is abhorrent, the post aptly captures the utter depravity of Israel, plight of Jewry and scope of Zionist deception. But pro-Palestinian former Ontario Coalition Against Poverty organizer John Clarke vociferously denounced Johnstone. On Facebook Clarke labelled it “a load of shameful nonsense”, concluding “That this person puts out such a message and links it to the Palestinian cause is sad. That the message resonates on the left is deeply depressing. It’s time for some clarity and for some principles on such fundamental issues as this one.”
The rest of Clarke’s post was more nuanced, but the point (and damage) was done. Clarke joins a litany of leftists boosting a genocidal, authoritarian, anti-left climate. As I’ve detailed, former Independent Jewish Voices communications lead Aaron Lakoff claimed a La Presse cartoon caricaturing Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire was a “blood libel” while Dawson College professor Joseph Rosen complained his leftist friends failed to centre antisemitism. Many prominent leftists (Jim Stanford, Maude Barlow, Jagmeet Singh, etc.) have said as much about antisemitism as the Gaza holocaust their government and political culture supports.
How many leftists have employed the word “antisemitism” more than “Jewish supremacy” during a fifteen-month genocide to advance Jewish supremacy? That’s pretty racist, no?
Irrespective of what some leftists and basically every media outlet claims, Jewish supremacism is a greater problem on the left than antisemitism.
Clarke’s post contributes to the widespread fear of being labeled antisemitic, which kneecaps Palestinian solidarity and political discussion. Justin Trudeau’s chief fundraiser, Stephen Bronfman, highlights the issue. Bronfman brought the soon to be prime minister to Israel and openly linked his fundraising for Trudeau to Israel. But leftists largely ignore this damning fact, partly out of fear of reinforcing a stereotype.
Basically, no one who raises antisemitism is willing to discuss the subject dispassionately. On all but one of the twenty most commonly employed socioeconomic indicators to identify status/oppression Canadian Jewry actually fares better than the average. Jews are overrepresented as victims of hate crimes, but fare better on income level, educational attainment, life expectancy, home ownership, positions on corporate boards, etc.
Racism is not abstract. Yes, xenophobia is wrong in principle, but who cares if someone in Sudan is anti-Mayan. Racism is largely power determined or as Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) famously noted, “If a white man wants to lynch me, that’s his problem. If he’s got the power to lynch me, that’s my problem. Racism is not a question of attitude; it’s a question of power.”
Another element in some leftists’ argument that deserves greater scrutiny is the role of antisemitism in the far right. It’s obviously been important historically and remains the case for many such as the Atomwaffen Division who targeted the Vice office in Montreal. But it’s also true those promoting mass deportations and anti-Muslim policy increasingly claim to be fighting antisemitism. Jewish Zionist influencer Daliah Kurtz is a major proponent of authoritarian “mass deportations” politics and Rebel News’ pro-Israel Deport Hamas is an important hub of the far right. Fighting ‘antisemitism’ has become a cover for white supremacy.
One respondent to Clarke correctly stated, “Even absent an active genocide in Palestine (the ending of which is the #1 concern of any decent human being), the slandering of decent people as antisemitic by liars and miscreants is a far greater problem than antisemitism itself. These lies also need to stop.”
In a quarter century of political activism, I’ve seen many more Canadians negatively impacted by smears based on their opposition to apartheid than individuals harmed by antisemitism. (A small reason I was pushed out of a well-paid research job at Unifor a decade ago was for writing a column critical of the racist Jewish National Fund and I’ve had a slew of speaking and writing opportunities shuttered due to various accusations.) If you repeatedly target people’s livelihood by misappropriating a concept, justice minded individuals are right to largely avoid that notion.
Zionists are eradicating Palestinians in Gaza and waging a war on the left in Canada but many on our side are wringing their hands over antisemitism. You don’t win serious political battles that way.