A lot of what you said resonates with me. One example: I've been an ally to the LGBTQ community for a long time, and this news article (https://brookline.news/after-debate-libraries-will-restore-pride-and-blm-flags-in-june/) is about one recent thing I did. About a dozen people came to ask us to put the Pride flag back up, and I argued in favor of doing so. But all the time, I was wondering how many of the people I was fighting for would stand by my side if I asked for support for the Jewish community. (Not even Israel, "just" Jews.) The rejection we get from the allies we have advocated for over years, over decades - that's what hurts.
There is no force that can counter the power of Jew hatred. Think of the palestinians who's lives were saved by Jewish doctors in Israeli hospitals at no cost....they returned to slaughter the very people who performed the surgeries. By getting pride and blm flags put back up, you've reinforced Jew hatred, sorry to say.
Percy McGarrigle, so the explicit purpose of the Never Alone community is to build a home on the left side of the aisle for progressive Zionists. I'm 100% supportive of BLM (even though some members are anti-Semitic; after all, some Jews are racist!) and the LGBTQIA+ community (same reasoning). If you're homophobic or think Black lives don't matter, this isn't the right community for you.
I'm neither, by any stretch. Up until Oct. 7 I was committed to supporting Canada's left wing party, NDP, and I even ran for the greens a few years ago. But it's difficult to understate the extent to which virtually every Canadian left institution has been swamped by antisemitism. The leader of the greens, Elizabeth May, for example, has explicitly stated that she takes her marching orders directly from hamas. Toronto's mayor, also left wing, doesn't acknowledge violence towards the city's Jews, and in the rare occasion she's forced to, it's followed by an even stronger condemnation of so-called islamophobia: a shule is shot, and the mayor emphasises the importance of keeping Muslims safe. Our city police don't protect us unless we pay them, and often they're seen bringing treats to jihad demos. Canada is among the most antisemitic countries in the world, but it's also one of the countries that's most embedded in identity politics. I completely support the (stated) goals of identity politics--a world without prejudice--but from what I've seen and according to current research, the impact of identity politics has taken us further from egalitarianism than classical liberal values. It's also facilitated the most aggressive expression of Jew hatred since WW2--Jews will always be the most harmed by identity politics because we are a group onto whom the sins of the day (eg colonialists, mass killers, etc.), are most easily imputed (ie, the shape shifting nature of antisemitism).
I think things are a little different among Canada's left than that of the US, but I can't say for sure. I've always been and always will be committed to socialist values and ideals, but at least in Canada, those don't exist at the moment. Virtually all political discourse focuses exclusively on destroying Israel, and those marginalised communities that Jews have traditionally supported have embraced Jew hatred with no less enthusiasm than everyone else. Queer Jews are booed at pride parades, and have to fight for permission to march.
I don't believe compassion is selective. You either care about all suffering or your selective care is motivated by something other than empathy. So now I feel completely homeless politically.
I have some dear friends in Canada, and the Jew Hate is more overt there. We’re not in a contest, of course, but I am saddened at how this former refuge has become so unsafe.
Thanks, Elissa, this wasn't covered in any news sources I checked...on the other hand I can't stand checking my usual sources because it is so frightening, infuriating...I'm glad you're showing me the more detailed and heroic and determined side.
I am a liberal but not an American liberal. My liberalism comes from the history of Europe where for 70 years the Marxist left ruled half of the continent with an iron fist, persecuting Jews, intellectuals, and dissidents and killing upward of 20 million people. At that time, "left" and "liberal" were antonyms. They still are. The rise of the illiberal left in the US simply confirmed my suspicion that nothing had really changed. The "woke" ideology is not classical Marxism but in many ways, it is even worse, echoing Marxism's intolerance but without its veneer of rationality. Antisemitism of the left is a feature, not a bug. Classic liberalism, on the other hand, aspires to the ideas of the Enlightenment: equality under the law, personal liberty, freedom of thought. There are few liberals on the right today and even fewer on the left. So, I am afraid that left antisemitism will continue to increase because as August Bebel correctly pointed out, antisemitism is the socialism of fools. What he did not realize is how many fools there are.
So many of my own thoughts are reflected here. You are so good at putting my feelings into words - it's a relief. I too have had to limit my time listening to some of my favorite podcasts because they seem to drag Israel into every conversation as the go to analogy for every issue involving oppressed people. Emma Vigland is particularly offensive to me, which is disappointing because I used to really like listening to her and the Majority Report.
I have had to do the same with writers I followed, I’ve been astounded to see such blatant antisemitic lies written by some of the most eloquent of writers who would never treat other minorities with such distain and dismissiveness. Like Elissa, I’ve left Indivisible groups due to antisemitism as well, a local group booted all of the Jewish members who dared to question their statements about Zionism and Israel, and even kicked out the only Jewish admin. It’s disheartening. I’m so thankful to have found a community here.
I don't know how you manage to stay associated with the Left. In Canada, our left wing party, the NDP, has gone completely, totally jihad, as have our unions, universities, and school boards. In Toronto schools, if you as a student say you support Israel's right to exist you can be suspended for being racist against palestinians. Seriously. But you can advocate killing Jews. Our conservative provincial government has taken over the Toronto school board because the Jew hatred has gotten so bad that Jewish students no longer feel safe attending. Here in Canada, the left has only one purpose: to do whatever it can to destroy Israel. They literally don't talk about anything else. The leader of our green party said proudly that she takes her marching orders directly from hamas. If we had any other political party than conservatives in power, the school board would've been celebrated for creating an environment dangerous for Jews. Our prime minister has just stated that muslim values are Canadian values. I wonder if he includes the intifada in that. Probably.
Ah, alas, I just read your post more carefully and realized that you were talking about the past, not now...I thought the wall of moms was about the present. Next time I will read more carefully, as I just did. Your critique of the left is right on....
Thank you—my shattered, stomped on, ruined heart appreciates your solidarity today.
A lot of what you said resonates with me. One example: I've been an ally to the LGBTQ community for a long time, and this news article (https://brookline.news/after-debate-libraries-will-restore-pride-and-blm-flags-in-june/) is about one recent thing I did. About a dozen people came to ask us to put the Pride flag back up, and I argued in favor of doing so. But all the time, I was wondering how many of the people I was fighting for would stand by my side if I asked for support for the Jewish community. (Not even Israel, "just" Jews.) The rejection we get from the allies we have advocated for over years, over decades - that's what hurts.
There is no force that can counter the power of Jew hatred. Think of the palestinians who's lives were saved by Jewish doctors in Israeli hospitals at no cost....they returned to slaughter the very people who performed the surgeries. By getting pride and blm flags put back up, you've reinforced Jew hatred, sorry to say.
Percy McGarrigle, so the explicit purpose of the Never Alone community is to build a home on the left side of the aisle for progressive Zionists. I'm 100% supportive of BLM (even though some members are anti-Semitic; after all, some Jews are racist!) and the LGBTQIA+ community (same reasoning). If you're homophobic or think Black lives don't matter, this isn't the right community for you.
I'm neither, by any stretch. Up until Oct. 7 I was committed to supporting Canada's left wing party, NDP, and I even ran for the greens a few years ago. But it's difficult to understate the extent to which virtually every Canadian left institution has been swamped by antisemitism. The leader of the greens, Elizabeth May, for example, has explicitly stated that she takes her marching orders directly from hamas. Toronto's mayor, also left wing, doesn't acknowledge violence towards the city's Jews, and in the rare occasion she's forced to, it's followed by an even stronger condemnation of so-called islamophobia: a shule is shot, and the mayor emphasises the importance of keeping Muslims safe. Our city police don't protect us unless we pay them, and often they're seen bringing treats to jihad demos. Canada is among the most antisemitic countries in the world, but it's also one of the countries that's most embedded in identity politics. I completely support the (stated) goals of identity politics--a world without prejudice--but from what I've seen and according to current research, the impact of identity politics has taken us further from egalitarianism than classical liberal values. It's also facilitated the most aggressive expression of Jew hatred since WW2--Jews will always be the most harmed by identity politics because we are a group onto whom the sins of the day (eg colonialists, mass killers, etc.), are most easily imputed (ie, the shape shifting nature of antisemitism).
I think things are a little different among Canada's left than that of the US, but I can't say for sure. I've always been and always will be committed to socialist values and ideals, but at least in Canada, those don't exist at the moment. Virtually all political discourse focuses exclusively on destroying Israel, and those marginalised communities that Jews have traditionally supported have embraced Jew hatred with no less enthusiasm than everyone else. Queer Jews are booed at pride parades, and have to fight for permission to march.
I don't believe compassion is selective. You either care about all suffering or your selective care is motivated by something other than empathy. So now I feel completely homeless politically.
I have some dear friends in Canada, and the Jew Hate is more overt there. We’re not in a contest, of course, but I am saddened at how this former refuge has become so unsafe.
Thanks, Elissa, this wasn't covered in any news sources I checked...on the other hand I can't stand checking my usual sources because it is so frightening, infuriating...I'm glad you're showing me the more detailed and heroic and determined side.
100000000000000%
I feel all of this.
I am a liberal but not an American liberal. My liberalism comes from the history of Europe where for 70 years the Marxist left ruled half of the continent with an iron fist, persecuting Jews, intellectuals, and dissidents and killing upward of 20 million people. At that time, "left" and "liberal" were antonyms. They still are. The rise of the illiberal left in the US simply confirmed my suspicion that nothing had really changed. The "woke" ideology is not classical Marxism but in many ways, it is even worse, echoing Marxism's intolerance but without its veneer of rationality. Antisemitism of the left is a feature, not a bug. Classic liberalism, on the other hand, aspires to the ideas of the Enlightenment: equality under the law, personal liberty, freedom of thought. There are few liberals on the right today and even fewer on the left. So, I am afraid that left antisemitism will continue to increase because as August Bebel correctly pointed out, antisemitism is the socialism of fools. What he did not realize is how many fools there are.
So many of my own thoughts are reflected here. You are so good at putting my feelings into words - it's a relief. I too have had to limit my time listening to some of my favorite podcasts because they seem to drag Israel into every conversation as the go to analogy for every issue involving oppressed people. Emma Vigland is particularly offensive to me, which is disappointing because I used to really like listening to her and the Majority Report.
I have had to do the same with writers I followed, I’ve been astounded to see such blatant antisemitic lies written by some of the most eloquent of writers who would never treat other minorities with such distain and dismissiveness. Like Elissa, I’ve left Indivisible groups due to antisemitism as well, a local group booted all of the Jewish members who dared to question their statements about Zionism and Israel, and even kicked out the only Jewish admin. It’s disheartening. I’m so thankful to have found a community here.
I don't know how you manage to stay associated with the Left. In Canada, our left wing party, the NDP, has gone completely, totally jihad, as have our unions, universities, and school boards. In Toronto schools, if you as a student say you support Israel's right to exist you can be suspended for being racist against palestinians. Seriously. But you can advocate killing Jews. Our conservative provincial government has taken over the Toronto school board because the Jew hatred has gotten so bad that Jewish students no longer feel safe attending. Here in Canada, the left has only one purpose: to do whatever it can to destroy Israel. They literally don't talk about anything else. The leader of our green party said proudly that she takes her marching orders directly from hamas. If we had any other political party than conservatives in power, the school board would've been celebrated for creating an environment dangerous for Jews. Our prime minister has just stated that muslim values are Canadian values. I wonder if he includes the intifada in that. Probably.
Ah, alas, I just read your post more carefully and realized that you were talking about the past, not now...I thought the wall of moms was about the present. Next time I will read more carefully, as I just did. Your critique of the left is right on....