We reject antisemitism in all its forms, including when it masquerades as criticism of Zionism or Israel’s policies. We also recognise that, as journalist Peter Beinart wrote in 2019, “Anti-Zionism is not inherently antisemitic—and claiming it is uses Jewish suffering to erase Palestinian experience.”
When you talk about liberation, it’s usually good to clarify what exactly you mean by that.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine was called “liberation” too by the Kremlin.
Liberation means that Palestinians get to be treated as human beings, not trapped in an open air prison, not limited to the bare minimum amount of food and water, and not harassed and beaten by the IDF just for being Palestinian. They live in an apartheid state with very few rights or freedoms.
Unfortunately, some of the people that you support, have a different understanding of the same word. They think that the only way they can be liberated is by murdering me and my family.
I feel like a black person explaining what “All lives matter” means.
Right. And those people who want that are terrorists.
But that opinion doesn’t extend to every single Palestinian or every supporter of Palestinian people anymore than every Irish Catholic thinks the same as an IRA member or every American thinks the same as a Proud Boy or (as this letter makes clear) every ethnic (as oppose to religious) Jew think the same as Netanyahu.
But I am happy to condemn those who use phrases which are used extensively by hate groups. When Sadaam Hussain, Iran, and Hamas leadership all use the phrase from the river to the sea it’s perfectly reasonable to associate it with their antisemitism. A dog whistle cannot be understood in a vacuum, and must be understood within its historical context and contemporary use.
Absolutely. I don’t disagree with that at all. It’s certainly not a phrase I’d ever use.
I do think though that there is a generation of people now for whom that phrase doesn’t have that antisemitic direct meaning and that they genuinely are using it to indicate their wish for freedom for Palestinians. Maybe that’s me being naive and as I say, I certainly would never use it as I’m part of a generation where it was used as an expression of pure antisemitism.