This was the week it became clear to me that antisemitism lives. I spent some time on Instagram, specifically on pages like The IMEU and LetsTalkPalestine. (I don’t recommend doing this- but I wanted to see what was out there because I think that people should respond to the false claims being put out about Israel on social media. And you won’t understand the false claims unless you see how they are presented by people who believe them.)
I've seen so much hate, and lies, directed at CRT, but this is certainly new. Blaming CRT now for the Israeli/Palestine horrors. It appears you, like many "whites", have a knee-jerk reaction to the historical truth of America's systemic abuse of "blacks", and wanted to find a novel way to throw more hate at it. And that's just sad, because Jewish people claim systemic abuse against themselves, going back centuries, until this very day and no one is supposed to question it. At all. Its just gone too far. Jews think the Holocaust excuses them from every and anything, while you deny the condition in which "blacks" have been living, and still live, in the USA? The Israeli/Palestine catastrophe is due to Israel and Palestine, not "blacks", not CRT. (I use quotes for the terms "blacks" and "whites" because these preposterous labels have always been a farce-there is no such thing as "race"-we are all humans, with different languages and cultures, according to Torah., but how those who invented these terms and used them to their advantage cling to them!) Please, stick to Israel and Palestine, and if possible, see them both as humans. I don't know if you believe Torah, but HaShem is responsible for every human on this planet, everyone is here for a reason He decreed. No group is all good, or all bad. It wasn't the Palestinians who perpetrated the Holocaust, but they're getting treated as if they had. I encourage you to please read this article I include, because it may open a new point of a view, a view that can begin the possibility of real solutions instead of just the "we're right, they're wrong" mentality. Here's an excerpt: "Abuse of the Palestinians’ human rights by Israel is not a secret. It is well documented, not only by various human rights organizations but also in the news, including by Israel’s own the Times of Israel, Haaretz, and the Jerusalem Post.
As an example, a recent article in the Times of Israel documented the abuse suffered by Palestinians in the Bedouin shepherding community of Ein Rashash in the West Bank at the hands of settlers while Israel’s security forces were ineffective or worse. Examples of credible human rights organizations that document Israel’s abuse of the Palestinians include the Israel-based B’Tselem and Peace Now. On August 10, 2023, B’Tselem wrote, “After repeated attacks and threats by settlers and having been left with no other choice, the Bedouin community of al-Qabun, located east of Ramallah, abandoned its homes this week.”
It is not an exaggeration to say that Israel’s policies in the West Bank are a form of Apartheid and that some of the actions of settlers with the quiet acquiescence of Israeli authorities are a form of ethnic cleansing. Yet the Palestinians are getting nowhere in fighting back against the abuse. Why is that?
One can blame Israel of course, and that’s fair because Israel is after all the one perpetrating the abuse. Israel could choose to change its policies, and some previous governments have made small attempts in that direction, but it chooses not to. But I also blame at least as equally those who are supposed to defend the Palestinians but who fail miserably in that duty: the Palestinian leadership, the Palestinians’ Arab allies, the Palestinian diaspora, and the large pro-Palestinian movement.
The failure of the Palestinian leadership (which includes not only the officially recognized Palestinian Authority but also all factions that constitute de-facto Palestinian governments, including Hamas in the Gaza Strip) is the most obvious. They have missed every opportunity to move towards a two-state solution except for the Oslo Accords which the Palestinian leadership has badly mismanaged. They continue to repeatedly discredit themselves and weaken the Palestinian cause by using antisemitism, incitement, and terrorism rather than legitimate means, such as political and economic pressure, which are highly effective against Israel and fully available to them. For every step forward achieved by the Palestinians through the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and other means, the Palestinian leadership takes two steps backwards by using hatred and violence...But there is one group that is often effectively and consistently defending the Palestinians: the Jews. Many of those Jews live in Israel and many live abroad, most notably in the United States..." I hope you read the entire article. You see, there is always more than one side to consider, because we are all human. Shalom. (https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-palestinians-are-abused-by-israel-yet-no-one-defends-them-except-jews/)
I agree that CRT certainly did not cause the Israeli/ Palestine conflict. That is also not what the article is saying.
It is talking about why students were quick to condemn Israel and to justify Hamas' horrific and barbaric actions. These were students at Ivy League universities around the country. Here is an article that includes a sampling of those statements: https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=24131
Your point that Palestinians are an oppressed people and that Israelis have, at various points, harmed them is true. But being aware of this truth and advocating for a two state solution so that Palestinians also have a land is different from calls to dismantle Israel as a country. People who are discussing a "75 year history of occupation, oppression and an open air prison" and glorifying what happened on October 7 as Palestinians breaking free from their prison, or as a legitimate form of "resistance" are not aiming for a two state solution. When they say they want Palestine "to be free, from the river to the sea," what is meant is the complete eradication of Israel as a country.
It's a bit odd when a student on campus will be hauled up in front of an Anti-Bias board for misgendering a trans student, but will not be held accountable for justifying Hamas' atrocities.
But the question is why they believe what they believe. And I think CRT, and the framing of all conflicts as being about "the oppressed" and "the oppressors" in such a way that being oppressed justifies all actions (we saw this earlier by George Ffloyd when looting was simply considered a crime against property, not an actual problem because considering stealing bad is too passe) is the reason. I do not think CRT is overall a helpful framework, even for the supposedly oppressed. It takes away feelings of agency and control over one's own life, and instead turns people into individuals who are simply "acted upon."
"But the question is why they believe what they believe. And I think CRT, and the framing of all conflicts as being about "the oppressed" and "the oppressors" in such a way that being oppressed justifies all actions..." There is an unacknowledged irony in your statement, because Israel has taken the "victim" position to its extreme. Its all rather become a competition for who is the most victimized. CRT is bad for "framing of all conflicts as being about "the oppressed" and "the oppressors", but it is good for Israel to claim "antisemitism" if anyone dares to disagree with anything they do? Israel doesn't use the same description, but it actually has is own "CJT", Critical Jewish Theory, because there is no end to teachings, references, reminders, programs, memorials, descriptions, interviews, etc. to the Holocaust, to antisemitism, to bringing up the past to justify the present. Jews use the "oppressed" and "oppressor" frame constantly: "We were oppressed in the Holocaust, so we have the right to whatever manner of autonomy we now choose." If any criticism is made about anything Jewish, even if the criticism is completely legitimate, it is labeled "antisemitism"and dismissed. If a criticism is aimed at anything in the "black" community, and a "black" person calls it "racist", that "black" person is accused of "using the 'race card' ", and called a liar, a troublemaker, and that person is dismissed. Same scenario, different outcome. Why? Actually, the "black" experience bears important parallels to the Jewish experience, yet Jews can reference the Holocaust and a history of persecution to demand special status, but if "blacks" do it, there is vicious backlash from "whites" (and-more irony-these same "whites" often react similarly toward Jews, but is very subtle because, after all, most Jews look "white"). The elephant in the room is the fact that Jews in general decided to subtly, but definitively, choose to identify with the "white" majority, not by declaring it, but by gradually signaling to "white" America that they would adopt and support racist tendencies towards "blacks". While nowhere near the implacably harsh racism of "whites", Jews, in general, decided to join in seeing "blacks" as the "lower level", so to speak, of humanity, and "whites" quietly gave a nod to the silent declaration of what "side" we were on, gradually allowing Jews access to business and political opportunities that remained closed to "blacks". All one has to do is look around and see, that no matter how many ethnic groups and nationalities come to the USA, the "blacks" still remain always at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. Others come here and quickly learn from American culture that "blacks" are the group you are completely allowed to feel superior to, look down on, belittle, etc., very much like the "untouchables" of the HIndu caste system. Of course, many will say the usual: "Its their own fault, they're lazy, they're ignorant, they're..." fill in the blank, and that's perfectly acceptable still in America to think/speak that way-so easy and convenient.. If you traveled through cultures as I have, easily blending in to groups due to my own mixed genetic and cultural makeup, fitting into several ethnicities, it would be rather jolting to hear how people speak of others when they think they are only being heard by "their own kind". There is an ugliness in Western culture that will not budge, because people love to feel superior, its like an addiction. And it has spread everywhere. These are factors we don't want to consider, and behind all the self justifications there is a disease, unacknowledged, vehemently denied, yet it taints all our interactions with self delusion and refusal to take responsibility for being addicted to...superiority. We can hang on to our "we are right, and you are wrong" mentality, ignoring all the many ways that attitude poisons every interaction and entrenches oppression, but we will all pay the price for it. We'll destroy the world with our self justification rather than lay the cards on the table and face just how much our "I'm inherently better than you" addiction has created the mess we see playing out in front of us today. So be it. But I am saddened for the Jews, for the Palestinians, for "blacks", for "whites", for a world that just keeps repeating the same mistakes of the past. Everyone gets hurt in the end, when we can't see how we each contribute to our own self destruction by clinging to only our own, and "our own kind"s, preservation. Thank you for the conversation. Shalom.
Yet, BLM has come down on the side of Hamas, and the NAACP has been silent. While CRT may not be responsible for Islamic terrorism, many proponents have openly shown their Jew hatred.
Excellent and unfortunately very disturbing.
I've seen so much hate, and lies, directed at CRT, but this is certainly new. Blaming CRT now for the Israeli/Palestine horrors. It appears you, like many "whites", have a knee-jerk reaction to the historical truth of America's systemic abuse of "blacks", and wanted to find a novel way to throw more hate at it. And that's just sad, because Jewish people claim systemic abuse against themselves, going back centuries, until this very day and no one is supposed to question it. At all. Its just gone too far. Jews think the Holocaust excuses them from every and anything, while you deny the condition in which "blacks" have been living, and still live, in the USA? The Israeli/Palestine catastrophe is due to Israel and Palestine, not "blacks", not CRT. (I use quotes for the terms "blacks" and "whites" because these preposterous labels have always been a farce-there is no such thing as "race"-we are all humans, with different languages and cultures, according to Torah., but how those who invented these terms and used them to their advantage cling to them!) Please, stick to Israel and Palestine, and if possible, see them both as humans. I don't know if you believe Torah, but HaShem is responsible for every human on this planet, everyone is here for a reason He decreed. No group is all good, or all bad. It wasn't the Palestinians who perpetrated the Holocaust, but they're getting treated as if they had. I encourage you to please read this article I include, because it may open a new point of a view, a view that can begin the possibility of real solutions instead of just the "we're right, they're wrong" mentality. Here's an excerpt: "Abuse of the Palestinians’ human rights by Israel is not a secret. It is well documented, not only by various human rights organizations but also in the news, including by Israel’s own the Times of Israel, Haaretz, and the Jerusalem Post.
As an example, a recent article in the Times of Israel documented the abuse suffered by Palestinians in the Bedouin shepherding community of Ein Rashash in the West Bank at the hands of settlers while Israel’s security forces were ineffective or worse. Examples of credible human rights organizations that document Israel’s abuse of the Palestinians include the Israel-based B’Tselem and Peace Now. On August 10, 2023, B’Tselem wrote, “After repeated attacks and threats by settlers and having been left with no other choice, the Bedouin community of al-Qabun, located east of Ramallah, abandoned its homes this week.”
It is not an exaggeration to say that Israel’s policies in the West Bank are a form of Apartheid and that some of the actions of settlers with the quiet acquiescence of Israeli authorities are a form of ethnic cleansing. Yet the Palestinians are getting nowhere in fighting back against the abuse. Why is that?
One can blame Israel of course, and that’s fair because Israel is after all the one perpetrating the abuse. Israel could choose to change its policies, and some previous governments have made small attempts in that direction, but it chooses not to. But I also blame at least as equally those who are supposed to defend the Palestinians but who fail miserably in that duty: the Palestinian leadership, the Palestinians’ Arab allies, the Palestinian diaspora, and the large pro-Palestinian movement.
The failure of the Palestinian leadership (which includes not only the officially recognized Palestinian Authority but also all factions that constitute de-facto Palestinian governments, including Hamas in the Gaza Strip) is the most obvious. They have missed every opportunity to move towards a two-state solution except for the Oslo Accords which the Palestinian leadership has badly mismanaged. They continue to repeatedly discredit themselves and weaken the Palestinian cause by using antisemitism, incitement, and terrorism rather than legitimate means, such as political and economic pressure, which are highly effective against Israel and fully available to them. For every step forward achieved by the Palestinians through the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and other means, the Palestinian leadership takes two steps backwards by using hatred and violence...But there is one group that is often effectively and consistently defending the Palestinians: the Jews. Many of those Jews live in Israel and many live abroad, most notably in the United States..." I hope you read the entire article. You see, there is always more than one side to consider, because we are all human. Shalom. (https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-palestinians-are-abused-by-israel-yet-no-one-defends-them-except-jews/)
Hello Sol.
Thank you for your comment.
I agree that CRT certainly did not cause the Israeli/ Palestine conflict. That is also not what the article is saying.
It is talking about why students were quick to condemn Israel and to justify Hamas' horrific and barbaric actions. These were students at Ivy League universities around the country. Here is an article that includes a sampling of those statements: https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=24131
Your point that Palestinians are an oppressed people and that Israelis have, at various points, harmed them is true. But being aware of this truth and advocating for a two state solution so that Palestinians also have a land is different from calls to dismantle Israel as a country. People who are discussing a "75 year history of occupation, oppression and an open air prison" and glorifying what happened on October 7 as Palestinians breaking free from their prison, or as a legitimate form of "resistance" are not aiming for a two state solution. When they say they want Palestine "to be free, from the river to the sea," what is meant is the complete eradication of Israel as a country.
It's a bit odd when a student on campus will be hauled up in front of an Anti-Bias board for misgendering a trans student, but will not be held accountable for justifying Hamas' atrocities.
There is a case to be made that even these students ought to have the right to free speech- https://www.thefp.com/p/even-antisemites-deserve-free-speech
But the question is why they believe what they believe. And I think CRT, and the framing of all conflicts as being about "the oppressed" and "the oppressors" in such a way that being oppressed justifies all actions (we saw this earlier by George Ffloyd when looting was simply considered a crime against property, not an actual problem because considering stealing bad is too passe) is the reason. I do not think CRT is overall a helpful framework, even for the supposedly oppressed. It takes away feelings of agency and control over one's own life, and instead turns people into individuals who are simply "acted upon."
A great book I recommend on the topic is 'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure.' Link here- https://www.amazon.com/Coddling-American-Mind-Intentions-Generation/dp/0735224897
"But the question is why they believe what they believe. And I think CRT, and the framing of all conflicts as being about "the oppressed" and "the oppressors" in such a way that being oppressed justifies all actions..." There is an unacknowledged irony in your statement, because Israel has taken the "victim" position to its extreme. Its all rather become a competition for who is the most victimized. CRT is bad for "framing of all conflicts as being about "the oppressed" and "the oppressors", but it is good for Israel to claim "antisemitism" if anyone dares to disagree with anything they do? Israel doesn't use the same description, but it actually has is own "CJT", Critical Jewish Theory, because there is no end to teachings, references, reminders, programs, memorials, descriptions, interviews, etc. to the Holocaust, to antisemitism, to bringing up the past to justify the present. Jews use the "oppressed" and "oppressor" frame constantly: "We were oppressed in the Holocaust, so we have the right to whatever manner of autonomy we now choose." If any criticism is made about anything Jewish, even if the criticism is completely legitimate, it is labeled "antisemitism"and dismissed. If a criticism is aimed at anything in the "black" community, and a "black" person calls it "racist", that "black" person is accused of "using the 'race card' ", and called a liar, a troublemaker, and that person is dismissed. Same scenario, different outcome. Why? Actually, the "black" experience bears important parallels to the Jewish experience, yet Jews can reference the Holocaust and a history of persecution to demand special status, but if "blacks" do it, there is vicious backlash from "whites" (and-more irony-these same "whites" often react similarly toward Jews, but is very subtle because, after all, most Jews look "white"). The elephant in the room is the fact that Jews in general decided to subtly, but definitively, choose to identify with the "white" majority, not by declaring it, but by gradually signaling to "white" America that they would adopt and support racist tendencies towards "blacks". While nowhere near the implacably harsh racism of "whites", Jews, in general, decided to join in seeing "blacks" as the "lower level", so to speak, of humanity, and "whites" quietly gave a nod to the silent declaration of what "side" we were on, gradually allowing Jews access to business and political opportunities that remained closed to "blacks". All one has to do is look around and see, that no matter how many ethnic groups and nationalities come to the USA, the "blacks" still remain always at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. Others come here and quickly learn from American culture that "blacks" are the group you are completely allowed to feel superior to, look down on, belittle, etc., very much like the "untouchables" of the HIndu caste system. Of course, many will say the usual: "Its their own fault, they're lazy, they're ignorant, they're..." fill in the blank, and that's perfectly acceptable still in America to think/speak that way-so easy and convenient.. If you traveled through cultures as I have, easily blending in to groups due to my own mixed genetic and cultural makeup, fitting into several ethnicities, it would be rather jolting to hear how people speak of others when they think they are only being heard by "their own kind". There is an ugliness in Western culture that will not budge, because people love to feel superior, its like an addiction. And it has spread everywhere. These are factors we don't want to consider, and behind all the self justifications there is a disease, unacknowledged, vehemently denied, yet it taints all our interactions with self delusion and refusal to take responsibility for being addicted to...superiority. We can hang on to our "we are right, and you are wrong" mentality, ignoring all the many ways that attitude poisons every interaction and entrenches oppression, but we will all pay the price for it. We'll destroy the world with our self justification rather than lay the cards on the table and face just how much our "I'm inherently better than you" addiction has created the mess we see playing out in front of us today. So be it. But I am saddened for the Jews, for the Palestinians, for "blacks", for "whites", for a world that just keeps repeating the same mistakes of the past. Everyone gets hurt in the end, when we can't see how we each contribute to our own self destruction by clinging to only our own, and "our own kind"s, preservation. Thank you for the conversation. Shalom.
Yet, BLM has come down on the side of Hamas, and the NAACP has been silent. While CRT may not be responsible for Islamic terrorism, many proponents have openly shown their Jew hatred.