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Let's talk about anti-Semitism, & why I still stan for rep Omar, and why the media/Democratic outrage against her is doing far more to feed anti-Semitic narratives than anything she said. What do I know? For a start, I grew up in the only Jewish family in small-town Illinois...
I've been asked if I eat babies more times than I can count. My best friend growing up told me she couldn't play with me anymore when we were 7, bc I was a "dirty Jew." In middle school, two trenchcoat boys on the back of the bus would show me their knives & call me a k***
There were always half-sincere rumors at whatever school I was at that I was a Satan-worshipper. My brothers' friends painted a shaving cream swastika on our driveway in HS (cute prank). And my HS nickname (in the South Park, edge-lord early 00's) was "Jew," as in "'Sup, Jew?"
THAT is anti-Semitism. All those kids were taught by their families, from a shockingly young age, that Jews are money-grubbing Satan-worshippers who belong to a shadowy world order that controls the media & global politics. Millions of Americans believe this. I grew up with them.
I was taught by some older Jewish relatives this line--that any criticism of Israel is dangerous and feeds anti-Semitism. And I believed them, until I started actually reading about Palestinian history, reading Palestinian voices, & there was no way I could NOT criticize Israel.
Every progressive Jew (scratch that--person) committed to social justice, liberation, and equality MUST criticize Israeli policies to have integrity to those values. The fact that lawmakers want to BAN such criticism is horrific, and yea--shows blind allegiance to a foreign power
When you "captions" this valid criticism as anti-Semitism, it feeds into the shadowy-Jewish-world-order myth. Saying that criticizing oppressive pro-Israel lawmakers = anti-Semitism, communicates "oppressive pro-Israel lawmakers = Jews." That is a dangerous conflation.
When the government tries to silence criticism & boycotts of Israel, when both parties unite behind the effort, and are largely upheld by media reactions--anyone watching, who's been raised with the Jews-control-the-world myth sees confirmation for those beliefs. THAT'S dangerous
Silencing criticism of Israel in the name of preventing anti-Semitism is thus A TRAP, that does way more to feed anti-Semitism, in, like, actual, dangerous anti-Semites--like the kids who bullied me, who grew into tiki-torch-bearing adults (or at least adults who vote with them).
Finally, like...it's really, REALLY obvious that the outrage against rep Omar is motivated largely by Islamophobia. And myopic Dems are actually siding against her with poisonously anti-Semitic conservatives' faux outrage. What a shame.
The only winners here are the hatemongers, and I imagine them cackling with laughter, because they're stoking both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in their base with this narrative, and liberals are lining up right behind them! It is...SO frustrating. STAHP.
