Thread by @EmCohen_

This is a thread on what I am going to call (for lack of a better term) the "trope-ification" of antisemitism and how that benefits zionists:

1/16

https://twitter.com/AviMayer/status/1363474004896538626

First, by "trope-ification," I mean the tendency to represent antisemitism as an assortment of tropes, where the repeating of the trope (or a statement that might sound similar to the trope) is itself to be understood as sufficient evidence to prove antisemitism.

2/16

Here, Avi alleges that Che is antisemitic and should apologize for stating that so-called israel is only vaccinating its Jewish population. According to Avi, Che's statement is antisemitic because there is a longstanding antisemitic trope that Jews spread disease.

3/16

So, with the "trope-ified" understanding of antisemitism, because Che's statement is (arguably) similar to that existing antisemitic trope, Che's statement is itself antisemitic.

"Trope-ification" is far more prevalent than in just the above interaction.

4/16

Under almost any tweet sharing news of so-called israel's violent actions against Palestinians, especially if that violence is against Palestinian children, there will be replies alleging that this is antisemitic blood libel.

5/16

Additionally, the "trope-ified" understanding of antisemitism is common in discussions of zionist lobbying.

If someone states that a group like AIPAC is influencing the so-called u.s. government, their statements will inescapably sound similar to antisemitic tropes.

6/16

The thought process goes- because there is a longstanding trope that Jews use money to manipulate society and because the assertion that 'AIPAC is influencing the so-called u.s. government' sounds (arguably) similar to that, the statement is itself antisemitic.

7/16

It's no secret that Jews have, throughout our thousands of years of existence, experienced a lot of antisemitism. Because of this, there are a ton of antisemitic tropes and an even greater number of statements that might sound similar to those antisemitic tropes.

8/16

By adopting the "trope-ified" understanding of antisemitism, it becomes impossible to discuss certain facts without allegedly being antisemitic.

Take, for example, the statement "the AJC is loyal to israel."

9/16

Would it not be a true statement, notwithstanding the irrefutable similarities to the antisemitic dual loyalty trope, to claim that an organization whose mission is to "enhance the well-being of israel" is an organization that is loyal to israel?

10/16

Now let's talk about how this "trope-ified" understanding of antisemitism benefits zionists.

Zionism is a colonial project which today manifests as the settler-colonial "israeli" state.

11/16

Zionism is presented as a Jewish movement and so-called israel is presented as a Jewish state.

Jewish symbols adorn israel's government buildings and currency and (some) Jews are granted the right to "return" to israel and to be granted israeli citizenship.

12/16

Understanding that a fundamental component of the zionist colonial project is the total conflation of zionism and israel with judaism, it should not be too difficult to see how the "trope-ificiation" of antisemitism is used to defend zionism and israel.

13/16

By ostensibly being a "Jewish state," israel claims complete cover from any statements that are arguably similar to existing antisemitic tropes.

This logic extends to statements about israel that do not even mention Jews because to zionists, "israel" itself is Jewish.

14/16

So, saying the IDF kills Palestinians -a completely true statement- is allegedly antisemitic because of its purported similarity to the antisemitic blood libel trope that Jews kill christian babies.

In the example above, the IDF and Jews are completely interchangeable.

15/16

The "trope-ification" of antisemitism becomes a tool for the absolute and total defense of the zionist project, where true and verifiable statements about so-called israel are to be understood as inherently antisemitic- completely ignoring context, reality, and history.

16/16