(1/7) David Baddiel says that he doesn't care about Israel and feels no connection to it. But his indifference does not mean that #jewsdontcount and antisemtism have nothing to do with Israel. A thread...
(2/7) Baddiel holds 'progressives' responsible for contemporary antisemtism, even that coming from the far right, on the grounds that they treat other forms of racism differently and largely ignore anti-Jewish racism.
(3/7) It is deeply ironic to make this argument in a prime time show on the most progressive of the UK's main TV channels, and citing the Royal Court as evidence given they've just staged 'Jews in their own words', and demonstrating culpability by focusing on two black women.
(4/7) But beyond that, blaming the left ignores how antisemtism has been redefined in a decades-long project called 'the new antisemtism'. This makes Israel *not* individual Jews the main target of contemporary antisemtism.
(5/7) By this definition, Amnesty International, the United Nations, even international law are antisemitic. This undermines attempts to tackle antisemtism yet Baddiel doesn't mention it. His rhetorical indifference to Israel is not innocent. It provides cover for this omission.
(6/7) The conflation of antisemtism with antizionism is dangerous to Jews and it's racist both in shutting down discussion of Israeli apartheid and ethnic cleansing, and in its disproportionate impact on Palestinians and more generally on people of colour.
(7/7) Israel acts in the name of world Jewry. The UK Board of Deputies says that opposing racism must include opposing boycotts of Israel. None of this makes individual Jews responsible for Israeli actions. But it makes Israel part of understanding Jewish identity & antisemtism.
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