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| We shouldn't use Nazis as the standard for antisemitism |
| 2019-10-21 |
| h/t Instapundit [Reason] As the candidate who is both furthest left in the Democratic presidential field and least favorably-inclined toward Israel in his public statements, it would not inherently be surprising that Bernie Sanders has attracted the support of far-left political figures with a history of antisemitic comments and actions, including Linda Sarsour, Ilhan Omar, and Amer Zahr. It might seem surprising, however, because Sanders is Jewish, and one might think that (a) people with a history of antisemitic comments and actions are likely antisemitic; and (b) antisemites wouldn't endorse a Jewish candidate. Indeed, supporters of these Bernie endorsers have been quick to use their endorsements as evidence that they aren't antisemitic; after all, no antisemite would endorse a Jew for president. Right? Wrong. The problem with this reasoning, and much of the discourse around antisemitism in general and on the far left in particular, is what one might call "the Nazi standard." In other words, to only recognize antisemitism when it resembles the most virulent, murderous version of antisemitism, that of the Nazis, a version that is outspoken and proud of its antisemitism, and considers Jews subhuman, beyond redemption, and marked for extinction. |
| Posted by:g(r)omgoru |
| #3 Ok. We'll use Arabs then for the standard. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2019-10-21 20:52 |
| #2 true Anti-Israeli stuff does not equal Anti-antisemitism but from what I can tell the crossover of the two groups is close to 90%. Holding Israel to a different standard than you hold every other nation in the world requires some explanation if folks aren't to assume Anti-antisemitism or total ignorance (or both). |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2019-10-21 15:53 |
| #1 Anti Israeli stuff is no more anti semitism than anti American comments are anti the people that live here. I think Israel sucks because of the way they treat the west bank, but, I don't think Jews suck, except for the minority of Jews that do suck, like all other people groups. |
| Posted by: Ulerert Ebbavith7568 2019-10-21 13:56 |