I will say that I’ve recently seen some pretty bad anti-semitism coming from some on the left. And, no, I don’t think any criticism of Israel is anti-semitism. I criticize Israel plenty myself. However, I’ve seen far too many on the left who blame all Jews for things Israel does. As an American Jew, I can no more change Israel’s actions than I can change Russia’s due to my ancestors coming from that area.
Of course, Cruz isn’t one to talk because for all the anti-semitism I’ve seen on the left, I’ve seen much, MUCH more on the right. The right has actual Nazis flying swastika flags. They have Christian Nationalists that want me to (at best) be a second class citizen. They have white supremacist groups who only hold back on hunting Jews because they know it will get them in trouble - right now.
There’s an anti-semitism problem on both sides of the aisle, but the problem on the right is far larger.
Has this criticism been online or in person? Because the online stuff is a worthless metric.
The far-right would have absolutely no issue with creating sock puppet “leftist” accounts if it allowed them to say anti-semitic things. They’ve openly organised exactly the same thing before in LGBT spaces, pushing anti-trans rhetoric and pretending the community tolerates pedophiles.
Even if you want to give them the benefit of the doubt, they will absolutely signal boost it, especially if it causes “in-fighting”.
It’s a mix. I’ve personally seen online accounts that are otherwise progressive claiming that all Jews are valid targets for vandalism because of things Israel did.
I’ve also seen many news reports of Jewish college kids harassed by peers getting threatening while protesting against Israel’s actions and for Palestinian rights. (Two things I would agree with, but that I wouldn’t march for if I feel like my safety would be at risk merely because I’m Jewish.)
I don’t doubt that there are elements (be it the American right, Russia, or someone else) trying to exasperate any divisions on the left. Of course, if the right thinks that Jews will see elements of anti-semitism on the left and go running to the right, they are sadly mistaken. Like I said, there’s some anti-semitism on the left (likely magnified by bad actors), but the vast majority is on the right. And the right has the more extremist anti-semitism - with actual Nazis and people who want to make all non-Christians second class citizens (at best).
I’ve also seen many news reports of Jewish college kids harassed by peers getting threatening while protesting against Israel’s actions and for Palestinian rights. (Two things I would agree with, but that I wouldn’t march for if I feel like my safety would be at risk merely because I’m Jewish.)
I would caution against tales like this. Not that I doubt they happened, but I would be skeptical that these events happened because they were Jewish. I can imagine a scenario where the protests get “energetic,” and they go up to people who maybe haven’t really given it a lot of thought or wrestled with the mess that is the decades-long war, and give them an ultimatum of essentially “if you’re not with us, you’re against us.” You yourself gave a great example of a scenario where you wouldn’t want to join a protest. On campus, people often just want to get to class.
But then, I haven’t read the articles you have. I just know that news outlets, lately, have been really trying to paint the Left like, “They have an extremist problem, too, therefore they’re no better than the Right” (bullshit Horseshoe Theory).
I will say that I’ve recently seen some pretty bad anti-semitism coming from some on the left. And, no, I don’t think any criticism of Israel is anti-semitism. I criticize Israel plenty myself. However, I’ve seen far too many on the left who blame all Jews for things Israel does. As an American Jew, I can no more change Israel’s actions than I can change Russia’s due to my ancestors coming from that area.
Of course, Cruz isn’t one to talk because for all the anti-semitism I’ve seen on the left, I’ve seen much, MUCH more on the right. The right has actual Nazis flying swastika flags. They have Christian Nationalists that want me to (at best) be a second class citizen. They have white supremacist groups who only hold back on hunting Jews because they know it will get them in trouble - right now.
There’s an anti-semitism problem on both sides of the aisle, but the problem on the right is far larger.
Has this criticism been online or in person? Because the online stuff is a worthless metric.
The far-right would have absolutely no issue with creating sock puppet “leftist” accounts if it allowed them to say anti-semitic things. They’ve openly organised exactly the same thing before in LGBT spaces, pushing anti-trans rhetoric and pretending the community tolerates pedophiles.
Even if you want to give them the benefit of the doubt, they will absolutely signal boost it, especially if it causes “in-fighting”.
It’s a mix. I’ve personally seen online accounts that are otherwise progressive claiming that all Jews are valid targets for vandalism because of things Israel did.
I’ve also seen many news reports of Jewish college kids harassed by peers getting threatening while protesting against Israel’s actions and for Palestinian rights. (Two things I would agree with, but that I wouldn’t march for if I feel like my safety would be at risk merely because I’m Jewish.)
I don’t doubt that there are elements (be it the American right, Russia, or someone else) trying to exasperate any divisions on the left. Of course, if the right thinks that Jews will see elements of anti-semitism on the left and go running to the right, they are sadly mistaken. Like I said, there’s some anti-semitism on the left (likely magnified by bad actors), but the vast majority is on the right. And the right has the more extremist anti-semitism - with actual Nazis and people who want to make all non-Christians second class citizens (at best).
I would caution against tales like this. Not that I doubt they happened, but I would be skeptical that these events happened because they were Jewish. I can imagine a scenario where the protests get “energetic,” and they go up to people who maybe haven’t really given it a lot of thought or wrestled with the mess that is the decades-long war, and give them an ultimatum of essentially “if you’re not with us, you’re against us.” You yourself gave a great example of a scenario where you wouldn’t want to join a protest. On campus, people often just want to get to class.
But then, I haven’t read the articles you have. I just know that news outlets, lately, have been really trying to paint the Left like, “They have an extremist problem, too, therefore they’re no better than the Right” (bullshit Horseshoe Theory).