(Jewish Group) As An Arab Jew, I Am Exposed To Anti-Semitism From The Right And The Left

[Behind the Aegis]

(THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP! RESPECT!!)

"I was just waiting for her to say she was Jewish.”

This was my colleague’s reaction to the white, female narrator of a very problematic video we were watching together. Despite the fact that we worked at a non-profit that had integrated an anti-oppressive analysis in their values and internal systems, my colleague, who was on the management team, associated all the negativity in the video with Judaism, instead of understanding the white supremacy that was playing out in the narrator’s brand of feminism.

A week later I got the courage to approach my colleague about the comments she had made about the video. I explained that what she said was hurtful. Though my colleague apologized, she continued to tell me that she had based her judgement on personal experiences she’s had. In essence, she was generalizing about all Jews based on the few Jews that she had met. I was speechless and dropped the subject with her. This is just one of many experiences I’ve had with anti-Semitism while doing social justice work in New York City over the past decade, and it’s part of what drove me to contribute to a new guide that I hope will help to address situations exactly like this one.


Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) recently released Understanding Antisemitism, a resource which explains who Jews are, how anti-Semitism works, and how it interacts with other forms of oppression, such as racism and capitalism. It provides a nuanced explanation of why it is important for the left to have a strong analysis of anti-Semitism so we can all get free. While the true locus of anti-Semitism is the political right, especially the Christian, white nationalist right, we need to be able to address the ignorance and confusion of the left as well. Having Understanding Antisemitism out in the world feels like maybe, just maybe, what I have been trying to explain to my non-Jewish colleagues, friends and comrades in left organizations for many years will finally be seen and I will no longer be dismissed, demonized and reprimanded for speaking up.

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[Skittles]

1. the things I learn on DU!

how could anyone think "all Jews are white" ? That seems truly bizarre to me

I am curious about her assessment that she thinks 'all identities are political', and I wish she had explained that.

Great read though.

[MosheFeingold]

2. Pretty common theme on left, actually

"how could anyone think "all Jews are white" ? That seems truly bizarre to me"

They buy into the lie that Israelis are evil European colonizers. Never mind the majority of Israelis are Sephardim/Mizrahim. (Jews ethnically cleansed from the surrounding Muslim counties)

[StinkyPete]

4. 6 million Jews died within living memory due to white supremacy

And now we're told Jews are racist, white supremacist nazis.

I just want consistency. If Jews are white, so are Arabs & everyone else from the mideast. If they're not, we're not either. It's that simple.

[Mosby]

3. Mizrahi Jews are an uncomfortable truth for the far left

They are living proof of our indigenous status in the ME and Maghreb and our thousands of years connection to Israel, Judea and Samaria.

They are the largest Jewish population in israel, 3.5 million strong, and form the backbone of Likud and Shas.