Kanye West taught us a valuable lesson.-But it’s not a new lesson. In fact, it’s probably the oldest lesson there is, and yet if anyone ever forgets it, people like Kanye and others are quick to pop up and remind us. And that lesson is that the hatred of Jews is not something confined to any one group or one political leaning – it’s everywhere.
But more than that – it’s a common denominator that can be found among the left, the right, the secular and the religious.
It’s a unifying beacon of hatred.
Too often these days we hear of the danger of antisemitism by the alt right and the white supremacists – and those who spout antisemitic tropes should be rightly condemned.
But what about the other side? What about all the so-called progressives who hate Jews just as much? Why are people afraid to condemn them?
In universities today, there is an effort to delegitimise Jews – especially those who support Israel. If you support Zionism, you will not find safe haven in many universities. Safe spaces do not exist for you.
The Black Lives Matter movement is steeped in antisemitism, calling Israel a genocidal colonial illegal country, but no one dares question them on that.
When it comes to antisemitism – or more appropriately – Jew hatred, all should be condemned from all quarters, for those who condemn Kanye West but ignore Ilhan Omar are not really condemning antisemitism – they’re enabling it.
If you’re going to condemn attacks on synagogues by white supremacists but ignore attacks on Jews in New York by African Americans, you have not confronted antisemitism, but ignored it.
And those who hold endless debates and condemnations of Israel at the UN but refuse to hold one on China – are not discouraging antisemitism but promoting it.
If you are going to condemn antisemitism, which is the right thing and the decent thing and the honourable thing to do, then condemn it!
But don’t limit that condemnation to one side only, because then you’re not speaking against antisemitism, but for it.
