Anti-Semitism on the right is not hard to find, explain, or understand. White supremacy. Ethno-nationalism. “Jews will not replace us.” Or that line from the late John Singleton’s Higher Learning (1995): “You’re not white, you’re Jewish!”
On Friday night’s Real Time with Bill Maher, we were treated to yet another discussion about how “there’s also a lot of anti-Semitism on the left,” for which Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has, fairly or unfairly, become the avatar. Regardless of whether this is a product of both-siderism, false equivalence, or some other less-deceptive phenomenon, it is now conventional wisdom in American politics that There’s a Lot of Anti-Semitism on the Left.
I’m not here to either dispute or validate that contention, or to discuss both-siderism, false equivalence or double standards. I’ve done enough of that. Today I want to stipulate that it’s true, that there really is a lot of anti-Semitism on the left, that those who see that and say that are correct, and try to figure out why; i.e., what the basis and its purpose of the left’s purported anti-Semitism could possibly be.
As noted above, the basis and purpose of the right’s anti-Semitism — i.e., what right-wing anti-Semites want, and why — is clear, obvious, and ubiquitous. As I’ve written previously, right-wing conservatism has always been about preserving entrenched, long-standing social and economic power structures, and going to extraordinary lengths to do it, even going so far as to try to bring back oppressive and unjust power structures that rightly went away a long time ago and to resort to violence, intimidation, or worse to make it happen.
But what do left-wing anti-Semites want, and why? Again, assuming it’s true that at least in the U.S. there really is a lot of anti-Semitism on the left (i.e., among Democrats and Democratic voters/constituencies), what is it based on, what is its motivation, and what is its end goal? Is it the same as the racial/ethnic/religious Othering that motivates the right (and that is, I think, inherently illiberal), or is it something else? Or both?
When I hear or read about “anti-Semitism on the left,” what I usually find (and forgive me if this is too obvious or if I’m missing something) is criticism of, or discomfort with, the Netanyahu régime, its actions and policies vis-à-vis the Palestinians, and/or sympathy or empathy for the plight of the latter. That “criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitism” has been said and written so often that it’s lost all meaning, as has the fact that a lot of people believe the opposite. Again, I’m stipulating that there is anti-Semitism on the left, and that criticism of Israel and/or the Netanyahu régime may be, and sometimes is, motivated by and indicative of anti-Semitism.
Going back to my previous writing cited above, liberalism has always been about rooting out and eliminating oppression and injustice in all its forms, no matter where it occurs or who the oppressors are. To over-simplify somewhat, where a flaw in right-wing conservatism is in failing or refusing to recognize (while actively perpetuating) oppression and injustice, a flaw in left-wing liberalism is in finding oppression and injustice everywhere. Assuming that’s true, criticism of Israel and the Netanyahu régime among liberals and Democrats is probably, usually based on the idea that the actions of that country and that government are, or may be seen as, oppressive and unjust.
So, the idea that there’s a lot of anti-Semitism on the left apparently stems from all that liberal (and/or Democratic) criticism of alleged oppression and injustice carried out by the Netanyahu régime, i.e., the allegation that the State of Israel is an oppressor, which a lot of American Jews and supporters of Israel simply cannot abide. Israel has a right to exist, and a right to defend itself, and therefore, given its history and that of the Jews, can’t be an oppressor. To say, suggest or think that Israel is or could possibly be an oppressor is to deny its right to exist and defend itself. And to deny Israel’s right to exist and defend itself is inherently anti-Semitic.
Whether those last three sentences are true, logical or sensible, is beside the point, and I’m not saying I agree or disagree with any of it; only that it seems to be the primary basis of the now-conventional wisdom that There’s a Lot of Anti-Semitism on the Left. But it raises a couple of questions: Is regarding the State of Israel (and/or its current government) as an oppressor, rightly or wrongly, the same as regarding Jews as oppressors? Maybe the better question is: Do American liberals who regard Israel and/or the Netanyahu régime as oppressors, also see Jews as oppressors, which would then make them anti-Semitic? I don’t presume to have answers to those questions.
If anti-Semitism on the left is not based on the idea that Israel is an oppressor and therefore Jews are oppressors, then what is it based on?
Which brings me back to the second part of the original question, which is, given and assuming the foregoing basis, what is the purpose of anti-Semitism on the left? I’ve often heard accusations that Rep. Omar, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, and even President Obama, “hate the Jews” and “want to wipe Israel off the map” which seems to be the end goal of anti-Semitism on all sides but strikes me as a very illiberal aspiration. However, if we accept the formulation of liberalism as being dedicated to eradicating oppression and injustice wherever they occur, and if liberals consider Israel and/or its current régime to be oppressive and unjust, then…. well, I can see how one might get there.
I don’t doubt that there are other reasons why people and pundits think, believe and say that there’s a lot of anti-Semitism on the left, and why even some of my more liberal Jewish friends think, believe and say that “only the Republicans support Israel.”* There’s no question that the GOP, its allies, enablers and owners are [successfully] cultivating a whole new category of single-issue voters. But that’s a story for another day.
[* — Even the ones who don’t believe a word Trump says and are keenly aware that he lies constantly, believe him when he calls Democrats the “anti-Israel” and “anti-Jewish” party.]
One final question: Let’s say it’s true that there’s a lot of anti-Semitism on the left, because the left sees Israel as an oppressive and unjust régime and therefore regards Jews as oppressors. What do we, on the left, do about it?