Hotwheels sisyphus on Nostr: non-Jewish leftists desperately need a primer on how to talk to and about Jews ...
non-Jewish leftists desperately need a primer on how to talk to and about Jews (especially Jewish leftists)
- don't equate Jewishness with whiteness. not all Jews are white. Jews who would be considered white today were not always viewed that way by everyone; even white Jews may experience racialized othering. this does not preclude Jews from collaborating with white supremacy (i.e., Dennis Prager), but that doesn't make Jewishness essentially white.
- don't talk about Jewish anti-Zionists like they're "the good ones" compared to the rest of the Jewish population. Zionism is not the default Jewish opinion, and even polls about Jews' views on Israel and Zionism often fail to ask nuanced questions designed with Jews' lived experiences in mind.
- don't make knee-jerk accusations that Jews who talk about antisemitism are motivated by covert Zionism. although Zionists often make spurious accusations of antisemitism, that does not mean all those accusations are false, nor does it mean all critics of antisemitism are Zionists.
- don't demand Jewish leftists clarify their stance on Zionism to be seen as "trustworthy" when you wouldn't make the same demand of a non-Jew in the same situation. Jewish leftists face disproportionate scrutiny on this issue due to antisemitic stereotypes of Jewish disloyalty and dishonesty.
- don't use your Jewish friends or your knowledge of Jewish historical figures/thinkers as a shield when other people criticize your antisemitism. you could memorize everything Emma Goldman ever wrote by heart and still express antisemitism.
- don't use phrases like "Judeo-Christian" when you are really referring to Christian hegemony. Judaism and Christianity are very different religions and should not be conflated. on a related note, don't talk about Judaism and Jews like they are "responsible" for Christianity (and thus Christian hegemony) in some fundamentally evil ontological sense. Jews have historically been and still are the targets of Christian hegemony in much of the world, not its collaborators.
- don't dismiss antisemitism directed toward a Jew just because that Jew is a Zionist. antisemitism is unacceptable regardless of who it targets.
- don't exclude antisemitism from your analysis. it's foundational to European Christian hegemony past and present.
- don't engage in literal fucking genocide denial
this is probably not an exhaustive list
- don't equate Jewishness with whiteness. not all Jews are white. Jews who would be considered white today were not always viewed that way by everyone; even white Jews may experience racialized othering. this does not preclude Jews from collaborating with white supremacy (i.e., Dennis Prager), but that doesn't make Jewishness essentially white.
- don't talk about Jewish anti-Zionists like they're "the good ones" compared to the rest of the Jewish population. Zionism is not the default Jewish opinion, and even polls about Jews' views on Israel and Zionism often fail to ask nuanced questions designed with Jews' lived experiences in mind.
- don't make knee-jerk accusations that Jews who talk about antisemitism are motivated by covert Zionism. although Zionists often make spurious accusations of antisemitism, that does not mean all those accusations are false, nor does it mean all critics of antisemitism are Zionists.
- don't demand Jewish leftists clarify their stance on Zionism to be seen as "trustworthy" when you wouldn't make the same demand of a non-Jew in the same situation. Jewish leftists face disproportionate scrutiny on this issue due to antisemitic stereotypes of Jewish disloyalty and dishonesty.
- don't use your Jewish friends or your knowledge of Jewish historical figures/thinkers as a shield when other people criticize your antisemitism. you could memorize everything Emma Goldman ever wrote by heart and still express antisemitism.
- don't use phrases like "Judeo-Christian" when you are really referring to Christian hegemony. Judaism and Christianity are very different religions and should not be conflated. on a related note, don't talk about Judaism and Jews like they are "responsible" for Christianity (and thus Christian hegemony) in some fundamentally evil ontological sense. Jews have historically been and still are the targets of Christian hegemony in much of the world, not its collaborators.
- don't dismiss antisemitism directed toward a Jew just because that Jew is a Zionist. antisemitism is unacceptable regardless of who it targets.
- don't exclude antisemitism from your analysis. it's foundational to European Christian hegemony past and present.
- don't engage in literal fucking genocide denial
this is probably not an exhaustive list