On Tuesday, a resolution overwhelmingly passed the House equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism, with 14 members voting against.
ABBA SOLOMON, abbasolomon@gmail.com, www.threads.net/@abba.a.solomon
Solomon is author of two books on Zionism, The Miasma of Unity: Jews and Israel and The Speech, and Its Context: Jacob Blaustein’s Speech “The Meaning of Palestine Partition to American Jews.”
He said today: “Conflating Jewish identity with support of the militant Jewish state of Israel in Palestine erases the historic and present Jewish opposition to Jewish nationalism.
“The latest Israeli attacks on Palestinians of the occupied West Bank and systematic degradation of the means of life in bombarded Gaza has seen an eruption of young Jews protesting, such as in New York’s Grand Central Terminal.”
Jewish Voice for Peace Bay Area stated: “So what, we’re all self-hating Jews? Thousands of Jewish people across the country who have shut down bridges, transit stations, the Statue of Liberty? This is a deeply, deeply antisemitic resolution.”
Solomon continued: “The GOP resolution which claims anti-Zionism is antisemitism is even denounced by staunch Democratic party Israel backers. “In remarks on the House floor, [Rep. Gerald] Nadler pointed to language in the GOP resolution stating that ‘anti-Zionism is antisemitism.’ “‘That is either intellectually disingenuous or just factually wrong,’ he said. “’The authors, if they were at all familiar with Jewish history and culture, should know about Jewish anti-Zionism that was, and is, expressly not antisemitic,’ he said. “Anti-Zionist Jews of the world are watching damage done by the Jewish nationalist state of Israel, resisting being put in a false position.” See Solomon’s piece Endangered and Dangerous Israel, Endangering Jews.
“It is now less credible to think of Israel as a safe place for Jews as Jews, in an ironic twist. And the more extreme measures Israel wreaks on Gaza, supposedly for Israel’s safety, the more imperiled by association Jews outside Israel will be.”
“The Republican party, allied with Christian evangelical Zionists, is pushing the most doctrinaire version of Jewish domination of Palestine.
“In September, President Biden reiterated support of Zionist doctrine. He greeted Prime Minister Netanyahu in New York with, ‘I think without Israel, there’s not a Jew in the world who’s secure.'” [See video.]Also, see from rabbi Brant Rosen: “Amid Israel’s Brutality in Gaza, It’s Time to Commit to Anti-Zionism.”
