Media Analysis

HuffPo writer expresses bigotry against Palestinians by equating battle for equal rights and anti-Semitism

Jennifer Sabin has an article at Huffington Post titled, “The Ugly Reality of American Anti-Semitism.” A lot of what she talks about unquestionably is anti-semitism and deserves condemnation, notably a range of attacks on Jewish journalists in recent weeks for being Jewish. But as usual with this sort of confused liberal commentary, Sabin brings in Palestinian solidarity, and says that Palestinians only have those rights which do not conflict with the “right” that Israeli Jews had to steal most of their land.

You see this in the paragraphs about pro-Palestinian activism, where she talks about support for Palestinians’ supposed right to “control” all of the territory, thereby exposing her own unconscious bigotry.

It’s not just Oberlin, but schools like UC Berkeley and UC Irvine, Northwestern, University of Michigan and some of the Ivy League schools, among others, where students are reporting an uptick in threats, intimidation, and distribution of anti-Semitic literature. Much of it is an outgrowth of the movements BDS, which calls for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel, and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

It is one thing for students and professors to question and debate and disagree with Israeli politics, Israeli settlements and the level of Israel’s responses to Palestinian attacks – and in fact some of the BDS and SJP protestors are Jewish students. But too often, those students and professors are not talking about a two-state solution, but rather the right of Palestinians to control all of Israel. And once people say Israel has no right to exist, or when they conflate the politics of Israel with all Jewish people, when they shout “Nazi” and “fascist” at students who support Israel, when they downplay the horrors of the Holocaust, or purport that all Jews are white and privileged and therefore unentitled to claim their oppressive history or even the current anti-Semitism, then they have entered another realm – the realm of pure, unadulterated bigotry…

“The right of Palestinians to control all of Israel” has never been part of Palestinian solidarity. Sabin can’t imagine someone advocating for equal rights for Palestinians unless it is really about hatred for Jews. It never crosses her mind how dehumanizing this is towards Palestinians. Their whole struggle for equal rights is equated with anti-Semitism. She expresses the same bigotry with this statement:

When a Palestinian or Iranian spews hatred for Jewish people, it’s de rigueur. But to hear it, and read it coming from Americans in 2016 is another thing.

And as for Nazis, she fails to note that it is an Israeli military leader who has lately compared Israel to Nazi Germany.

It’s not enough to explain that BDS isn’t antisemitic. It actually reinforces the idea that it is antisemitic when people patiently explain why it isn’t, as though the accusation is reasonable. We think BDS advocates have to turn things around and point out constantly, repeatedly, that articles like this are actually bigoted against Palestinians.

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Interestingly, Beinart invokes WW2 facism throughout his latest piece, Who Cares That Ivanka Trump Is Jewish?, and uses the words Hitler, Gestapo, and Nazi all in one sentence.

Hitler instructed the Gestapo to protect him [Eduard Bloch] even as Nazi forces…

… And once people … conflate the politics of Israel with all Jewish people … then they have entered another realm – the realm of pure, unadulterated bigotry…

Yup, Zio-supremacists – who routinely conflate Israel with all Jews and all Jews with Israel – are pure, unadulterated bigots.

re “spews hatred for Jewish people”

i found it interesting how sabin segued the racist trump supporters responding to Weisman on twitter (that was really gross) in with pro palestine activism on campuses and then claiming the far right and far left had something in common, that’s flat out false equivalence. whether she followed instruction straight from the hasbara handbook or did it as a matter of instinct is immaterial, the fact that she did it to serve her point is reason enough to question her motives or logic because either or both are flawed.

and no indication she’s unnerved by the idea of jews “controlling all of israel” which is the obvious goal of zionism. does she even think that is extreme? or is it just the mere thought of palestinians controlling their homeland that is so abhorrent.

Sabin includes among the Jew hating speech “when they shout “Nazi” and “fascist” at students who support Israel” – See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2016/06/expresses-palestinians-semitism/#comment-167568. and phil and donald feel they must comment: “And as for Nazis, she fails to note that it is an Israeli military leader who has lately compared Israel to Nazi Germany.”

Analogies drawn for purposes of understanding or controversial admonition of dangers to a specific society and specific tendencies, as General Golan did, is entirely different from shouting “nazi” at Zionists. Of course to the choir here at MW comments, the epithet of Nazi is so commonplace that it is just another day at the office, but in fact, shouting “Nazis” at Jews are “fighting words”, and disclose a low level of civility and a provocation. (It might not be antisemitism, but I challenge you to find a Jew who is not an antizionist who does not feel the “fighting words” aspect of calling Jews Nazis.)

In the article, Ms. Sabin claims that she endured a number of anti-semitic tweets, but unfortunately these tweets are no longer available because she “made a rookie mistake” and blocked the users, thus deleting the tweets. The problem: blocking an account does NOT delete that person’s mentions of you. We were thus able to go through all of her mentions, and discovered that these tweets simply did not exist. We wrote to Huffington Post about her spurious “evidence,” but they have not responded.