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September 10, 2023
Key Takeaways:
- Palestinian President Abbas delivered a speech laced with antisemitic rhetoric in August. He is not a partner for peace. But that does not obviate the need for peace or relieve either side of its obligation to achieve a two-state solution. Abbas's inexcusable hate speech is a convenient excuse for those who oppose working toward peace with the Palestinians but Israel, not Abbas, controls the destiny of the Jewish state.
- Neither Abbas's antisemitism nor racism from within Israel's current government relieves us of our obligation to ensure that Israel remains Jewish and democratic. It is now more important that members of Congress co-sponsor H.Con.Res.61 in support of Israeli democracy.
- GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy appeared on an antisemitic podcast, engaged in antisemitic rhetoric, and was not condemned by his Republican rivals.
- Elon Musk leveled false, antisemitic accusations against the ADL.
- I won't be sending a newsletter next Sunday because next Sunday is Rosh Hashanah. Remember to start writing 5784 on your checks.
Read to the end for corrections, what you may have missed last week, fun stuff, and events with Maryland U.S. House candidate Joel Rubin on September 19 in DC and California U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Adam Schiff in Highland Park, Illinois on October 6. We will have Zoom options for both events.
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Hi Steve,
We enter the Jewish New Year with antisemitism on the rise, including last week from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (and by their silence, all the GOP presidential candidates), and Elon Musk. Next Sunday is Rosh Hashanah, so I won't send a newsletter next week. L'Shana Tova.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas again engaged in antisemitic rhetoric. In a speech laced with antisemitism, Abbas said last month that Hitler did not persecute Jews because they were Jews but because of “their social role, which had to do with usury, money, and so on.” Abbas also denied that European Jews had ancient roots in the Middle East. The European Union condemned his remarks.
Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, said "I am appalled by President Abbas’ hateful, antisemitic remarks at a recent Fatah meeting. The speech maligned the Jewish people, distorted the Holocaust, and misrepresented the tragic exodus of Jews from Arab countries. I condemn these statements and urge an immediate apology."
It's almost as if Abbas was trying to one-up Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s assertion that the rights of Jews trump those of Arabs, re-igniting the debate about whether Israel is engaged in apartheid.
We must continuously and unequivocally condemn antisemitism and racism in all forms and from all sources. Nothing Ben-Gvir said justifies Abbas's antisemitism. Nothing Abbas said justifies Ben-Gvir's racism. At the same time, neither side can let extreme comments from the other side lessen the urgency of achieving a two-state solution, which remains the only solution that will ensure Israel's future as a Jewish, democratic state and that will allow Palestinians to realize their national aspirations.
A two-state solution is not around the corner. It's not even down the block. It's a distant dream until both sides produce new leadership. No one expects either side to negotiate with the other side's current leadership. But that doesn't mean we throw up our hands. Rhetoric can change on a dime if courageous leaders seize the day (Sadat and Begin are paradigmatic examples).
Facts on the ground are harder to change. That's where the U.S. comes in. Writing in the context of a possible deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia facilitated by the United States, Michael Koplow reminds us that progress on the Israel-Palestinian issue is "a clear and compelling U.S. interest."
We cannot and must not be silent about the threats to Israel's democracy behind the 1967 lines or the threats to Israel's democracy--and diplomatic standing in the world--from settlement expansion and deepening occupation. If you think that these are internal affairs about which the U.S. has no business opining, then you don't understand that these are existential issues that go to the heart of the U.S.-Israel relationship. This isn't about how Israel manages its democracy. This is about whether Israel will continue to be a democracy. It is in our interests, as Jews and Americans, that Israel remains a Jewish, democratic state.
Does it bother you when Israel is accused of apartheid? It should. It bothers me. We could respond with accusations of antisemitism or we could shut our eyes, put our hands over our ears, and shout "la la la" as loud as we can. But that's hard to do when a former Mossad chief says publicly that Israel is enforcing an “apartheid” system in the West Bank. His service in the Mossad doesn't mean he's right about everything; it does mean that we can't accuse him of antisemitism or ignore him. We can best respond to warnings about apartheid not by banning the word "apartheid" but by heeding the warnings and supporting those in Israel who are working to address the problem and reverse policies that will delegitimize the State of Israel.
The question is whether Israel is currently engaged in apartheid or headed toward apartheid. The answer, for those of us who love Israel, who believe in the ideals upon which Israel was founded, and who support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship is to support the State of Israel by opposing the policies of the current government of Israel that lend credence to these accusations--and never letting anyone forget that the government is not the State.
Please urge your member of Congress to cosponsor H.Con.Res.61, Rep. Jan Schakowsky's (D-IL) resolution in support of Israeli democracy. The number of co-sponsors has more than quadrupled since it was introduced on July 27. The resolution is supported by Politics with Dana and Steve, Jewish Democratic Council of America, Jewish Democratic Outreach of Pennsylvania, J Street, Israel Policy Forum, UnXeptable, Partners for Progressive Israel, Ameinu, NY Jewish Agenda, Americans for Peace Now, Union for Reform Judaism, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, National Council of Jewish Women, and T’ruah, among others, including the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area.
Does your area's JCRC support this resolution? Is your member of Congress a co-sponsor? If not, ask why not--they should, if they claim to represent you.
GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy appeared on an antisemitic podcast. And while on the podcast, he repeated antisemitic George Soros conspiracy theories. David Schraub summarized Ramaswamy's defense: "I didn't know my host was antisemitic until after I made my own antisemitic statements."
But the story is not Ramaswamy. The story is that this will not hurt him at all in the GOP primaries. That's why none of his opponents, not even the two darlings of the tiny Republican Jewish community, Nikki Haley and Chris Christie, condemned Ramaswamy's appearance on a podcast hosted by an antisemite or Ramaswamy's antisemitic rhetoric on the podcast.
Elon Musk leveled false antisemitic allegations against the ADL. Yair Rosenberg examines Elon Musk's antisemitic rhetoric, concluding that Musk’s assertion "that Jews cause themselves to be persecuted is as old as anti-Jewish bigotry itself" and that "what is being done to the ADL on Twitter right now has little to do with the group’s conduct and everything to do with the symbolic role Jews play in the conspiratorial imagination." This is true, as Emily Tamkin writes, regardless of your views on the ADL or its CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt.
JDCA strongly condemned "Musk’s threats against the ADL and his antisemitic insinuation that Jews control the media."
Joel Swanson writes that "rather than confront his own failures, Musk is crafting a narrative whereby powerful, wealthy Jews are responsible for tanking the value of his company." Read the ADL statement about this Twitter controversy.
Gabby Deutch reported that ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt declined to say whether Musk’s remarks could be described as antisemitic, or whether Musk himself is an antisemite. “I’ve never said Elon Musk was antisemitic,” Greenblatt noted. “I think people can lapse into tropes, people can invoke long-standing myths, that might not reflect their true worldview [but] there’s no doubt that by claiming the ADL is causing antisemitism, this is invoking a classic trope of blaming the victim, blaming the Jews for their misfortune."
Did you notice what's missing, Steve? We just spent an entire newsletter discussing antisemitism without mentioning the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism (the IHRA definition). None of the articles referenced in today's newsletter mention the IHRA definition. I didn't do that on purpose; these are all mainstream articles.
In the real world, no one needs the IHRA definition to be aware of antisemitism. You won't find any examples of antisemitism declining or fought more effectively following adoption of the IHRA definition by any country or jurisdiction.
The Biden-Harris National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism outlines over 100 new actions to raise awareness of antisemitism and its threat to American democracy, protect Jewish communities, reverse the normalization of antisemitism, and build cross-community solidarity. That strategy, and not any particular definition, is what we should focus on supporting. (The strategy itself notes the administration's prior embrace of the IHRA definition and welcomes other tools, including--by name--the Nexus document.)
Corrections. I'm entitled to my own opinions but not to my own facts, so I appreciate it when readers bring errors to my attention. No one brought any mistakes to my attention last week, so it looks like last week's newsletter was perfect. See you the Sunday after Rosh Hashanah, September 24.
In Case You Missed It:
- New polling shows that Jewish university students in the U.S. see white supremacy, racism, and sexism as graver threats on their campus than antisemitism. Only 6% said they considered antisemitism to be “very widespread” among students at their school. Judy Maltz reports that "nearly two-thirds of the Jewish students questioned said they were not familiar with the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions campaign against Israel – even though Jewish communal leaders often hold this movement accountable for antisemitism on U.S. campuses."
Tweet of the Week. Rob Delaney's all-time top 20 songs. What are yours?
Political Video Clip of the Week. Senate candidate Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). (Keep scrolling for details about our event with him.)
Music Videos of the Week. A brand new Rolling Stones song and, in keeping with our soon-to-end tradition, yet another clip of Chuck Berry backed by another famous band who never did anything as good as backing Chuck Berry.
Upcoming Events. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) is sponsoring an event for Joel Rubin on Tuesday, September 19, from 5:30 pm ET to 7:00 pm ET in person in Washington, DC with a Zoom option. Joel is running to protect Maryland's most vulnerable U.S. House seat and he's great on all of our issues. Politics with Dana and Steve, Jill Zipin, and Democracy Partners (among others) are co-hosting this event. RSVP here.
Politics with Dana and Steve, Jill Zipin, and a growing host committee is hosting a light breakfast and conversation with U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) in Highland Park, IL on Friday, October 6, from 9:00 am CT to 10:00 am CT. RSVP here.
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My most popular Times of Israel posts are How Not To Define Antisemitism and Pro-Israel Or Pro-Bibi? I periodically update my Medium posts on why Democrats are better than Republicans on Israel and antisemitism. You can read my most recent effort to define "pro-Israel" here (it's a work in progress, as am I).
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