Anti-Israel Policies/Actions Is Not Anti-Semitsim

There have been growing protests in Europe against the mass murder of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by the State of Israel. These actions are in response to the IDF killing 500 Muslims there with the vast majority of them being civilians. But what is troubling about these movements is, according to this article in the NYT, an anti-Semitic tinge has taken place at these protests. The story reads that in France:

Several recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Paris have boiled over into violence, and earlier this month several hundred protesters sought to storm two synagogues in the French capital during an anti-Israel demonstration in which protesters chanted, “Death to Jews!” and “Hitler was right,” according to Serge Cwajgenbaum, secretary general of the European Jewish Congress, a Brussels-based organization representing European Jewry.

There is nothing sicker that anti-Semitic attitudes or beliefs, much less being a Holocaust-denier. But let us make something clear: Just because one is against Israeli policies or military actions does not mean one is anti-Semitic.

One of my heroes in life, the great MIT Professor Emeritus, political commentator, and activist, Noam Chomsky, is one of the forefront critics of Israeli policies and is, what may be a surprise to you, Jewish. In the collection of published transcripts from Chomsky speaking engagements, “The Indispensable Chomsky,” has provided me with the critical thought needed to interpret the Israeli-Palestinian conflict objectively.

Chomsky contends, with many other critics of Israeli policies regarding the Palestinians, that many pro-Israeli officials and commentators use the accusations of antisemitism to deflect criticism of Israel. If you do not support Israel in any form or fashion, you hate Jews.

Nothing could be further from the truth in my case and the majority of others.

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