United States | News & Politics

Yeah that’s gotta suck, but also imagine being a Jewish student protesting Zionism and genocide and being called antisemitic for partaking in a Jewish political stance that predates the modern nation of Israel.

We absolutely need to be fighting antisemitism, I’m very scared for my Jewish friends and loved ones. But we can’t do it by conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. And we especially can’t do it by conflating calls for Israel to display military restraint with antisemitism. Israel is not Judaism, it is not the international community of Jewish people, and it doesn’t hold authority over either group.

And I also worry about Arabic and Muslim students and citizens. Much like our Jewish neighbors they too don’t have a say in this conflict and deserve and need protection. And I’m not seeing any similar fights from the government for them and that concerns me.

ETA: this position was influenced by some recent conversations with Jewish friends who are very concerned with the silencing of Jewish calls for peace.