Here Are All the Democrats Who Voted for the “Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism” Bill

DevCat@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 303 points –
Here Are All the Democrats Who Voted for the “Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism” Bill
newrepublic.com

“The resolution suggests that all anti-Zionism—it states—is antisemitism. That’s either intellectually disingenuous or just factually wrong,” said New York Representative Jerry Nadler, who voted present. “The authors if they were at all familiar with Jewish history & culture should know about Jewish anti-Zionism that was and is expressly not antisemitic. This resolution ignores the fact that even today, certain Orthodox Hasidic Jewish communities … have held views that are at odds with the modern Zionist conception.”

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Another is saying Israel has no right to exist at all.

Only the second is antisemitism, as it implies that Jewish people and their nation should not exist.

Completely disagree. It's a nation like any other. It has as much right to exist as the USA or Constantinople.

I'm not entirely on board with the idea of nations having rights at all. The people living in them do, but I don't see how an abstract entity should have rights that the people it represents don't have on their own.

To give a concrete example: the people of Iraq have a right to exist. But it's a country composed of ethnic groups that don't especially like each other, so having them all live in a single country isn't necessarily great. I don't think Iraq has a right to be a country, especially if it's interfering with the right to self-determination of the people living there. Maybe as a practical matter it's better for the country to exist, but rights aren't supposed to be contingent on practical concerns.

I’m not entirely on board with the idea of nations having rights at all.

Well... they did make corporations "people" - so there is that kind of lunacy around.

Constantinople was a city, not a nation.

But other than that, I agree that Israel has as much right to exist as any other nation. Saying Israel should not exist is implicitly antisemitic because you can't get rid of the nation of Israel without wiping out the Jewish people living there.

Saying Israel should not exist is implicitly antisemitic

Bullshit. Jewish people have a right to exist - Israel doesn't.

How do you get rid of Israel without killing a lot of Jewish people?

Did the US commit genocide by toppling the Taliban, Clyde?

You wanna try something else to prop up your bullshit apologetics or are we done here?

The fuck are you talking about? Did the US topple the Taliban? Last I checked, Afghanistan is still a country, and it's still run by the Taliban. How is that in any way analogous to Israel? Also, not for nothing, but the US has indiscriminately killed a lot of people in the Middle East, but nothing I would categorize as a genocide.

Last I checked, Afghanistan is still a country

And Palestine will still exist when the white supremacist settler-colonialist state squatting on it is dismantled. You know... Palestine? That place that has been home to Jewish people since before Jesus?

So, again, Clyde - do have something other than white supremacism apologetics to offer?

You've lost me. How is Palestine analogous to Palestine? The Israeli leadership will literally die before they cede control of the nation to the Palestinian Authority.

I don't know who the fuck Clyde is, or why you seem to think anything I've said is white supremacy, but it makes me doubt your grasp on reality and wonder if I'm wasting my time on you.

You’ve lost me.

No, Clyde - I didn't. You were lost a long time ago, and it has nothing to do with me.

or why you seem to think anything I’ve said is white supremacy

It's really simple - if you engage in apologetics for a white supremacist settler-colonialist state that makes you a... what?

It's about as simple as political math gets, Clyde.

Well if you're just going to make shit up, I think we're done. I'll let Clyde know you're looking to argue with him, if I ever meet him.

Are you going to pretend that your apologetics for a white supremacist settler-colonialist state is (somehow) made up now?

Don't run off, Clyde... your ducking and diving is becoming amusing.

Seems like one of us is pretending, but feel free to point to any apologetics. Check my history. Check reddit, I had the same username for like 10 years. Find anything even remotely supportive of white supremacy, and I'll stay.

Or you could apologize for the false accusations, but I doubt you have the capacity to admit a mistake.

This you, apologist?

How do you get rid of Israel without killing a lot of Jewish people?

Gee... I wonder what the correct term would be for someone who peddles apologetics for a white supremacist settler-colonialist state?

Don't help me... it's on the tip of my tongue.

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You don't have to kill all the Israeli's to get rid of Israel. Nations are made by people accepting that they exist. Before Israel was Israel it was just a bunch of politically savvy zionists who started telling people to move there. With a lot of wealthy Jewish investors they just started buying land and refusing to let Palestinians work on it. Over time and with enough established countries recognising Israel as its own thing, that's what it became.

If tomorrow the entire world just decided that Israel didn't exist then it would cease to, they may object but they'd be invaders occupying land that doesn't belong to them. It might sound silly but this is how Israel was created.

In theory, sure, but Israelis believe that they have been chosen by God to defend their holy land. They believe they are under attack (which isn't unfounded, given Hamas' horrific attacks October 7th) and they believe that if they are not in power, that the Arab world will begin another Holocaust (also not unfounded, considering the rhetoric used by Islamic leaders in the region).

And Israel has nuclear weapons.

Before Israel was Israel, it was under British control, and the British army defended the Zionists displacing Palestinians. There were several violent revolts, and many people were killed. They didn't just buy property until they owned Tel Aviv. Land was taken by force.

Westerners see Israel as an ally, surrounded by jihadists and terrorists and despots fighting tooth and nail to merely continue to exist. And all of that is true, but it creates the false impression that Israelis are somehow more reasonable than the jihadists. That the Jewish people will listen to a rational argument and act responsibly and with reverence to human life. That, if American support goes away, the Israeli leadership will see the writing on the wall and seek a peaceful solution rather than face oblivion.

There is no peaceful end to Israel. You won't have to kill all the Jewish people living there, but you will have to kill many of them.

I see what you're saying, and perhaps you're right. I am more hopeful, though. Plenty of Israelis support Palestine and in the early days the Palestinians welcomed the Jews. It's not fair to simply dismiss vast groups of people as irrational or terrorists. At one point in time these people got along, and even though a lot has happened since then I don't think it's impossible to get back there.

I think Western support does play a large role, it's the reason why the Israeli military is what it is and probably why Israel feels free to indiscriminately attack Palestine. If our support was more conditional and not so one sided it would encourage cooperation and more peaceful resolutions.

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