An Open Letter to the 'Pro-Palestinian' Friends I Have Lost

[Richard D]

This speaks to something that is very common, at least in my circle. I've seen lifelong friends become raging antisemites or at least anti-zionists (is there really a big difference? I don't think so.). I've seen other friends suddenly "experts" on the Middle East, throwing around terms that they had never heard a year ago like they were part of their vocabulary since birth while contorting their mouth to make sure that they pronounce "Gaza" with the proper Arabic accent while sounding kinda ridiculous doing so.

I would almost say that this piece is not for non-Jews . . .

It seems we have reached the parting of our ways, a fork in the road where you veered extremely Left, and I was left, well, without a friend.

Remember when our biggest debate was whether “Friends” or "Seinfeld” was the better sitcom? Ah, those were the days. Little did I know, lurking beneath those casual exchanges, was a fervent Palestinian activist ready to burst forth like a volcano of virtue-signaling.

Your transformation was swift and dramatic. One moment, you were posting selfies with your dog, and the next, you were a Nobel-prize winning expert on Middle Eastern history and geopolitics.

As the political climate intensified, so did your activism. It was clear that your commitment to the Palestinian cause was more than a passing phase; it was a central tenet of your identity.

https://www.futureofjewish.com/p/open-letter-pro-palestinian-friends-i-have-lost


Bonus: a poem from Lizzy Savetsky, a powerful voice and truth speaker: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6m00qyxaU3/

[Marcus IM]

1. Tons of Cuba experts too. Wikipedia experts.

When the urge to become an overnight expert hits, Wikipedia is there to help.

[Richard D]

2. For most . . .

. . . learning from Wikipedia would be a huge upgrade. So many seem to have their PhD's from the University of TicTok and Memes.

[nycbos]

3. Yup

Please graduates of TicTok U are the same people who stayed home in 2016 because Hillary was just as bad as Trump. They still get triggered when people point out but they are partially responsible for the mess our country is in now.

[Vogon_Glory]

4. I am not Jewish and I do send money to relief sgencies

I am angry and outraged by what the Netanyahu government is doing. That being said, I see no reason to pull out cheerleader pompoms and start rooting for Hamas. They’re a sectarian authoritarian state and they made life hell for their own people before October 7th.

And so what do they do? They attack Israel and then go hide themselves and their hostages behind human meat-shields, using their own people as bullet sponges.

And we’re supposed to be rooting for them?

I won’t.

As for Israel’s neighbors…if it had been the Assad doing unto their own people or the Lebanese, I doubt we’d be hearing this discussion. They’re as bad as Netanyahu or even worse.

As for Israel. Whatever may be said of the Palestinians, it is no secret that the Palestinians’ dear friends and allies helped co-create the Palestinians’ plight. Whatever sins may be laid at the feet of colonialist governments, it is the Arabs who drove out the Jews and Christians in their countries and made them Juden-frei (or nearly so). Examples: Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen.

Small wonder that the Israeli right is so brutal to the Palestinians—many of them are the people the Arabs drove into the sea, a fact that a lot of callow and well-meaning wanna-be progressives ignore.

[elleng]

5. ' raging antisemites or at least anti-zionists (is there really a big difference? '

NOT a serious question, imo.

[Richard D]

6. No . . .

. . . no real difference IMNVHO.

[yardwork]

7. I just saw this. I'm not Jewish, but I agree with the writer.

At first I was shocked and angered by the number of people who immediately went after Israel in the days following October 7. There wasn't even a decent pause to acknowledge the atrocities before the piling on began, first against Israel, then quickly moving to "Zionists," and in no time, to all Jewish people.

Sure, I think there's been a lot of trollish disinformation and infiltration. It's obvious how the propaganda is aimed at depressing support for Biden. I hadn't realized that openly antisemitic speech had taken such a foothold among many university faculty and administrators. But still. The speed and depth to which people have thrown themselves into expressing hatred and contempt for Jewish people... it's shocking.

I think it comes down to the authoritarian bent we're seeing across the political spectrum. Instead of recognizing that human conditions are complex, and more than one thing is often true at the same time, people want certainty. They want absolutes.

They want dictators, apparently.

As the author says, his friendship was rejected for "... daring to see shades of gray in a world you insisted is black and white. The Israelis are oppressors, the Palestinians are oppressed, end of story."

[Behind the Aegis]

8. "...first against Israel, then quickly moving to "Zionists," and in no time, to all Jewish people."

Kinda like this?

Link to tweet

I posted an article about this in GD.

[yardwork]

10. Yes. That, and many other examples.

I remain shocked that deans of student living at Columbia were mocking Jewish students, alumni, and the campus rabbi.

[Richard D]

9. This is a somewhat comprehensive look at the history of Palestinian antisemitism . . .

. . . and is well worth a read:

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/palestinian-anti-semitism-history-and-overview