Gideon Levy on the killing in Gaza

I think in cases where Jewish (or any other identity) students were targeted and harassed because of their identity must be definitely handled seriously.

At my son's campus, two student originally from Palestine talked to the student newspaper anonymously because they were afraid as they were already receiving threats and harassment. Think about that for a moment. They can not even raise their concerns or talk openly. I wouldn't know about them if somehow we were not affiliated with this university. To me, it sounds like they don't even have a voice. What do we call this type of oppression? I think we don't have even a word to define what they must be going through.

Similar workbook for other conflicts too - any criticism about west's actions whatsoever is counteracted with "you are against democracy and freedom"

Someone somewhere is really good at devising sophisticated marketing for war it seems

Absolutely, using antisemitism as a veil to attack free speech (note it's increasingly being pushed by non Jewish people) will end up backfiring spectacularly.

When that happens it will be Jewish people who will be blamed and attacked and many former allies who have been unfairly labelled "antisemitic" won't be around to help.

This article in the Guardian covers the pitfalls of this strategy :
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/31/antisemitism-israel-gaza-war-right

But I fear it's already too late, I have been watching grassroots MAGA movement (as opposed to the Political class who are wholly pro Israel) grow increasingly anti Israel and now openly antisemitic.
With Elon Musk actively banning or de-monetizing prominent right wing accounts this week, many other accounts were openly blaming Jewish influence.

I suggested reading up on the Livingstone formulation , not illustrating how to use it.

And there were Jewish students prevented from joining their lessons and hounded off their campuses. Faculty staff blocked from doing their jobs by masked antisemites
So?

In USA campus protests were shut down, several university presidents either resigned or removed from their positions due their lack of crackdown on protests citing these protests were antisemitic. In reality, there were Jewish students who joined these protests.

You hear it all the time from Israeli officials. According to them, the UN are anti-semitic, HRW are anti-semitic, Amnesty International are anti-semitic, the ICC are anti-semitic, the ICJ are anti-semitic and so on and so forth. In a nutshell most organisations or individuals outside of Israel who criticise Israel are called anti-semitic.

Israel Is carrying out a genocide is also counteracted with 'you can't say that because it's anti-semitic'

Weaponising anti-semitism is used often to shut down criticism of Israel. For example saying that Israel targets Palestinian civilians in Gaza and murders them is shouted down as anti-semitic. When in reality this is the truth as many soldiers have testified themselves in recent weeks.

Criticism and debate are OK, but there have been attempts to shut people down, and there are extremists on this platform, who take real world actions that cause distress and waste public resources. This is a criminal offence.

I am not violent and I support the human rights of all types of people everywhere, and apparently that is a problem.

I’m not suggesting that you are involved in this @SharonEllis I just want to make you aware.

No I don't care to elaborate on the history of antisemitism and the history of the persecution of the Jewish people. You know that history full well.

So what? You can criticise whoever you like. I haven't noticed criticism stopping you posting. The number of threads on here suggest nobody is being shut down. I really dont know how anyone can say with a straight face, that criticism of Israel is shut down when we have lived with vast numbers of threads here and weely protests on our streets and everything else in between. Of course some criticism of Israel internationally is motivated by antisemitism. How could it not be? Surely you are not arguing that there is no antisemitism in some countries' criticism of Israel?? Thousands of years of prejudice, persecution and genocide just evaporated?

If you are interested in how to criticise Israel without resorting to antisemitism there's lots to read. I suggest starting with investigating The Livingstone Formulation, coined by David Hirsh, a Professor at Goldsmiths. Livingstone seemed also to grapple with it.

This is not true. Any criticism of Israel is not shut down is it? In fact criticism of Israel is widespread from governments, NGOs, individuals and in endless threads on MN - and of the government by Israelis, in Israel. Anyone can see this. Anyone who can't recognise antisemitism and can't see see when it is NOT being invoked doesn't really have any credibility.

You can be sure I would argue the same way for another concept that limits freedom of speech.

Or let's say, if an elected American politician is taking AIPAC money and voting in a way to benefit Israel first and disregarding USA's advantages/disadvantages, am I expected to have a right to criticize this politician? Let's say I do have the right. What if this politician is also a Jew? Then I shouldn't be able to criticize the politician because according to IHRA definition this is antisemitism. See, right there, we have a double standard. These over generalized assumptions without specific context seem like prone to cause inconsistencies and aim to shut down any legitimate criticization.

You didn't read it, did you?
The definition says:
'taking into account the overall context'.

I really don't think that you can plausibly argue that you have considered how antisemitism works more thoroughly than the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

You can't see how Lowkey's stance falls within that definition. You don't read or reflect on the definition.

Its all here, for all to see. But I have nothing more to say to you.

"You chose not to look at those, but your lack of curiosity is revealing."

I'm not choosing anything. I stated that I don't know much about him and I'm basing my thoughts on what he says in the video. Also, I don't agree with IHRA definition of antisemitism as it sounds like it is up to interpretation. For instance, "Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel" regarded as antisemitism but I would say it depends on the context. Let's say, if I think Ben Shapiro is more loyal to Israel and voice my opinion based on my objective observation, this is not hate against Jews but it is simply the truth in that specific case. Regarding my statement as antisemitism is disregarding my reality. I can object to other items in above list depending on the context.

Looks like a refresher on the IHRA definition of antisemitism is much needed.

“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere could, taking into account the overall context, include, but are not limited to:

1. Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
2. Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
3. Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
4. Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
5. Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
6. Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.

Full link here holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definition-antisemitism

To be a vocal opponent of the existence of the state of Israel is generally a good indicator of being antisemitic.
To characterise the State of Israel as 'colonialism and ethnic cleansing' also falls within the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

For anyone who cares about antisemitism that would be enough. However any google search would also have brought up other examples of his antisemitic activities, his collaborations with known antisemites and regular controversies around his associations and appearances.

You chose not to look at those, but your lack of curiosity is revealing.

I just looked at his wiki page, he is described as:

"Lowkey is a vocal opponent of Zionism and is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. He characterizes Zionism as colonialism and ethnic cleansing."

Nothing about antisemitism. I didn't find anything antisemitic in his video either.

Odd, I would expect you to know who Lowkey is, or at least to have looked him up once I told you that he was a well known antisemite, before judging anything he had produced. I'm not remotely interested in anything he has to say, even if a stopped clock etc