Freedom of speech you say?

[Ohlalalalala]

So it's OK for famous/ less famous people to back one side but not OK for others to back another side?

These are just a few examples of how pressures/ firings are directed at those criticising Israel. Is this normal? What the heck is happening? Is this to silence anyone from voicing what they think is the truth?

BBC News - Melissa Barrera: Actress fired from Scream 7 over Israel-Gaza posts
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67494374

Susan Sarandon
https://deadline.com/2023/11/susan-sarandon-pro-palestinian-remarks-uta-dropped-1235632398/

Agent Maha Dakhil
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/tom-cruise-agent-maha-dakhil-palestine-b2451581.html

I would have understood if they imposed a kind of blanket gag order on all actors/ celebrities not to discuss the conflict.

But!

This is happening while hundreds of others publically supported Israel and were instead celebrated.

McCarthyite witch hunt, I say.

To be fair you are right. To me Israel is the personification of a typical narc man who is brought before the court on DV charges. All the concrete evidence is there, but he will gaslight, deny, deflect whilst portraying himself as the victim who deserves the sympathy.

Let's hope the judge this time will do their work properly and give an impartial and just judgment. Absolutely fed up with all the previous victim blaming awfully biased ones.

Are they released prisoners the Palestinians are executing or did the court of people on the street decide they 2 people should be executed and then just do it.

I think in the West there is a romanticism around Palestine and their fighting. Some of them don't value their fellow Palestinian people either.

Crikey, do you not think this crosses the line from criticising the Israeli government and lands firmly in the zone of anti-semitism?

A mocked up version of the kind of news bias we are seeing if it was during the Second World War:

Of course they think it crosses the line, it’s entirely purposeful. The rhetoric of hate is ramped up every time certain posters feel attention is starting to wane. Personifying a country and its entire population into an Evil Israel caricature is the tactic of the small minded. Just the usual goady nonsense from people who choose to stoke division and intolerance because they’ve no interest in peace and equality.

I've reported the two most egregious posts. As much as it's used to have evidence of the kind of rhetoric posted, it should not become normalised.

I'm in two minds about that, as I do think it's helpful to preserve those moments when the mask slips.

I'm genuinely shocked by the anti-semitism that's become so prevalent on this board.

Wish I was shocked by it

Yeah, I guess it shows how naive I am.

@auberginefortea "Crikey, do you not think this crosses the line from criticising the Israeli government and lands firmly in the zone of anti-semitism?"

Can you please explain why it's anti-semitic?

Sure. The post (and the one that preceded it) wrote that Israel (as a whole) has never wanted a peaceful solution. The country and its people are referred to as toxic, narcissistic, a rapist.

It paints Israel as an evil entity. It's pretty vile antisemitism.

POLITICS & POLICY
Supporting Palestinian rights is antisemitic because Israel wants it to be

The irony is that Zionism and antisemitism are each other's best recruiting tools.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/how-jews-can-support-palestinian-rights-condemn-antisemitism-ncna1268680

By Abraham Gutman
(Israeli economist and independent writer based in Philadelphia. His writing focuses on Israel/Palestine, racism in America, the criminal justice system, and housing.)

If you are referring to my post, I have said before when I speak about Israel I am referring to the government, not the people.

What's that, an article demanding that Jews, wherever they are, criticise the government of Israel otherwise they should expect antisemitic attacks?

Nice.

@auberginefortea I think it was clear OP was talking about the Israeli government. Anyway, OP was not criticising Israel because it is a Jewish state but because of its brutal occupation of the Palestinians so I don't see how it could be antisemitic.

That article doesn't say that. At all.

I see the two posts are still up, so that is how seriously MN take anti-Semitism unfortunately.

The article says

“Antisemitism predates the state of Israel by about two millennia, and ending the occupation won’t make it disappear. But if describing the oppressive actions of the Jewish state is “feeding antisemitism,” then demanding the end of these acts could reduce the heat.”

“Far from offensive, criticizing the Israeli government should be viewed as an act of love that could help make everyone more safe and more free.”

Not sure how else you can interpret that criticism of the Israeli government is required to prevent antisemitism.

Or maybe it's not anti-semetism.

People keep saying anti-semitism is on the rise and then give examples of people criticising the Israeli government as anti-semitism. It's not the same thing.

Do you think antisemitism isn’t on the rise? That it’s merely poor people criticising Netanyahu and being terribly misunderstood?

There were people on here swearing blind that bloody obviously antisemitic placards weren’t antisemitic at all, so I’m a bit sceptical of people who can’t see the rise in antisemitism, particularly on MN where it’s pretty blatant.

It's clearly anti-semitism. The posts referred to the fact that "Israel has never wanted peace" and then used vile language. Even if you take a very generous interpretation as only referring to the government of Israel, Israel has existed for 75 years, and in that time, its government has consisted of many many people of different parties, and these governments have been elected by Israeli citizens. It ends up the same - the post says the people of Israel have never wanted peace, and they are akin to rapists.

Or maybe it's not anti-semetism.

The posts have now been deleted so clearly MN agreed that they were, and I'm grateful that they've now done so.