The Washington Post has published some data on the attitudes of Jews in the USA to the conflict in Gaza, as well as more broadly on Israel, Netanyahu, Hamas and more besides.
The polling was undertaken last month. The sample consisted of around 800 people, which is usually sufficient to achieve statistical significance.
Three findings stand out. First, there is this:
I think we can fairly say that the idea that all Jews support the actions of Israel in Gaza is blown asunder as a consequence. They very clearly do not. It cannot, then, be antisemitic to criticise the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza.
This is reinforced by this finding:
Netanyahu is not only failing to take US Jews with him, but many of them are clearly blaming him for what is happening. Doing so, they are differentiating Israel and its politicians, as I have long argued we should.
Third, this is telling:
Support for the US (and so, UK) position in Israel is declining significantly. The assumption that there is anything like Jewish unanimity on these issues is false.
There is other data, but I think there is a limit on how much I can share. What is, however, clear is that this community is still very angry with Hamas and sees no role for it in the future of Palestine. It is important that I acknowledge this, but I have never supported Hamas; I support the rights of Palestinians, inclduing the right to decide.
The conclusions, however, are, I think, threefold.
First, the idea that all Jews support Israel in its current actions is just wrong.
Second, the claim that to criticise Israel is, therefore, antisemitic is also wrong.
Third, those who make these claims appear to be antisemites to me: they are associating the actions of Netanyahu with Jews as a whole, and that is entirely unjustified, meaning that they are the ones prejudicing Jewish people as a consequence by misrepresenting the position of many of them in a way wholly unjustified by the facts that the Washington Post discovered.
Nothing justifies antisemitism. Let me be clear about that. But nothing justifies false claims of antisemitism either. Jews are as capable of criticising Netanyahu and his government as anyone else. It really is time politicians in the US and UK stopped equating Jews as a whole with a government pursuing genocide. It is antisemitic to do so. Instead, let's accept that Jews are of diverse polotical opinion, just as everyone else. Doing so would help advance understanding considerably and reduce tension because then we could have a proper debate without the unnecessary nuance some are inappropriately bringing to it.
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The longer the genocide in Gaza goes on, the angrier people are going to be. The UK government is obviously rattled in trying to impose a ban on repeated protests.
Everyone is divided about everything, that’s how these people get away with it. It’s by design. They use one half of the population to run interference, to cover their actions.
Thanks for the data, FtF is such a good place for the less and unreported…interesting it seems people understand oppression is wrong, harmful, and they don’t like it.
What is happening in Gaza is wrong, and Hamas are no stranger to oppression either, including LGBTQ folk.
Is this an act of oppression? A simple universal test.
A sad and woeful position if people are to be conflated with their government, given the state of so many governments – including our own.
And isn’t it a racist/ antisemitic position to lump all Jews together as a mass aligned to the Israeli government’s view; a reductionist and essentialising attitude, rather than seeing Jewish people as people -varied just like everyone else?
I deplore the murder in Manchester. It was an attack on people who are not responsible for the killing in Gaza.
But that is also what Israel is doing. A collective punishment of the whole population, both in Gaza and the West Bank where over 1,000have been killed by the IDF and settlers in the lost two years. It has been going on for a long time.
I saw Chris hedges raise a question. If one is supporting a government enacting a genocide, or something very similar, should they be protected from being made to feel uncomfortable?
I have seen a lot of clips on Twitter which support your post.
What I do wonder about is what impact the current situation in Gaza will have on the long term future of Israel.
I can imagine that as with Apartheid Era South Africa a lot of people will leave to avoid service with the IDF.
It was pointed out that about 85% of those who fight for Hamas have lost relatives to the IDF or Settler violence so thats a lot of Hamas or whatever organisation takes its place recruits.
Then of course will other nations continue to support Israel or impose sanctions?
And of course could some if its neighbours intervene militarily? Especially if Israels allies turn against it.