When Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) accurately, but somewhat tactlessly, called out the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) for its efforts to influence the U.S. government through political donations, she did not imply in any way that Jews are corrupt nor did she imply AIPAC is corrupt because they are Jewish. Although some people heard an anti-Semitic dog whistle in her tweet, no one needed a coded racist message to understand the point she was making about AIPAC’s lobbying influence.
At the same time, this historic and dangerous trope she stumbled unto—invoking conspiracies of Jewish puppet masters controlling governments through bribery and sowing chaos—is used often in our society today to fuel the flames of anti-Semitism. As we speak, pundits and politicians are pushing these tropes through George Soros and anti-globalist false narratives, often to win Republican votes. Rep. Omar was right to hear people’s feedback, apologize for the unintended consequences of her words, and learn how to course-correct her language, while still not downplaying the dangers of AIPAC and other political lobbies. There is a lot of value in people who can recognize that “impact” trumps “intent” and to have a politician as a role model is a rare feat. We’re lucky to have Ilhan Omar.
Listening and learning, but standing strong 💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/7TSroSf8h1
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 11, 2019
I hope at the same time many of the people confronting Rep. Omar on anti-Semitism will also understand the internalized racism involved when Trump, a white, male politician who intentionally and frequently espouses clear anti-Semitism rhetoric—while defunding federal anti-hate programs designed to prevent atrocities like the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting—gets little to no outrage from pro-Israel communities. This is presumably because Trump champions pro-Israel policies with the subtext that Palestinian lives don’t matter.
Meanwhile, a black, hijab-wearing Muslim woman, who has been falsely and unfairly attacked since the day she was elected for publicly believing Palestinian lives do matter, made an accurate statement about AIPAC’s political influence. Although it wasn’t the most tactful tweet, it was still light-years ahead on the civility meter of any of Trump’s explicit and intentional anti-Semitic tweets. And pro-Israel communities, who tolerate anti-Semites from Trump to Viktor Orban, blew up over this comment, writing a non-stop plethora of op-eds calling for her resignation. This context is not only evidence that many Israel supporters have internalized racism that treats a black Muslim woman, who unintentionally triggers an anti-Semitic trope, completely different from an openly anti-Semitic white man. It also shows these people will, consciously or unconsciously, trade anti-Semitism for Zionism.
Just to be clear this article is not a request to stop confronting anti-Semitism (please don’t!) but a request to understand the larger context of anti-Semitism. If there is a lesson pro-Israel folks could learn from Omar, it would be to try to hear people’s feedback, recognize when the impact of their actions—despite their intent—is racist, and, when appropriate, apologize. And those confronting anti-Semitism in the future could try to be more aware of the broader context and how their own internalizations play a role, while still finding ways to oppose the rising tide of anti-Semitism. They could save those articles, comments, and op-eds that were written in response to Omar and post them the next time a person like Trump says something (or implements a policy) that is explicitly anti-Semitic.
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