Achieving security in a dangerous world should not be at the expense of others
Among the many problems of conflating criticism of Israel, or even anti-Zionism, with antisemitism (“A disturbing new normal: antisemitism,” Letters, Dec. 9) is the fact that many proud Jews, religious and secular, find the treatment of Palestinians, inside Israel and in the West Bank and Gaza, to be profound betrayals of the core of Jewish ethical identity. “Never again” as a response to the Holocaust was not meant to apply only to persecution of the Jews; and the attempt to achieve our own security in a dangerous world at the expense of others is abhorrent to everything I learned about what it means to be a Jew in a world in need of repair.
The letter writers in the Globe’s recent edition have failed to learn this lesson: As Jews we are to be committed to justice, not just for ourselves. Nor is this strategy even selfishly prudent; the truly frightening threat of antisemitism comes, here and elsewhere, from right-wing ethnonationalism, and our safety lies in solidarity with the others who are also threatened. It is ahistorical foolishness to think that we can save ourselves by oppressing others and allying with those who applaud our doing so.
Naomi Scheman
Arlington
The writer is affiliate faculty with the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change at the University of Minnesota.
Critics in Congress are taking a principled position
The letter by Alan Stein, “Anti-Zionism, certain voices in Congress contribute to rise of hatred,” obfuscates the issue. A state can be culpable for committing immoral and illegal acts against other human beings. Those members of Congress who responsibly hold Israel to account for alleged human rights violations should be respected for taking a principled stance.
Robert F. Marcus
West Newton
It’s not antisemitic to bemoan the treatment of Palestinians
If I object to some of the Chinese government’s policies, it is not because I am anti-Chinese.
If I object to Saudi government policies, I am not anti-Saudi or anti-Muslim.
If I believe that Palestinians have rights that are being trampled by the government of Israel, I am not antisemitic. Calling me so is a false and dangerous equivalence.
Catherine Walker
Dorchester
Antisemitism is always a threat when bans on Zionists grow
The reason so many Jews view anti-Zionism as being a form of antisemitism is that a love of the land of Israel is built into Jewish practice (“Berkeley law school debates free speech: Group bans those who back Zionism,” Page A12, Dec. 22). Every day Orthodox Jews say prayers that are thousands of years old expressing the yearning for their ancient homeland. Where would a ban on Zionists draw the line — would anyone who said these prayers be included, regardless of their views on the modern state of Israel’s policies? Would observance of Hanukkah, a holiday celebrating the Jews’ victory over its oppressors in Israel, be viewed as “Zionist”? This is where anti-Zionism begins to bleed into antisemitism.
Phyllis Schacht
Sharon
