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Cartoonist’s note: As a Jewish student at Oxford, a Labour supporter and the creator of this cartoon, I can see that the principle behind it may be wrong. The problem here is that the image conflates the Israeli-Palestine conflict, with recent accusations against the Oxford University Labour Club, with a two-dimensional parody of what it means to be Jewish. Sadly, the problem that Alex Chalmers has recently exposed at Oxford is much the same. Just as we recognise the grotesque antisemitic stereotype intruding on this political cartoon, so must we recognise ‘Anti-semitism masquerading at Politics.’ Just as we recognise a map with a Jewish nose, so must we react when international conflict sparks racism at home.
Ella Moriah Baron
The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day was ‘don’t stand by’, reflecting the fact that last year saw a spike in what was an already rising tide of anti-Semitic attacks. Whilst most may presume that anti-Semitism is a thing of the past in the UK, the Community Security Trust – a charity which monitors anti-Semitism – recorded a 53 per cent rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the first six months of last year, from 2014.
Now, place this in the context of the Facebook resignation post of Alex Chalmers, now ex-OULC Co-Chair, where he reported that a former Co-Chair had asserted that “most accusations of anti-Semitism are just the Zionists crying wolf.”
The Israeli Apartheid movement’s website states that it “hope[d] to make Israeli Apartheid Week 2016 a powerful contribution to the Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice.” And yet how can the movement be seen as ‘just’ if it continues to be supported by a discourse based on prejudice, stereotype and bigotry? The reported use of the word ‘Zio’ in OULC is unforgivable: it is a word that educated and progressive individuals should not use, especially not during a debate based on interrogating complex geopolitics, seeking fairness and freedom. Those who want justice for a people they see as oppressed, purely based on their national identity, surely must see the hypocrisy of attacking a race of people for their ethnic and cultural identity?
It is an exhausting way to have a discussion, having to remind people repeatedly that not all Jews are Zionists and that not all pro-Israelis are Jewish. Yes, Zionism has a link with a specific sense of Jewish identity, but even those of us who are pro-Israel balk at some of the state’s actions. In the same way that being British does not mean you support every single action of the Conservative government, being Israeli does not imply complicity in every act of violence that the state commits against Palestinians. A further layer of separation: Jewish does not mean Israeli, Jewish does not mean Zionist. Jewish means Jewish heritage. It might mean practising the religion; equally, it might not. It does not connote a specific political position. To treat Israeli nationality or Zionist thought as synonymous with Jewish identity is ignorant and reductive to what is a deeply important discussion.
Use of the word ‘Zionist’ is also hugely problematic. Zionism can be cultural as well as political; in its cultural context, Zionism asserts Israel can be built on a secular Jewish culture and history, but, as Ahad Ha’am stated, cultural Zionists strive for “a Jewish state and not merely a state of Jews”. Therefore, Zionism is not purely a bulldozing political movement concerned with the future of the Jewish people alone, but instead can be an inclusive movement.
Using ‘Zionist’ as a pejorative term, or discussing, as the aforementioned former OULC Co-Chair did, “the Zionists”, relies upon stereotypes and generalisations. In many ways, ‘Zionist’ has replaced the word ‘Jew’ in mainstream anti-Semitic thought; as the Oxford JSoc reported on their Facebook page, a member of OULC asserted there was a ‘New York-Tel Aviv axis’ which rigs elections, asserting that there should be an awareness of “the influence wielded over elections by high net-worth Jewish individuals”. Not only does he treat Zionist, Israeli and Jewish synonymously, but he then asserts that it was “not anti-Semitic” to allege that there is an international Jewish conspiracy.
This is how anti-semitism creeps into pro-Palestinian movements: when you begin to embed Israel into a view of the world shaded by flagrantly anti-semitic texts like The Elders of Zion you lose integrity. You lose integrity because you are relying on racist, prejudiced and simply untrue stereotypes and conspiracy theories to progress your argument, rather than relying on fact.
It is easy, when we see political situations in absolutist terms, to be tempted to use hyperbole: rhetorically, it’s a perfectly sound instinct. However, by demonising Israel in these extreme terms, it risks becoming part of the aforementioned anti-semitic discourse. If, like the OULC, you wish to compare it to apartheid, take specific examples of human rights abuses and compare them. Generalisations are hugely problematic, particularly with some of the examples I’ve seen where Israelis have been compared to the Nazis. Instead highlight specific policies and talk about how they affect Palestinians. If by ‘like Nazis’ you mean ‘treat Palestinians like they’re not human’ then specify this. Inflammatory language, such as slurs, does not help the discussion evolve. In fact, as we’ve seen with OULC, it corrupts what is meant to be a meaningful course of action.
If you take one thing away from reading this please let it be this: Jewish, Zionist and Israeli are not the same thing. You can be one, two, or all of these, but they are not synonymous. Attacking Jews because of your anger against Israel is unhelpful and anti-progressive. Relying on anti-semitic stereotypes to create anti-Zionist or anti-Israeli discourse is also inflammatory and stagnating.
As such, I implore you: please, treat Israel’s issues like you’d treat South Africa’s, America’s, or Iran’s. Please don’t treat them as the fault of the entire Jewish people, or see them as entirely condoned by anyone who is pro-Israel, or identifies as a Zionist. This is a hugely nuanced and complex issue that requires frank, open discussion. And nothing can be achieved if you root that discussion in prejudice and racism. Be a mensch, don’t stand by if you hear anti-semitism beginning to permeate pro-Palestinian politics. Stand up for justice and freedom, for everyone.
