My husband is Jewish, and most of his family still lives in Israel. I understand the deep roots of fear of anti-Semitism and this is well-founded. Indeed, anti-Semitism is rising in the United States again. However, I believe all Jewish people need to think more widely than just about their own people now. Because one group is persecuted does not mean they could never persecute nor oppress another group. And this can lead to exactly the kind of response one does not actually want. I was pretty horrified that so many Zionist Jews supported Donald Trump in the United States. Here’s a man walking down Hitler‘s path pretty clearly. Indeed, he even is documented as having read Hitler’s books — perhaps the only books he has ever read! He is also well documented as being a believer in eugenics and superior genes. And yet so many Israelis & American Jews supported Donald Trump. If we are going to be for the oppressed we must be for all the oppressed. Not just one group. And that means we must look more widely and openly at situations even when the answers may be challenging or problematic for us. I have a hard time with Israeli Zionism when it appears to be willing to throw others under the bus of authoritarianism and fascism. I thought the reason we learned about the Holocaust was so that it would happen “never again.” I have been disappointed.
