By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
A nonsensical school of thought has been making its way into all sorts of forums and discussions. It goes like this: Criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic. Don't label every criticism and critic of Israel an anti-Semite. As an example, proponents of this erroneous thinking will point to former President Barack Obama and say that Obama was a great lover of Israel, but he was also a vocal critic. He would say "friends need to call friends out when they make mistakes."
That may be true, but - and it's a big and important but - some people couch their anti- Semitism as criticism of Israel.
There are two factors that determine if the person criticizing Israel is an anti-Semite.
#1: does the critique allow for Israel to exist or does it suggest that if Israel were not there the problem would be solved
#2: the tone of the critique
Tone is everything. Critique is done with respect and love and is immediately identifiable. That kind of critique does not seek to harm or destroy but rather to help and assist.
Much of the recent and very vocal public criticism of Israel does not stand up to these factors.
Certainly, US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib fits into the category of anti-Semite.
Micah@MicahHalpern.com
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