Fear In The Air

I am going to start this rant, and it is most certainly a rant, talking about former President Obama. And Israel. Near the end of Obama’s time in office, he allowed a UN vote to proceed that seriously reprimanded Israel for its ongoing actions of apartheid and prejudice against the Palestinian people. It was an atypical case of “doing the right thing,” but too little and too late. Now we are seeing the consequences of the decades-long US propensity to turn a blind eye to Israel’s destructive behavior. Israel is on the brink of war with both Syria and Iran; the US remains silent while Russia pleads publicly for restraint from all sides.

Meanwhile, US progressives — not Democrats, because as a party they are not Progressive – pile on the condemnations of Israel. And I would fully concur, but not when so many do not stop with expressing their dismay with the state of Israel; they extend it to Jews. Often, they bury it under the term Zionism. A word that merely means that Zionist Jews claim the land of Israel as their ancestral home. PERIOD. FULL STOP. Just as some Christians and some Muslims, as well as others, have twisted a tenet of their religion to justify horrible behavior, the same is true of SOME Jews with Zionist ambitions.

But that is not the reason behind this rant. Over the past six months, I have seen posted weekly on Facebook a list of prominent Americans who are identified as having dual citizenship in the US and Israel. The post usually points out that these people cannot be trusted because of their dual citizenship. Amazingly, about 99% of the list are Jewish politicians. The implication is clear and, to any Jew, terrifying. Singling out people as enemies of the nation they are serving echoes the tactics of the Nazis. And remember, the people posting this are usually open-minded progressives. They stand up and salute BLM (so do I); they cheer as the LGBTQ community steps closer to equality (I cheer as well); they are proud of the #MeToo women (I am as well); they get mad that the Democrats do not put it on the line for the Dreamers (As they should); they condemn Jews and I get mad. Let me explain.

The list is not true. Those people do not have dual citizenship. They are Jewish, and the state of Israel has what is called the Law of Return. Any Jew from anywhere can go to Israel and claim citizenship, and just like the fine print on any special offer, some restrictions may apply. Many times, I have tried to explain why the writers of the list say that every Jew in Congress has dual citizenship. It is because of the Law of Return. And by perpetuating this myth repeatedly. More than me have pointed out why this is not true, and I have yet to read once, even once. “Sorry, I didn’t know that.”

Lack of respect for Jews happens so consistently that I must regretfully inform anyone who believes such antisemitic crap to unfriend me. And believe me, this list is only one example. Just because Israel is a Jewish nation and most Jews support its right to exist does not mean we all support the way it exists. And I can say the same for the US, and that is something Progressives would agree with me, except with Israel.