It’s certainly not every day that I see something in Haaretz that I think makes an important point. But, you know what they say about broken clocks. In this case, the correct time turned out to be the decision to publish an essay by David Schraub, The anti-Semitism Problem of pro-Palestinian Progressives.
Th[e] contention [that most anti-Semitism claims related to Israel are leveled in bad faith] is itself anti-Semitic. It boils down to the proposition that most Jews, most of the time, are either pathological liars or so delusional regarding their own experience that their claims of discrimination or marginalization can be dismissed out of hand — and that their claims to identify anti-Semitism are presumptively “smears” or “hyperbole.”
What this accusation of compulsive Jewish overreaction means is that the grounds for calling out anti-Semitism have not only shifted, they are disappearing. You hear an allegation of anti-Semitism against a friend or ally? No need to consider it carefully; it’s fine to respond with a roll of the eyes and a “there they go again”. This retort illustrates the power of the discursive lockbox that [Mira] Sucharov and others have set up (when, precisely, is it appropriate to ask persons to reconsider as anti-Semitic comments or claims they don’t initially identify as such?). Be that as it may, it is impossible to simultaneously present most Jews as experiencing some sort of mass communal psychosis while also including Jews as equal participants in collective dialogue.
Regarding accusations that a talk at Vassar College, which claimed that Israel harvests Palestinian Arab organs, was an anti-Semitic talk, and the response that such accusations aim to silence the speaker, Jasbir Puar, Schraub wrote:
Puar’s critics aren’t silencing her: They are asking to be heard as well, by doing nothing more than placing the issue of anti-Semitism into our collective conversation regarding her lecture. This does not stifle criticism of Israel, it simply demands that anti-Semitism be part of the cocktail of considerations included in our discussions about Israel.
The only way that is a form of “silencing” is if Puar and her defenders would rather take their ball and go home than engage with the issue of anti-Semitism as a valid entrant into the conversation. Such unegalitarian (not to mention childish) bouts of pique should not be viewed as anything but a perceived entitlement to be allowed to talk about Jews without having to listen to them.
I highly recommend reading the whole thing.
