Israel-Haters’ Definition of “Anti-Palestinian Racism” Indicates Their Own Antisemitism

A group called the Arab Canadian Lawyer’s Association has released a document on “anti-Palestinian racism”, a phrase they seem to have invented as some sort of response to the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. In fact, some within their own community gave this feedback when surveyed:

To summarize, the first commentary thought that the efforts to create an APR definition was mirroring the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism and would instrumentalize identity politics in the same way the pro-Israel lobby has done with the IHRA definition. They also cautioned that positions set out in the definition could also be political judgments that may be motivated by factors other than racism. The second respondent on behalf of a group of organizations also assumed that the development of the working draft APR definition was a response to the IHRA definition and stated they preferred an approach of building allies across anti-racism movements rather than relying on a definition of APR.

In response to this feedback, the creators of the definition tweaked it and then emphasized “that an APR description is not to be weaponized to shut down bona fide political or academic discourse” – as if that changes the fact this is another palestinian Arab co-opting attempt.

And what is their proposed definition?

Anti-Palestinian racism is a form of anti-Arab racism that silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives. Anti-Palestinian racism takes various forms including: denying the Nakba and justifying violence against Palestinians; failing to acknowledge Palestinians as an Indigenous people with a collective identity, belonging and rights in relation to occupied and historic Palestine; erasing the human rights and equal dignity and worth of Palestinians; excluding or pressuring others to exclude Palestinian perspectives, Palestinians and their allies; defaming Palestinians and their allies with slander such as being inherently antisemitic, a terrorist threat/sympathizer or opposed to democratic values.

The first thing that stuck out to me is how they are defining a type of “racism” against palestinian Arabs and those who advocate for them – yet neither group is an actual race. But since when did truth and logic get in the way of a good propaganda opportunity?

But what particularly interests me about their attempt to mainstream this definition is the following example they provide:

failing to acknowledge Palestinians as an Indigenous people with a collective identity

This is precisely what they are doing to the Jewish people!

The same document that provides this as an example of “anti-Palestinian racism” refers on countless occasions to the Jewish presence in our indigenous homeland as “settler-colonialism.”

In other words, applying their own definition, they are antisemitic.

Of course, they will accuse me of “anti-Palestinian racism” for stating this.

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