{"id":248030,"date":"2023-11-13T12:00:32","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T12:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=248030"},"modified":"2023-11-10T10:03:51","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T10:03:51","slug":"conflating-jewish-and-pro-israel-is-wrong-and-misleading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/11\/conflating-jewish-and-pro-israel-is-wrong-and-misleading\/","title":{"rendered":"Conflating Jewish and Pro-Israel Is Wrong and Misleading"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

New York Times photo (27 Oct 2023) of a Jewish Voice for Peace protest at New York City\u2019s Grand Central Terminal.\u00a0 Photo: Bing Guan<\/p><\/div>\n

6 Nov 2023<\/em> – As protests erupt worldwide against Israel\u2019s ferocious bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, which has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 Palestinians (Reuters<\/strong>, 11\/6\/23<\/a>), US media ponder how all of this impacts Jewish people. Sadly, the way this is often framed completely mischaracterizes Jewish opinion and the pro-Israel movement, falsely acting as if Jewish opinion is unquestionably unified in support of Israeli military attacks and in opposition to Palestinian rights.<\/p>\n

One might think corporate media might have learned better by now. The New York Times<\/b> (10\/27\/23<\/a>) reported on a massive \u201cnever again for anyone\u201d protest at Grand Central Terminal headed by Jewish Voice for Peace<\/a>. Descendants of Holocaust survivors were arrested for protesting military aid to Israel at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer\u2019s house (Business Insider<\/b>, 10\/14\/23<\/a>). More than 300 activists were arrested in Washington, DC, while calling for a ceasefire in a Capitol Hill protest organized by JVP and IfNotNow<\/a>, another Jewish peace group (USA Today<\/b>, 10\/19\/23<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\n

\"Pew:<\/p>\n

This Pew report (5\/21\/21<\/a>) should not come as a surprise to US journalists.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

CNN<\/b> (10\/23\/23<\/a>) reported, \u201cThousands more Jewish Americans continue to gather in protests across the United States, calling on President Joe Biden and other elected officials to rein in Israel.\u201d Among those Jewish-led protests was one outside the Los Angeles home of Vice President Kamala Harris (LA Times<\/b>, 10\/19\/23<\/a>).<\/p>\n

None of this should be surprising, as a Pew Research (5\/21\/21<\/a>) survey \u201cfound that Jewish Americans\u2014much like the US public overall\u2014also hold widely differing views on Israel and its political leadership.\u201d Younger Jews in particular are often sharply critical of Israel; a poll by the Jewish Electorate Institute (7\/13\/21<\/a>) found that 38% of US Jews under 40 agreed that \u201cIsrael is an apartheid state,\u201d and 33% believed it was committing genocide against Palestinians.<\/p>\n

Binary framing<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n

\"NYT:<\/p>\n

\u201cJewish writers reacted with horror to the guild\u2019s refusal to condemn the attacks on Israel,\u201d the New York Times<\/strong> reported (10\/29\/23<\/a>)\u2014although there were also Jewish writers on the board that made that decision.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Yet binary media framing persists. In the early days of the current Israel\/Palestine violence, FAIR (10\/17\/23<\/a>) criticized a New York Times<\/b> article (10\/13\/23<\/a>) that depicted Jewish New Yorkers as united in putting aside their political differences with the Israeli government in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel\u2014ignoring the Jewish groups that were mobilizing against a military assault on Gaza.<\/p>\n

More recently, the New York Times<\/b> (10\/29\/23<\/a>) reported on an internal spat within the Writers Guild of America over its initial reluctance to issue a statement about the Hamas attack.\u00a0 The paper characterized the affair as \u201cJewish writers\u201d rebelling against the union\u2019s leadership, even though some of its board members<\/a>, like Raphael Bob-Waksberg (Hey Alma<\/b>, 3\/16\/20<\/a>), Justin Halpern (Reddit<\/b>, 2\/25\/20<\/a>; Tablet<\/b>, 5\/28\/13<\/a>) and Molly Nussbaum (Substack<\/b>, 5\/27\/23<\/a>), also identify as Jewish.<\/p>\n

The Times<\/b> got sillier when it ran a story (11\/3\/23<\/a>) by Jeremy Peters<\/a> headlined \u201cJewish Viewers Find a Refuge in Fox News<\/b>,\u201d in which the paper explained that \u201cFox News<\/b> has wrapped itself in the Israeli flag in the weeks since the Hamas attack.\u201d Admitting that \u201cthere are no specific metrics available on the religious affiliation of Fox<\/strong>\u2019s audience since\u201d the Hamas attacks, the paper said that \u201cratings data from major metropolitan areas with large Jewish populations, including New York, Miami and Los Angeles, show a spike in viewership that outpaces its rivals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The paper also noted that Jewish patrons of Manhattan\u2019s Second Avenue Deli warmly embraced a visit by the crew of the Fox News<\/b> show Fox & Friends<\/b>. With all due respect to the wonderful menu at the storied institution, its clientele is hardly the beginning and end of Jewish opinion.<\/p>\n

And at the very end of the story, Peters acknowledges that Fox<\/b> coverage of the recent violence in Israel is similar to the hardline support for the Bush administration the network exhibited after 9\/11. So the takeaway isn\u2019t that Fox<\/b> is popular to Jews specifically, but popular among those who support US policy in the Middle East. But the Times<\/b> chose to frame it around Jewish opinion, specifically.<\/p>\n

An AP<\/b> story (10\/15\/23<\/a>) on recent college campus protests said, \u201cMany Jewish students and their allies, some with family and friends in Israel, have demanded bold reckonings and strong condemnation\u201d after the Hamas attacks. Meanwhile, \u201csome Muslim students have joined with allies to call for a recognition of decades of suffering by Palestinians in Gaza, plus condemnation of the response by Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

This paints a false dichotomy. The fact is, people of all faiths, and those without religion or any ancestral connection to the region, exist in all corners of the great Middle Eastern debate.<\/p>\n

\u2018Open call for eradication\u2019<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n

\"WaPo:<\/p>\n

\u201cJewish students hear \u2018the river to the sea\u2019 as an open call for the eradication of Israel,\u201d the Washington Post<\/strong> (10\/31\/23<\/a>) reported\u2014not mentioning that Jewish anti-war protesters use this slogan as well (Common Dreams<\/strong>, 10\/27\/23<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A Washington Post<\/b> report (10\/31\/23<\/a>) on the Jewish response to pro-Palestinian protests on campuses stated, as a factual observation, that \u201cJewish students hear \u2018the river to the sea\u2019 as an open call for the eradication of Israel, a haunting proposition given the legacy of the Holocaust that led to Israel\u2019s creation.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are a few problems here. One, it is hardly established that the American Jewish student body is monolithic on this issue. College groups that support Palestinian rights often include Jews; in fact, FAIR (5\/22\/23<\/a>) reported how a Jewish staffer at the AP<\/b> was forced out of her job because of her past pro-Palestinian advocacy in college. Two, the phrase \u201cthe river to the sea\u201d is often mischaracterized<\/a>, as it refers to a one-state solution<\/a>, not anyone\u2019s deportation.<\/p>\n

However, to back up this assertion, the Post<\/b> quotes Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League, saying that while \u201cthere\u2019s nothing wrong with advocating for a Palestinian state,\u201d there is also \u201cnothing wrong with advocating for a two-state solution.\u201d However, he says, \u201cthere\u2019s something profoundly wrong with advocating for a final solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cfinal solution\u201d is a reference to the Jewish Holocaust, or Shoah. But many Jews and non-Jews alike advocate for a one-state solution where all people have rights, regardless of their religion or ethnicity. It is intellectually dishonest for the Post <\/b>to quote a pro-Israel partisan to assert that the choice for Jews is between a two-state solution and Auschwitz.<\/p>\n

For example, in the post-Brexit economy, the idea of Irish reunification is becoming more and more real (Guardian<\/b>, 10\/6\/22<\/a>). Yet no one would seriously characterize the Republic of Ireland absorbing the North as a Protestant genocide. Nor were white residents of South Africa<\/a> exterminated or forced to emigrate when their country turned to a democratic one-person-one-vote system.<\/p>\n

\u2018Have you considered converting?\u2019<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n

\"Daily<\/p>\n

Rep. Ritchie Torres framed the Israel\/Palestine story as a conflict between \u201chumanity\u201d and \u201cinhumanity\u201d (Daily News<\/b>, 10\/9\/23<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Media\u2019s love affair with Democratic New York Rep. Ritchie Torres and his outspoken pro-Israel position is also telling. New York\u2019s tabloids have given Torres\u2019 attacks on critics of Israeli policy top coverage (Daily News<\/b>, 10\/9\/23<\/a>; New York Post<\/b>, 10\/11\/23<\/a>, 10\/14\/23<\/a>, 10\/15\/23<\/a>). But a recent interview with Torres in Politico<\/b> (10\/27\/23<\/a>), painting the non-Jewish Democrat as one of Israel\u2019s biggest cheerleaders in Congress, truly exposes some key misunderstandings about Jewish politics and Israel.<\/p>\n

For example, the first question in the back-and-forth with writer Jeff Coltin acknowledged that Torres has Jews in his district. But that\u2019s also true of the Democratic Socialists of America\u2013backed Jamaal Bowman, who represents the neighboring district; he also boasts support from the Jewish community (Forward<\/b>, 10\/19\/23<\/a>), though he is a constant target of pro-Israel PACs (Jewish Insider<\/b>, 8\/9\/23<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Then Coltin asks Torres, \u201cHave you considered converting to Judaism,\u201d \u00a0to which Torres answers no. But what kind of question is that? Zionism is just not synonymous with Judaism or Jewishness. In fact, Israel has increasingly looked for support from evangelical Christians for support (Brookings Institution, 5\/26\/21<\/a>; Jerusalem Post<\/b>, 9\/3\/23<\/a>; New York Times<\/b>, 10\/15\/23<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Coltin also takes Torres at face value when the Bronx lawmaker said that his \u201cbelief in Israel as a Jewish state is based not on religion, but history,\u201d because \u201cthere\u2019s a long and ugly history of antisemitism.\u201d He never ponders if Torres\u2019 fervor is at all related to his history of fundraising<\/a> with AIPAC and other Israel supporters; the Open Secrets website<\/a> lists \u201cpro-Israel\u201d as the third-largest source of funds for Torres\u2019 2022 campaign, behind only Securities & Investment and Real Estate.<\/p>\n

FAIR (11\/5\/21<\/a>) has previously reported that when Politico<\/b> was acquired by the German media group Axel Springer, the new owner included support for Israel\u2019s \u201cright to exist<\/a>\u201d as one of the ideological principles employees must endorse.<\/p>\n

Media organizations are well within their rights to portray debates about Israel\u2019s assault on Gaza and the Hamas attack on southern Israel as having high emotional intensity, where passion often overtakes cold analysis. But they shouldn\u2019t give us a muddled vision of Jewish politics\u2014or anyone\u2019s politics, for that matter.<\/p>\n

_____________________________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ari Paul has reported for the <\/em>Nation, the <\/em>Guardian, the <\/em>Forward, the <\/em>Brooklyn Rail, Vice News, In These Times, Jacobin and many other outlets.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 fair.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

6 Nov 2023 – As protests erupt worldwide against Israel\u2019s ferocious bombardment and invasion of Gaza, US media ponder how this impacts Jewish people. The way this is framed completely mischaracterizes Jewish opinion, falsely acting as if it is unquestionably unified in support of Israeli military attacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":112002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[1668,88,2552,234,886],"class_list":["post-248030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","tag-antisemitism","tag-israel","tag-jews","tag-media","tag-zionism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248030"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248068,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248030\/revisions\/248068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}