RANTISODE: Performative, Reactive Outrage Trumps Meaningful, Cooperative Allyshp
I know many of us are disappointed in the election results. And scared. And angry. And many of us are isolating from friends and family who, after voting for people who are a legitimate threat to our rights and safety. Some are even considering leaving the country.
All of that is valid. I'm feeling it. My friends and I are talking about it. We all know what's coming. And we have no patience for the "Don't let politics impact relationships" crowd, who, if the election had gone the other way, would not be coming together as they're requesting of us.
As a center-left-leaning Jewish American, this fear and anger is simply compounding the fear, anger, dread, and isolation I've felt since October 7, 2023. And with rising antisemitism around the world, we literally have nowhere to go. By trying to dismantle Israel for a war Israelis did NOT start (and if your historical knowledge only dates back to the Balfour Declaration, I'm not interested in your perspective), many of my fellow activists and "allies" are reinforcing why Israel's continued existence is so important.
And the incredible thing is 80% of Jews voted for Harris despite the growing anti-Israel sentiments on the left. Not because we don't think Israel has a right to exist. But the majority of us 1. think innocent Palestinians are entitled to a peaceful homeland (sans Hamas) as well, and 2. we can't exclusively vote in our self-interest. Even if we wanted to. It's impossible because the horseshoe effect leads both extremes to the same place of bigotry when it comes to Jews.
And what may surprise you, most Israelis also don't want to just destroy Gaza and Palestinians. Are there bigoted monsters who are also Israeli? Yes. Why wouldn't there be? Those people exist everywhere, and it's unreasonable to project those identities on all Israelis when the majority of people don't want Likud. Don't want Netanyahu. Don't want this extreme approach to governance. (Sound familiar? Only, in their case, it's a true majority whereas ours is a little less clear this time around.)
Most Israelis want freedom to self-determination, to live without experiencing a barrage of missiles and rockets aimed at their homes every day, and the return of the hostages, their fellow brothers and sisters. That is not unreasonable. And I'm tired of people telling me that they should go about it another way when they have absolutely zero ideas other than "just accept the hostages are dead... which they aren't, or sacrifice yourselves for the sake of others who want to see you dead."
Or who justify the attacks on diaspora Jews. When hundreds of WANTED posters showed up on Rochester's campus, identifying the university's Jewish students, faculty, and staff, no one cared. When Jews have been beaten in the streets, no one cared. When evidence showed that the pogrom in Amsterdam was premeditated, the victims were blamed. Now maybe the Israeli fans did yell racial slurs. We don't know who did. If I had to guess, based on sports fans, I'd say both sides did. And what should happen then is those fans should be kicked out of the stadium – not hunted down in the streets. Jews who weren't even there were hunted down in the streets. This isn't up for debate. And yet, virtually no one cared.
Yesterday I read an article about how the large Arab population in Dearborn is regretting their decision to vote for Trump. I want to sympathize, but how can I? Trump has OVERTLY stated he is cool if we just wipe Gaza off the map. Perhaps this was not the election to cast your protest vote, but since you have, I want it to be clear that this is not what WE want.
Then again, another article shows that Dearborn Arabs feel vindicated in their ability to influence the election. Well, to you I say, I hope it was worth it but only time will tell.
But what I will say is when Trump's administration oversteps in support of Netanyahu, I don't want to see one post blaming Jews. Not one.
And if we as a community want to survive, we damned well better come together because we – those of us who care about civil rights, human dignity, and peaceful coexistence – are all we have right now.
As hurt and scared and frankly, as broken as I am and have been for the last 13 months, I'm not willing to only fight for my own people. It isn't what I was taught. It isn't how I was raised. It isn't who I am. So bury your head in the sand if you must, but if you care about outcomes as much as you care about seemingly performative outrage, you'll get to work, working together.