I have shared links to articles and calls for ceasefire in Gaza on social media. I have signed petitions and an open letter against the conflation of criticism for the horrendous actions of the Israeli government with antisemitism. I have also watched, sad but unsurprised as a Jew in the diaspora, as the real antisemitism that has always lurked just beneath the surface here in the US and globally has made itself all too proudly evident in the light of day. I’ve watched, sad and more surprised (my mistake), as leftists I know in real life, people I’ve organized with and marched with, people I’ve been teargassed with, have celebrated the massacre committed by Hamas on October 7th. These people, who I know for a fact accepted zero personal responsibility for the actions of the Trump administration, and rightfully so, are incapable of extending that same grace to Israeli citizens. If they scratch the surface of that, which I suspect they won’t, they’ll find a toxic vein of antisemitism.
(To those American leftists who offer tepid land acknowledgments to open their meetings but are only concerned with occupations that don’t threaten their own personal comfort; those white-boy “revolutionaries,” I say: I see you, you antisemitic hypocrites. Fuck you.)
So I’ve shared those links on Bluesky and Instagram stories etc, but I haven’t said anything here in the month since October 7th, precisely because of where that previous paragraph went. I absolutely demand a ceasefire, and I absolutely demand the release of all hostages, but I didn’t want to get into it here, because I am so hurt and angry, and it helps absolutely no one for me to center that hurt and anger here in the relative safety of the United States, when things are so dire in Gaza.
I still don’t want to get into it. I don’t want to debate this. I will not debate any of this. But I can’t just say nothing in this space, as if nothing has happened.
Ceasefire Now. Release the Hostages.
Here are some links:
A Dangerous Conflation: An Open Letter from Jewish Writers
Amnesty International Petition to Demand Ceasefire
Portland Palestinians and Jews Share Grief and Demand Ceasefire and Aid to Gaza
A Group of Jews and Arabs in Israel Has a “Radical” Idea: Protecting One Another as Fear Reigns
There’s Nothing Progressive about Tearing Down Posters of Israeli Hostages
It's all terrible. The massacre of Israelis, and the terrifying details coming out, are horrific. What's being done to Gaza is horrific. And while I'm not Jewish, I keep thinking of my beloved, bombastic, Jewish near-stepfather of 30 years, and my Jewish friends and loved ones -- and then I think of the Palestinians and all that rubble -- and it's all so terrible that I don't even know where or how to turn. Thank you for your voice these past weeks ... know that we're here with you, in whatever way we can be.
Thanks for these words. I'm so sorry that nuance and complexity is not something that most people do well. Free the hostages. Cease fire now. No to anti-Semitism. No to civilian casualties.