I am an American. I strongly disagree with our current president’s policies and actions. My friends in Italy and elsewhere outside of the United States have no problems with that, understanding that just because I am an American does not mean I automatically and blindly support our government’s conduct. This has happened before over the years. When George Bush lied about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction as a pretense for an invasion, they could not understand how Americans could re-elect him but fully understood that I should not be held accountable merely because I was American. They knew I believeed in the axiom “My country right or wrong; when right, to keep her right; when wrong, to put her right.”
I am a Jew. I disagree strongly with Israel’s actions in Gaza, but I was also shocked and nauseated by Hamas’ unprovoked slaughter of 1,400 Israelis. I have just reviewed an extensive study of antisemitism in Italy. It seems that many Italians believe all Jews, no matter where situated, support Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Why is this? Why this assumption that Jews march in lockstep in supporting Netanyahu’s slaughter and starvation of innocent civilians while they understand that Jewish Americans can strongly disagree with the policy of the country where they live?
This is the core of antisemitism, particularly European antisemitism: the belief that Jews are different from the rest of the world as evidenced by the stereotypical portrayal of our supposed traits, particularly being clannish and only interested in money and controlling the finances of the world. (Just as a note, this would be difficult since there are only about 15.8 million Jews in the world, with another 9.7 million who are of Jewish heritage who have a right of return to Israel. Out of a worldwide population of 8.23 billion, 0.2 percent are Jewish.)
I submit to you that this belief of unswerving loyalty, with no independent personal agency, is deeply rooted in the false perception of what it means to be a Jew, especially now when Jews have a unique homeland that was created as a separate state in 1948.
Whatever you feel about Zionism and the history of Jewish habitation in the area for thousands of years is not the point; it is the assumption by many of the false premise that Jews have some blind obedience and acceptance of actions, which many Jews believe to be completely antithetical to their religion. I am saddened that many do not consider that, just as many German and Italian Catholics and Protestants hated fascism, it is not considered possible for individual Jews to have profound differences with with the actions of Netanyahu’s government.
This brings me to a Sunday, October 19, opinions article in The New York Times by Meher Ahmad, titled “What does it mean to be a ‘Good’ Muslim in America?”
In it, he describes the history of anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States since 9/11 and its effect on Muslim Americans. He then discusses that effect on the candidacy of Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York.
Ahmad concludes that the result of the Muslim hatred by many Americans blends into numerous actions and falsehoods spread because of his faith. To me, it is clear we are of the same mind, that the use of religion alone to make judgments, or to use it to demonize individuals, is the height of bigotry. A person’s actions and opinions should dictate our conclusions of the worth of that individual, not pre-conceived biases.
Why do so many of us make judgments about others solely based on the color of their skin, their religion, or where they were born or live? Why do so many of us deny the one salient feature of our species, the ability to use our brains to look at facts and treat our fellow brothers and sisters accordingly?
