By Steve Kramer, BIN–
I was shocked, but not surprised, to see the Washington Post feature an op-ed this weekend (August 19) stating that the left has eschewed political violence. Author Yoav Fromer admits that there is some violence on the left, but for decades it hasn’t compared to the “methodical, organized and strategic violence and incitement” of the right. What about rioting in Ferguson, MO, Portland, OR, Baltimore, MD and annually in Devos, Switzerland, or the attempt to murder the Republican congressional baseball team, to name just a few recent instances? There is extreme violence on the fringes of the left and the right. Excusing the left wing component, as the media icons do on a regular basis, only exacerbates the political divisions which are plaguing Western democracies.
We know about right wing antisemitism, which we witnessed in Charlottesville. But antisemitism is also prevalent on the left. It hurts to see Jews supporting the BDS movement (boycott, delegitimize, sanction Israel); the Black Lives Matter movement (Israel is the apartheid state), the LGBTQ movement (pro-Palestine and anti-Zionist), and the feminist movement (ditto), ignoring the bias against Jews and Israel. The great majority of Jews are liberal; they must wake up to the fact that movements such as those above are intolerant, not liberal.
If you are willing to toe the antisemitic, anti-Zionist line, you’re ok to join these movements. But if you have pride in the fact that you are a Jew, or are a supporter of Israel, it’s past time to strongly express your disgust and to withdraw your support from organizations which are antisemitic and anti-Zionist.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/93506/antisemitism-on-the-left-opinion/#V7ZdZ46YaOr1ibZF.99