I found this talk very informative and - as always - I think many more people should listen to the incredibly smart and nuanced views of Emily Tamkin on politics and political process in general (she is advocating for solutions that hold up in the long run and "stick", so to speak) as well as on any anti-racism- and anti-Semitism- policy (in my opinion they are indeed the same fight everywhere, in every democracy on this planet).This time I particularly liked the "hammer"- metaphor! Thanks for this discussion!
Oh, oh, I know! Let me give you three easy tricks you can do right now to not only reduce anti-semitism by 90% but even anti-zionism.
Yes, even anti-zionism.
Trick 1: Tell Israel to stop doing fucked-up shit
Stop bombing your neighbors. Stop killing civilians, especially children. Stop bombing hospitals, UN headquarters, consulate buildings, negotiations, journalists, nuclear physicists. No more assassinations. None. I mean it. You can't kill people you don't like. Stop talking about how you're going to monitor Americans and have them fired or prosecuted if they don't do as you demand. Declare your nuclear weapon stockpile and submit to IAEA inspections.
Trick 2: Tell Israel to get back behind its borders AND STAY THERE
Pull back behind your 1967 borders, declare them as your final borders, and STAY THERE. Pull back the IDF. Pull back the settlers. Pull back your drones. Pull back your spies. Stay behind your borders. Don't fire across the borders. Don't send drones across your borders. Don't hack people outside your borders. You desperately wanted your Jewish State? Cool, you got it. Now stay there. If Danielle Weiss wants to fulfill her "religious right" to all the land between the Euphrates and Nile, and crosses a border, arrest and prosecute her. Even if someone calls you "the lesser Satan," you can't bomb them. STAY BEHIND YOUR BORDERS. Don't put a toe across them, even if someone is mean. What happens in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza is none of your god-damn business. Let the Palestinians figure it out - you have no veto rights over other people.
Trick 3: End the moral panic
Call Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, and Jonathan Greenblatt and tell them to knock it off. Stop spreading the anti-semitic moral panic. There has NOT been a 356,894% increase in anti-semitism. Stop hiding the crimes of Israel behind Judaism - it is THAT which is endangering American Jews. Stop selling stolen Palestinian land in synagogues (or anywhere else). Stop believing that criticism of Israel is an existential threat. Stop putting "scared American Jews' feelings" above all other things, including an ongoing genocide. Those feelings are NOT paramount. Get a sense of freaking proportion. Allow college students to criticise whomever they want without being expelled, bashed by the cops or blackballed.
Here's a set of bonus points: hand over Gallant and Netanyahu to the ICC for prosecution. Apologize for the horrors of the occupation. Say you are sorry, and mean it.
In short, act like a normal country, and not like a psychopath in the grip of a genocidal mania. Now I know these sound like impossible requirements, but believe me, nearly every other country in the world does exactly this every single day.
You can do it too! I guarantee antisemitism will fall by 90%.
Do all these things, and you won't NEED a 5th definition of anti-semitism.
I found this talk very informative and - as always - I think many more people should listen to the incredibly smart and nuanced views of Emily Tamkin on politics and political process in general (she is advocating for solutions that hold up in the long run and "stick", so to speak) as well as on any anti-racism- and anti-Semitism- policy (in my opinion they are indeed the same fight everywhere, in every democracy on this planet).This time I particularly liked the "hammer"- metaphor! Thanks for this discussion!
"What will reduce anti-Semitism?"
Oh, oh, I know! Let me give you three easy tricks you can do right now to not only reduce anti-semitism by 90% but even anti-zionism.
Yes, even anti-zionism.
Trick 1: Tell Israel to stop doing fucked-up shit
Stop bombing your neighbors. Stop killing civilians, especially children. Stop bombing hospitals, UN headquarters, consulate buildings, negotiations, journalists, nuclear physicists. No more assassinations. None. I mean it. You can't kill people you don't like. Stop talking about how you're going to monitor Americans and have them fired or prosecuted if they don't do as you demand. Declare your nuclear weapon stockpile and submit to IAEA inspections.
Trick 2: Tell Israel to get back behind its borders AND STAY THERE
Pull back behind your 1967 borders, declare them as your final borders, and STAY THERE. Pull back the IDF. Pull back the settlers. Pull back your drones. Pull back your spies. Stay behind your borders. Don't fire across the borders. Don't send drones across your borders. Don't hack people outside your borders. You desperately wanted your Jewish State? Cool, you got it. Now stay there. If Danielle Weiss wants to fulfill her "religious right" to all the land between the Euphrates and Nile, and crosses a border, arrest and prosecute her. Even if someone calls you "the lesser Satan," you can't bomb them. STAY BEHIND YOUR BORDERS. Don't put a toe across them, even if someone is mean. What happens in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza is none of your god-damn business. Let the Palestinians figure it out - you have no veto rights over other people.
Trick 3: End the moral panic
Call Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, and Jonathan Greenblatt and tell them to knock it off. Stop spreading the anti-semitic moral panic. There has NOT been a 356,894% increase in anti-semitism. Stop hiding the crimes of Israel behind Judaism - it is THAT which is endangering American Jews. Stop selling stolen Palestinian land in synagogues (or anywhere else). Stop believing that criticism of Israel is an existential threat. Stop putting "scared American Jews' feelings" above all other things, including an ongoing genocide. Those feelings are NOT paramount. Get a sense of freaking proportion. Allow college students to criticise whomever they want without being expelled, bashed by the cops or blackballed.
Here's a set of bonus points: hand over Gallant and Netanyahu to the ICC for prosecution. Apologize for the horrors of the occupation. Say you are sorry, and mean it.
In short, act like a normal country, and not like a psychopath in the grip of a genocidal mania. Now I know these sound like impossible requirements, but believe me, nearly every other country in the world does exactly this every single day.
You can do it too! I guarantee antisemitism will fall by 90%.
Do all these things, and you won't NEED a 5th definition of anti-semitism.