Calling Them Out

As the Democratic party veers increasingly further to the left, it risks becoming closely associated with many leftish groups that are virulently anti-Israel, and by association, anti-Semitic. Recall that the co-chair of the DNC, Keith Ellison, has been accused (in this blog) and by many, many others, of being blatantly anti-Israel and a closet anti-Semite. The fact that the Dems gladly nominated him to a leadership position within the party is indicative of a rot that is only growing.

Jonathan A. Greenblatt, a progressive himself, notes a few of recent instances of anti-Israel/anti-Semitic actions among the Dems and their progressive allies:

Last weekend, organizers of a gay pride parade in Chicago ejected three people carrying pride flags emblazoned with a Jewish Star of David. Subsequent bizarre statements attempting to rationalize their action, claiming that Zionism is “an inherently "white supremacist ideology” ...

Last summer, a plank in the platform of the Movement for Black Lives bizarrely accused Israel of "genocide" ...

Linda Sarsour, a leader of the women’s rights movement, has lambasted Zionism as incompatible with feminism and advocates for the exclusion of pro-Israel Jews from activist groups.

Sarsour's claim is particularly rich given the long and sordid history of Islam's oppression of women and other minorities, but hypocrisy has never been something that gives the Left pause.

Given that he is a true progressive, Greenblatt is certain to note his general support of the LGBTQ community, Black Lives Matter, and the "Muslim community," but then he goes on to write:

On the other hand, when hatred comes from individuals in those very communities or organizations for whom we advocate, we are duty bound to raise our voice. In recent times, anger over specific policies of the Israeli government has been used by some activists to excuse broad anti-Semitism directed at members of the Jewish community. In some cases, we have seen painful rhetoric unfold on college campuses or outright exclusion of self-identified Jews from progressive circles simply because of their faith. All of it is inexcusable.

I get the feeling that Greenblatt is conflicted. It's likely that progressivism is his true religion, but he is becoming increasingly uneasy with a virulent Leftist strain that looks more like 1933 Germany than a 21st century utopian multicultural world. It's equally likely that deep down, he worries that his ideology and party will move to a place that rejects him as a Jew and Israel as a country—all in the name of "social justice." The left tells us to reject a laundry list (e.g., bigotry, racism, Islamophobia, misogyny) that they see as the driving tenets of the "deplorables." But at the same time, far too many progressives and a growing number of Democrats acquiesce to or blatantly practice the analogs of that laundry list when it comes to Israel. To his credit, Jonathan Greenblatt has the courage to call them out.