After Jews were targeted around the nation, the problem was soon conflated with ‘Islamophobia.’ It’s hard to believe this gaslighting wasn’t a concerted effort.
Ilhan Omar had some interesting things to say about “Benjamin”-grubbing rootless cosmopolitans back in 2019. Though her words precipitated something of a mini-backlash, even then, most Democrats not only refused to denounce her words — the resolution mentioned Alfred Dreyfus and Leo Frank, not the Minnesotan — but they also refused to specifically condemn anti-Semitism. Instead, Democrats passed a watered-down, platitudinous laundry list of all censurable hatreds. “We all have a responsibility to speak out against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, racism, and all forms of hatred and bigotry, especially as we see a spike in hate crimes in America,” explained then-senator Kamala Harris.
Resolutions are a waste of time, of course, but the inability of progressives to simply condemn left-wing anti-Semitism, the most consequential and normalized variant, to placate their Israel-haters is telling.
This week, Jews were targeted around the nation, and again the problem was soon conflated with “Islamophobia” — even though many of the attacks were perpetrated by Palestinian Americans and their allies. It is difficult to believe the gaslighting wasn’t a concerted effort. “I strongly condemn the rise of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia,” wrote Ayanna Pressley. Julian Castro wrote, “we must forcefully condemn anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attacks.” Other House members followed. Even outlets such as Axios reported that there had been “vandalism and harassment fueled by anti-Semitism and Islamophobia” but offered only a bunch of anti-Semitic incidents. “We’ve seen an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate, in NYC and nationwide — hateful words, hate crimes, and other forms of violence,” explains Bernie Sanders, a man who believes in an even-handed approach between Israel and Hamas.
Words aren’t a form of violence, because if they were, Sanders and the rest of the congressional allies who have been ginning-up Jew-hatred would be criminals. Nor, as far as I can tell, have we seen an increase in Islamophobic violence. Sanders wants to create the impression that proxies are fighting over the Hamas–Israeli situation in the United States. This, of course, is a myth.
The ugly fact is that anti-Jewish violence (similarly with anti-Asian American attacks) is problematic for the identitarian Left. Oftentimes, both perpetrator and target fail to neatly slot into the hierarchy of progressive victimhood. Now, if white supremacists (or even just white men) were menacing Jews on Los Angeles streets or trolling for people with yarmulkes in the Diamond District in New York, we would be a week deep into a sober national conversation about the soul of the nation.
We shouldn’t exaggerate the prevalence of hate crimes in the United States, which are still rare. Yet it’s also true that Jews are targeted far more often than people of any other faith. The problem is growing. “Anti-Zionism” is the excuse for widespread acts of anti-Semitism in Europe. Now, it’s here. And the same people who helped incite what happened last week are trying to whitewash the results.