There.
I’ll keep the title simple.
I’m not sure if it’s the cold I’m coming down with or something else, but I struggled to come up with a title. So I’ll just … you know … keep it simple?
I’ve said that already, haven’t I?
Anyway, in this article, I’m dropping a certain word: anti-Semitism. I ain’t using it. To me, it’s a silly term. It’s like someone who has hatred towards British people being called “anti-European.” I have no idea why Jews got the monopoly on being descendants of Shem, and I prefer to be precise with my statements. So I’m just gonna refer to “anti-Jew” or something of that sort to continue with this article.
Right now, I’ve got no idea how this article is gonna flow or go.
So, I’ve been using YouTube for years. I’ve subscribed to a good number of channels. I can normally find some videos that I enjoy. But more and more, in and around those types of video, I’ve been noticing a growth in anti-Jew sentiment. Hmmm … that’s not exactly what I mean. So much for being precise. I mean that I’ve noticed it more and noticed how frequent it is.
There’s a guy I watch because of his anti-state views. But he keeps making statements like “Israel really runs America,” “America is in the hands of Zionist bankers,” or other statements about Israel and something he calls “Zionism.” Even though I’ve asked him to clarify who exactly he’s referring to, he’s made no attempt to respond if he even saw my repeated questioning of his statements.
Recently he made a video about “Israelis” celebrating when/before the World Trade Centre got destroyed and he links his video to another that highlights “Israeli” spies being deported from America soon after “9/11.” I paid attention to the comments under the videos, his and the other person’s. Before I give an idea of what I saw, let me say that guy claims to not be “anti-Semitic” – I’m quoting him – but he does say he’s “anti-Zionist,” whatever that’s supposed to mean. I say this not because I give his claim any weight – I’m losing more and more faith in this claim of his – but because I think the uncontested comments on his videos show his claim to be questionable at best.
Anyway, the sort of comments I see are that the Jews are satanic, the cause of multiple crises in the world including 9/11, that Israel controls the USA, that certain people must hold their tongues lest they lose funding from Israel, that politicians are funded and therefore controlled by Israel, that Jews control the media, that Israel is a massive stain on every nation, that Israel is a cancer, that ISIS means Israel’s Secret Intelligence Service, that Jews are the greatest liars in the world …
Do I really need to continue?
I did a search for other videos about equating anti-zionism with anti-Jewish sentiment. Again, the comments under those videos are still filled with anger or suspicion against Jews.
I wondered to myself what the difference is between anti-Zionist and anti-Jew. When I contemplated the idea, of course, I would have to figure out what a Zionist is. Now my personal view is that a Zionist is someone who supports the idea of Jews returning to or staying in their homeland, the Holy Land, Israel. Is the dictionary definition the same? Just as an example:
Zionism, Jewish nationalist movement that has had as its goal the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jews (Hebrew: Eretz Yisraʾel, “the Land of Israel”). Zionism | nationalistic movement | Britannica.com
https://www.britannica.com/topic/ZionismI think that’s just about what I said. A Zionist would support this.
But this shows me there is a difference between Zionist and Jew. Zionism is an idea which anyone can have, Jew or Gentile. But a Gentile can’t be a Jew. There are even Jews, even religious Jews, who are against the current existence of the state of Israel. But I can’t say they, the Orthodox ones, are anti-Zionist. They are only against the means by which or the time in which the land of Israel is restored to the Jewish people. They’re ok with the land of Israel becoming the possession of the people of Israel, but not using what can be seen as political or manmade means.
But there are Jews and Gentile against any sort of Zionism, any sort of return of Israel to their land. This could be for various reasons such as thinking that Jews have no claim to that land, that it now belongs to the so called “Palestinians,” that the land is now “Palestine,” that it is an invasion against the people living there, etc. I would say that these people reject the God who gave the Torah – yes, biological Jews do this too. These are anti-Zionists.
Therefore it could be said that anti-Zionism isn’t necessarily anti-Jewish since some of them are Jews. But then again, that reasoning isn’t cogent. People can hate others of their own race, treating them as lessers, working against their own people. So a Jew can still be an anti-Jew. So anti-Zionism could still mean anti-Jew.
In thinking about this, it’s important for me to realise that there’s a difference between theory or principle on one hand and effect on the other. Applying this to my current thinking, being blunt and saying this in unequivocal terms, the land of Israel belongs to the Jews. I’m not stating that with reservation as if it’s just a faith statement. God gave the land of Israel to the Jews and that claim of ownership hasn’t been revoked.
Thinking about the history of the Jews in exile and also acknowledging the weakened and vulnerable position of being foreigners in a strange land, the evictions in different lands, the persecutions and anti-Jewish trend across history, it is very important for the Jews not just to have a homeland (any place will do), but to have their own homeland back. Whether Jews are in their own land or in the land of others, the animosity and hostility that exists amongst the nations is a risk to the life of the Jew living amongst the nations. To be anti-Zionist, whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile, to not want the Jews to have a/their homeland means, in effect, a desire to keep them in a place of scattered vulnerability. And remembering where that has usually ended up in history, namely, dead Jews, to hold such a position is to be, in effect, against the welfare of the Jew, and is therefore “anti-Jew.”
So although, theoretically, being anti-Zionist is not anti-Jew, in effect, I believe the stance to be anti-Jew.
Add to that the overt anti-Jewish sentiment that finds itself somewhere near anti-Zionism, as I gave an example of above, how people who may deem themselves to be moral will allow uncontested Jew hatred on their forums without clarification of their stance. Such a position only adds to the evidence of the anti-Jewishness that is very close to anti-Zionism, if not equivalent.
Now, again, I know, Gentiles and some Jews are against Jews getting back to their homeland or maintaining a dominant presence in it for various reasons. They may perceive a conspiracy amongst Jewish bankers. They may believe the state of Israel carries out terrorist attacks against “Palestinians.” There may be other reasons. And they will see people, Gentiles or Jews, who agree with Jews remaining dominant in that land as “Zionists,” the word seen in an evil light by the anti-Zionist. I may not know how to change such a mindset, but tagging along that sentiment is the directly anti-Jewish sentiment, the anti-Jew.
The popularity that anti-Jewish sentiment has is concerning to me. I’m not a prophet or prognosticator, and I’m not aware of any ability within me to use the signs of today to predict a likely future. But I don’t see any reason why things would get better, why Gentiles will love Jews more or why more Gentiles will have at least a neutral view of Israel and the Jews, or a positive view.
But a question that comes to mind is this: what is the status of the anti-Jew in the eyes of God? How should I view or treat such a person?
You see, although Gentiles aren’t commanded to love the Jews, the Jewish Bible still declares that God says regarding Israel, “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you.” A person who wishes harm for the Jewish people is not in good standing with God!
But does that mean that anti-Jew is now wholly evil? Or is he evil to a significant enough extent? The same guy who speaks out against Zionists and who allows anti-Jewish sentiment to go unchallenged in the comments under his videos will go out of his way to help a person in trouble. He is against injustice and deception, and wants peaceful, voluntary interactions between people. He sees abortion as murder. Do I disassociate totally from him? Do his good deeds and good intentions get covered over because of his negative characteristics?
Hmmm …
https://hesedyahu.wordpress.com/2018/12/26/anti-jew/
Topic: Anti-Jew (Read 1797 times)