Any criticism of the Israeli government, no matter how milquetoast, gets called anti-semitic by defenders, folks shouldn’t be shocked when people shrug after a while, say, “guess I’m anti-semitic now”, and really let loose.
Any criticism of the Israeli government, no matter how milquetoast, gets called anti-semitic by defenders, folks shouldn’t be shocked when people shrug after a while, say, “guess I’m anti-semitic now”, and really let loose.
Uh, except for the bit where ‘letting loose’ is ‘revealing that they actually are antisemitic’. I generally assume that people, and especially left-leaning people, aren’t antisemitic even if Israel critiques them as such; to find out that a very nonzero amount actually are, and a much larger amount are willing to endorse or tolerate those antisemitic views, is deeply disturbing.
generally assume that people, and especially left-leaning people, aren’t antisemitic even if Israel critiques them as such
Aa a German leftist I cannot assume that. For example, German leftists placed a bomb at a Holocaust memorial event in a jewish community center in 1969. And during the hijacking of an Air France flight the RZ separated the passengers and kept only those with Israeli passports or “jewish sounding names” etc. as hostages (German Wikipedia, German article with quotes from RZ members).
Fun fact: two distinct events from 1969 and 1976 might not accurately represent the Left in 2025.
I never said they did. But they demonstrate that we can’t just assume that people aren’t antisemitic just because they are left(-leaning). Unless of course you don’t want to learn from history.
But they demonstrate that we can’t just assume that people aren’t antisemitic just because they are left(-leaning)
Sure. Just like we can’t assume that people from Nepal don’t pollute. It’s not the norm or even something of heightened risk compared to other demographics.
Unless of course you don’t want to learn from history.
That’s rich coming from someone trying his best to leap to illogical conclusions based on two events that are specifically remarkable for being atypical.
A strawman inventing a no true Scotsman? That’s impressively fallacious 😄
I didn’t and indeed have never claimed that there are any antisemites on the Left. Unfortunately, a lot of people on the Left are starting from the point of “the country (incorrectly) claiming to be representative of all Jewdom has been committing unspeakable atrocities for a century” and being misled from there down rabbit holes that sometimes go all the way to ACTUALLY antisemitic conspiracy theory nonsense.
That being said, those people are a tiny minority, and your two examples from the days of disco and earlier don’t prove otherwise.
If the argument that being antisemitic precludes you from being a leftist, that’s not a fallacy. If you don’t abide by a set of beliefs, then you are not a follower of those beliefs.
I’m not a Scotsman because I’m not from Scotland.
Similarly, I don’t think most libertarians are true libertarians because they don’t care about liberties except their own. And if that’s the definition of libertarian, then everyone is a libertarian.
Any criticism of the Israeli government, no matter how milquetoast, gets called anti-semitic by defenders, folks shouldn’t be shocked when people shrug after a while, say, “guess I’m anti-semitic now”, and really let loose.
Uh, except for the bit where ‘letting loose’ is ‘revealing that they actually are antisemitic’. I generally assume that people, and especially left-leaning people, aren’t antisemitic even if Israel critiques them as such; to find out that a very nonzero amount actually are, and a much larger amount are willing to endorse or tolerate those antisemitic views, is deeply disturbing.
Aa a German leftist I cannot assume that. For example, German leftists placed a bomb at a Holocaust memorial event in a jewish community center in 1969. And during the hijacking of an Air France flight the RZ separated the passengers and kept only those with Israeli passports or “jewish sounding names” etc. as hostages (German Wikipedia, German article with quotes from RZ members).
Fun fact: two distinct events from 1969 and 1976 might not accurately represent the Left in 2025.
For one thing, everyone who participated in those atrocious acts are elderly or dead now. Most of the Left are neither.
I do think that most of the left wing people that ever lived are dead.
That’s very very true. However, none of the current Left is.
I never said they did. But they demonstrate that we can’t just assume that people aren’t antisemitic just because they are left(-leaning). Unless of course you don’t want to learn from history.
You very heavily implied it, though.
Sure. Just like we can’t assume that people from Nepal don’t pollute. It’s not the norm or even something of heightened risk compared to other demographics.
That’s rich coming from someone trying his best to leap to illogical conclusions based on two events that are specifically remarkable for being atypical.
“No true leftist is antisemitic.”
(Presents several clear counterexamples)
“Well, that’s the exception. They are not true leftists!”
A strawman inventing a no true Scotsman? That’s impressively fallacious 😄
I didn’t and indeed have never claimed that there are any antisemites on the Left. Unfortunately, a lot of people on the Left are starting from the point of “the country (incorrectly) claiming to be representative of all Jewdom has been committing unspeakable atrocities for a century” and being misled from there down rabbit holes that sometimes go all the way to ACTUALLY antisemitic conspiracy theory nonsense.
That being said, those people are a tiny minority, and your two examples from the days of disco and earlier don’t prove otherwise.
If the argument that being antisemitic precludes you from being a leftist, that’s not a fallacy. If you don’t abide by a set of beliefs, then you are not a follower of those beliefs.
I’m not a Scotsman because I’m not from Scotland.
Similarly, I don’t think most libertarians are true libertarians because they don’t care about liberties except their own. And if that’s the definition of libertarian, then everyone is a libertarian.
This is the same logic as “people have been calling me a Nazi, so now I am calling myself a Nazi”.