The political right has for some time been using charges of anti-Semitism to slander, target and delegitimize left-wing politicians and voters. Support for Palestinian rights, or opposition to any part of maximalist right-wing Israeli government policy can and has been painted as being equivalent to hatred of Jewish people.
Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar and U.K. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn are arguably the most high-profile lawmakers to be accused of anti-Semitism. And to be fair, both Omar and Corbyn have said problematic things about Jewish people, and both have apologized for doing so. But these attacks, especially against Omar, have rarely been a good faith corrective. President Donald Trump — who earlier in December implied Jews would vote for him because they are greedy and love money — has personally and shamelessly used Omar’s mistakes to justify brazen Islamophobia.
Read Full Article »