The War Over Words

Jewish discomfort must not silence demands for justice

Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash

It is a deeply Jewish tradition to debate, particularly around the meaning of words. But I cannot think of another time in my lifetime when the stakes of such a debate felt so high.

Do the words we use matter? What is their significance in comparison to the facts on the ground? Israel has killed 13,000 Palestinians. At least 5,500 Palestinian children are dead.* The immensity of this horror seems to make the war over words seem trivial. But it's precisely because of this tragedy that we must fight for linguistic clarity. And in doing so, we must establish that one group's discomfort will not be used to erase actual violence.

While I'm not an expert on language or Israel-Palestine, I've done my best to learn as much as possible in recent weeks. Here's my attempt to synthesize my learning.

Genocide: I am honestly not 100% sure if Israel's current actions meet the legal definition of genocide. But, I found Israeli historian Raz Segal's argument in Jewish Currents and on Democracy Now very convincing. Also, when I see the language being used by Israel's leaders currently and in recent years, I see genocidal intent. In this situation, I believe that while genocide may not be the accurate legal term for the current situation, it is a valid term to communicate the urgency and severity of the moment. Moreover debating over the validity of genocide as Palestinians are killed, cut off from water and supplies, and forced from their homes feels incredibly tone deaf.

Ethnic cleansing: Israel is making Gaza uninhabitable. There are clearly people within Israel's government who desire to retake Gaza. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, anti-Palestinian violence is on the rise, with no repercussions. While there are many Jewish Israelis who wish to live peacefully with non-Jewish Arabs and Palestinians, it feels clear that Israel's Jewish supremacist government is engaging in ethnic cleansing.

Zionism: Now we get to a more complicated term. There is Zionism as a historical idea. And there is Zionism as a present-day political reality. The dictionary definition of Zionism, which many U.S. Jews understandably embrace and support, is the belief in the need for a Jewish homeland. Zionism today is conflated with support for the state of Israel and its actions. Meanwhile, for decades, Jews outside of Israel have been told that Zionism and the modern state of Israel are their safe harbor. We are taught time and again the story of Jews being turned away by the United States and Europe on the eve of the Holocaust. I think many who see Zionism purely as the Israeli government’s ideology and actions do not understand the emotional connection between many Jews and Zionism and, therefore, cannot comprehend why critiques of Zionism feel antisemitic to some Jewish people.

Anti-Zionism: Because of Zionism's mixed meanings, anti-Zionism is similarly challenging to define. For some, it means opposing the idea of a Jewish nation-state. It may also mean embracing Jewish identity and safety wherever they live. Anti-Zionism can also mean challenging the legitimacy of Israel and fighting against Israel's occupation and subjugation of Palestinians.

Antisemitism: For a clear definition of antisemitism, I turn to the words of my comrade Jonah Boyarin. According to Boyarin, antisemitism is "based on two lies about Jewish people. The first set of lies are what we call common stories or conspiracy theories about Jewish people that falsely imagined Jewish people as being in control of banks, the media, Hollywood, the entire economy, etc." The second "is a set of dehumanizing lies about Jewish people, saying that Jewish people don't belong here. That they're not like us and can't be trusted." 

I understand why some Jewish people see antisemitism in anti-Zionism because they see it as an argument that Jews are not entitled to safety. Or in other incidents, when people convey skepticism toward claims by the Israeli government or military, they hear echos of antisemitic rhetoric about Jewish dishonesty. I myself have seen people question the death toll of Hamas' attacks on October 7th, and I find this hurtful. But ultimately, the vast majority of pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist rhetoric I have seen and heard online and on the streets is not antisemitic. The loudest and clearest message I have heard has been this: All people deserve safety and freedom. All life is sacred. This is the opposite of antisemitism because when we are able to achieve this world, Jews will be safe too.

The conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism is infuriating and hurtful. Many people smarter than me have written on it, so I won't delve deeper into it here other than to say that it makes Jews less safe. It perpetuates the lie that support for a Jewish ethnostate is a fundamental and universal feature of support for Jewish freedom and safety. And it diverts attention from the antisemitism that energizes the Christian right in a much more powerful and dangerous way than anything we see on the left.

"From the river to the sea": My own thinking on this phrase continues to evolve. Over the past month, I have found several convincing arguments in support of the phrase as a call to liberation for all people living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean. I still empathize with the visceral reaction Zionist Jews have to this phrase. Whether it's because this phrase has been employed by groups like Hamas or just a misunderstanding of its intent, many Jewish people hear this phrase and hear a call for Jewish expulsion or eradication. I would love for pro-Palestinian folks to understand this feeling. I don't think this feeling of fear justifies the reaction, but I also think scoffing at it further entrenches pro-Israel supporters into a defensive posture. 

I would hope that Jews, particularly progressive and leftist Jews, can pause for a moment to consider the popular meaning of the phrase. Even if you support the state of Israel, freedom for all cannot and should not be felt as a threat to Jewish safety.

The debate over this phrase is concerning for multiple reasons, however. First off, like the conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism overall, I see it as a dangerous distraction. When you have Jewish Democrats voting alongside insurrectionists to censure Rashida Tlaib, you know something has gone wrong. Secondly, the outrage and media attention is wildly disproportionate to the actual genocidal language coming from Israel's government.

In October, Chris Hedges reported on just a sample of the genocidal language coming from Israel's government and military. Hedges wrote that Ariel Kallner, a member of Netanyahu's Likud, called for "a Nakba that will overshadow the Nakba of 48." He also reported that:

The Israeli army mobilized Ezra Yachin, a 95-year-old army veteran, to "motivate" the troops. Yachin was a member of the Lehi Zionist militia that carried out numerous massacres of Palestinian civilians, including the Deir Yassin massacre on April 9th, 1948, where over 100 Palestinian civilians, many women and children, were slaughtered. 

"Be triumphant and finish them off and don't leave anyone behind. Erase the memory of them," Yachin said, addressing Israeli troops.

"Erase them, their families, mothers and children," he went on. "These animals can no longer live." 

"Every Jew with a weapon should go out and kill them," he said. "If you have an Arab neighbor, don't wait, go to his home and shoot him." 

Netanyahu infamously compared Palestinians to the people of Amalek. And this isn't a recent problem. Israel's leaders have been employing racist and dehumanizing language for years. Progressive and liberal Zionists must demonstrate moral consistency and call out Israel's hateful rhetoric with at least as much passion as they decry the phrase "from the river to the sea."

What's most concerning about the debate over this phrase and other terms is that it seems to prioritize the psychological safety of the Jewish people over the physical safety of Palestinians. Among some opposing a ceasefire, I sense an implicit argument that Jewish lives are more valuable than Palestinians. Now, with the battle over language, it seems that the argument has been extended to say that Jewish feelings are also more important than Palestinian lives. We are in danger of completely losing our perspective of what is most important and urgent at this moment.

I say all of this with great compassion for my fellow Jews who are feeling triggered in this moment. The violence of October 7th and the subsequent spike in antisemitism are real. At protests I have attended, I have noticed incredible empathy coming from Palestinian activists, even in the midst of their grief and outrage. I would like for non-Jewish, non-Palestinian folks on the left to be mindful of the ways the world is unsafe for Jews.

But when it comes to Jewish reactions to pro-Palestinian slogans, much of that work must be done by Jews. In the wake of October 7th, the unfinished work of healing our historical trauma is more evident than ever. As we think about what our people need to feel safe and truly be safe, we need to work as a community to process legitimate feelings of trauma while recognizing the actual impact of the state of Israel's actions historically and presently (For a brilliant conversation on that topic check out the interview with Naomi Klein below).

The words we choose matter. Language has power. But Zionist Jews cannot elevate the emotional impact of certain words over the impact of genocidal language by leaders in Israel. Most importantly, we cannot use a debate over language to silence desperate cries for justice and freedom.

*As of Sunday, November 19th. I also went back and forth about including the number of Israelis killed and held captive. These too are also horrors. But I'm tired of feeling compelled to include them as proof of my moral compass, and as the number of Palestinian dead mounts, their inclusion begins to feel hollow.

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