Is there a future for Jewish progressivism after Oct. 7?
by
Boston Globe | November 9, 2023
Lawmakers had spent much of the afternoon emotionally debating whether Tlaib’s remarks defending Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war were also antisemitic and merited the formal rebuke.
It was but one of many instances of lawmakers trading accusations of antisemitism, Islamophobia,and politicizing tragedy in the month since Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, which has since launched a casualty-heavy military response in Gaza. The left has reckoned with sharp divisions within its political coalition over Israel. Meanwhile, the right has seized on an opportunity to portray the left as the side with an antisemitism problem, while papering over its own issues with antisemitism and white nationalism.
The attempt to weaponize allegations of antisemitism for political purposes is the worst way Congress could be responding to bigotry, experts say. As the United States confronts a very real increase in violent antisemitism and anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments, the political one-upsmanship inflames the situation.
