Exactly. There wouldn’t be a rebel group if there wasn’t a brutal regime to rebel against.

Sure, the letter lacked some tact, but the gist of what they’re saying is true.

Although, appearing to come down on the side of rape and torture is never a good look. And that’s where the letter is wrong. The specifics of what Hamas did here are absolutely abhorrent and completely wrong. But that does not change the fact that this was a lashing out against ongoing apartheid.

Now, this is where I have to say, much like the letter in question should’ve clarified, that Hamas itself is horribly problematic. They’re a deeply shitty, far-right extremist religious group that does not represent (and occasionally murders) the multifaceted people of Palestine. (Not to mention, they were funded/created by Israel in the 80s. So…)

This article and this week has really laid bare a few problems. Firstly, this stupid Harvard controversy. This is the media falling for that insane right wing scare tactic/“talking point” that students becoming more interested in activism when they’re let out into the world and end up learning more about how the world works is the fault of the ACtiViSt SChOolZ turning our children into clove-smoking Bolsheviks! Anyone with two fucking brain cells to rub together understands that student activist groups…don’t speak for a school. Harvard said nothing because…why the fuck would they have to?

Secondly, and more importantly:

The University’s Jewish centre, Harvard Hillel, claimed the statement was a sign of “further hatred and anti-Semitism”.

This. This constant defending of Israel’s actions by throwing the word “antisemitism” at anyone who dares question the Israeli state. Living in nyc, our local news has been full of predominantly Jewish people falling for this logical trap themselves. This is not a jEwiSh ConSpIRaCy or any nonsense. This is the same problem we see across the internet age of people staking their claim to their political side and never thinking past the easy outs. This is propaganda by a brutal state government (a government coalition, when you consider Israel’s allies) that is purposefully utilizing an incredibly dark world history to defend itself by hiding behind atrocities perpetrated against Jewish people and the ongoing and very complicated (and very real history) of antisemitism.

I get it. Antisemitism is a huge problem. And according to Hannah Arendt, it’s a problem and precedes and is an historical building block for fascism throughout history. Antisemitism has roots that stretch back hundreds of years and is something that I don’t think any of us understand.

BUT—the state of Israel is only muddying the waters of that very real problem when it uses “antisemitism” as a shield and a cudgel to act with impunity and to silence any legitimate criticism.

It needs to fuckin stop. But it won’t. I wonder where that will lead. Probably only to more antisemitism, even from people who would typically be very wary of not falling on the wrong side of that line. But when the line looks like a gradient from here to Timbuktu, well then, how can you stay on the right side of it?

Yes, Israel has done terrible things and continues to treat Palestinians terribly. But why do people have to be so black-and-white about it? The letter said the students “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” and “The apartheid regime is the only one to blame.” They’re saying that the men with guns had no part of the responsibility for going house to house murdering hundreds of civilian men, women and children as they tried to hide, no responsibility for attacking a music festival and gunning down everyone they could as they tried to run, no responsibility for the reported rape-murders. It’s absurd to say these Hamas gunmen had no responsibility for what they did. Nothing forces a person to rape and murder civilians, even in impossible circumstances, and if someone chooses to do so, they are responsible for their actions, no matter what the circumstances. Sure, Israel is responsible for the conditions it created, but the letter goes too far in saying it’s the only responsible party.

Freedom of speech…

What happened to I Disapprove of What You Say, But I Will Defend to the Death Your Right to Say It?