deborahlipstadt

if someone disagrees with Israel's policies, that is NOT antisemitism. you can see such disagreements every day in the Israeli press (the only completely free press in the region, with the possible exception of Jordan). But if you

1. focus on israel to the exclusion of all other parties in the region
2. claim israel alone is responsible for all the wrongs
3. argue that Israeli should not exist because it is a theocracy (while ignoring the fact that it is surrounded by countries that are far more theocratic than it is)
4. if you believe Jews have no right to a national homeland but other people do (that does not mean you have to agree with particular boundaries of the state)
5. Then you have crossed the line from criticism to myopic obsession with Israel as the wrongdoer and have entered the realm of antisemitism.

i don't think this is an issue that should only be of concern to Jews or people who are close to/related to Jews. Nor should it be a concern only to people who hate prejudice of all kinds. if you value democracy then you should be appalled by and frightened by antisemitism. No healthy democracy can tolerate the conspiracy theory that is antisemitism in its midst and be considered "healthy."

You don't sound like an idiot at all. I am glad you care about the issue. Without being self-serving, I think there is a lot in ANTISEMTISIM HERE AND NOW that will be useful to you. it is written as letters and one of my correspondents is a Jewish student and the other is a non-Jewish colleague.

She just unequivocally apologized. but it seems to me that we have been through that dance before. Just a few weeks ago. I think she just does not get it. to here all Jews are white and powerful and rich and therefore just cannot be victims.... it's a common progressive view of Jews

Excellent and difficult question. I think that 16 year olds are old enough to learn that some things fly and some don't, that somethings are arenas for humor and some are not. i know it's easy for me to say, sitting here typing away and not having to deal with a 16 year old face to face. but i guess it's what we call education (by parents and the home as much as -- if not more so -- than school)

we have to challenge people when they engage in this kind of antisemitism. we also have to consider that some of them may not realize (hard as that is to believe) that what they are saying is antisemitic.