2,500 years ago, the prophet Jeremiah rebuked the people of Israel and the political leaders of the Kingdom of Judah.
According to the Hebrew Scriptures, Jeremiah denounced the corruption, social injustice, brutality, and general moral decadence of “unbelieving Israel.” He was called a traitor because he appeared to support the kingdom’s eastern enemy, the Babylonian Empire. Jeremiah’s preaching led to beatings, death threats, imprisonment, and ultimately exile from the religious and political establishment.
Today, there is evidence that recent hostilities are having a similarly corrosive effect on the citizens of the modern Jewish state. The Guardian look “A ‘serious moral degradation’ has become the norm in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” including massacres and outright murder of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, vandalism and theft of land and crops. AbundantIt seems appropriate to turn to a prophet like Jeremiah.
By his standards and this retrospective perspective, perhaps Israelis, and especially their government, should fear God’s wrath more than they do the International Criminal Court.
Consider some of the verses of Jeremiah.
“As a well pours out water, so she pours out her evil. Violence and destruction reverberate within her, and her sickness and wounds are ever before me.”Jeremiah 6:7)
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and proclaim this word there. Hear the word of the Lord, you, O king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne, you, your servants, and your people who come by these gates.'”22:1-3)
“But you only look for and think about what can be gained dishonestly. You are even willing to kill innocent people to get it. You have no qualms about hurting and stealing from people.”22:17)
My Christian friends and colleagues, especially evangelicals, have taught me that it is useful to apply the Bible to the modern world as long as the context of the ancient passages legitimately supports drawing modern parallels. Unfortunately, these passages seem to apply to Israel today.
I have been reporting on the intersection of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism for 10 years in both Jewish and secular media. The trend was relatively stable. There were regular violent incidents, such as the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, and a spate of anti-Semitic incidents, but the world changed forever on October 7 when Hamas terrorists launched a savage attack on Israel, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians and taking 250 hostages.
As the war continued and attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank intensified, debate within North American Jewish communities intensified and became more heated, escalating into a back-and-forth of accusations.
Today, some feel that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, but is that realistic? By this Alice in Wonderland standard, Jeremiah’s prophecy would make him an anti-Semite, at least according to partisan pro-Netanyahu groups like AIPAC and the Anti-Defamation League. Needless to say, be Attention-hungry, trend-conscious lawmakers.
The Israel/Palestine debate in North America has accelerated in recent weeks and grown increasingly dangerous, with some inevitably trying to broaden the term “anti-Semite” to include anyone who does not align with Netanyahu’s far-right government.
Moreover, the charge is now being used as a conviction by unfounded association, akin to the Red Scare of the 1950s. Some partisan Israel supporters use connect-the-dots metaphors to ask suggestive questions like, “Who liked the tweet of someone who liked another tweet that was interpreted as anti-Semitic?”, “Who attended the banquet with the person who attended another party hosted by an anti-Zionist group?”, or “At what university did the president of the university not punish campus protesters soon enough or severely enough?”
Currently, these pro-Israel groups have filed lawsuits against university authorities. Banning peaceful student demonstrations They have previously labelled pro-Palestinian activities as anti-Semitic and funded ads attacking Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jew in US government. Not Accepted Pro-Israel definition of anti-Semitism. Welcome back, Joe McCarthy!
This modern-day Inquisition has now become a full-scale campaign to delegitimize any criticism of the Israeli government or military. How? By cynically conflating any sympathy for the Palestinian cause with support for Hamas and by insinuating that protesters are in the pay of the Iranian regime.
These smears range from Netanyahu’s speeches to congressional debate to the uproar emanating from leaders of traditional Jewish organizations. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) recently wrote: Accused Vice President Kamala Harris accused Israel of “empowering the pro-Hamas protesters outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent speech to parliament, and emboldening the Iranian regime by simply failing to moderate Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech.”
In fairness, the misguided and puerile leftism of some pro-Palestinian protesters has unintentionally encouraged the weaponization of anti-Semitism through inflammatory slogans and graffiti, violent behavior on campuses and at rallies, flag burning, and denial of the October 7th mass sexual assault by Hamas.
The anti-Semitic labelling effort is aimed at intimidating all those who criticise the Israeli government’s war policies, but its targets are centre-left Jews who oppose Hamas but are appalled by the civilian death toll in Gaza, and Jewish settler vigilantes in the West Bank, sometimes aided and abetted by Israeli soldiers.
The IDF has also allegedly held thousands of captured Palestinian hostages and mistreated them in their custody. united nations and HaaretzFor pro-Israel establishment groups, there is believed to be only one legitimate interpretation of the Gaza story, and American Jews must conform to it or risk being labeled “self-hating.”
In fact, these modern critics are the spiritual heirs of Jeremiah, calling Israel to be its best self as the Torah speaks of God’s intention for us: we will not fade away, despite attempts to marginalize us.
We have a right to Judaism’s honored prophetic tradition of speaking truth to power in the interest of social justice.
Mark I. Pinsky is a Durham, North Carolina-based journalist and author who served as a civilian volunteer with the Israel Defense Forces in el-Arish, Sinai, in 1967.
