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- Here’s how ridiculous the fear of “antisemitism” has made us
Here’s how ridiculous the fear of “antisemitism” has made us
Last updated on: November 4, 2026 at 10:24 pm by Kathryn Shihadah
Here’s how ridiculous the fear of “antisemitism” has made us 2026-11-04T22:24:10-05:00 Kathryn Shihadah
Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.
If you haven’t been following the news from the UK, you may have missed this story. It is a true story, but so absurd, it sounds like the punchline of a very tasteless joke.
The story is about an organization called Palestine Action that has been protesting against the UK’s participation in the genocide of Gaza. The group uses direct action protests to disrupt the British arms industry, which it accuses of being complicit with Israel in conducting a genocide. The UK has provided hundreds of millions’ worth of weapons and weapon components that have enabled Israel to kill at least 75,000 Palestinians.
Pal Action has carried out aggressive acts against arms factories, causing causing millions in structural and equipment damage. One of its members caused serious injuries when he hit an officer with a sledgehammer (the group explained that this action was not condoned).
Because the actions were taken against Israel, and Israel is the “Jewish state,” some groups called the actions “antisemitic.”
Long story short, after much debate, the UK government labeled Palestine Action a terrorist organization.
London has been the site of massive pro-Palestine marches over the last 3 years, and protesters were angry. Demonstrations were held in which people stood or sat quietly holding signs that said, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Those last two words made them supporters of a terror organization, and they were arrested en masse. On October 31 alone, 325 people were arrested.
One woman at that protest held a sign that said, “I support genocide, I oppose Palestine Action.” A police officer told her there was no problem with her sign.
And this is where we are today.
On one side, we have a group of people with spray paint cans who are damaging equipment that produces lethal weapons.
On the other side, we have a nuclear-armed country that is committing genocide with said lethal weapons.
And the spray-paint group are the terrorists. The spray-paint gang are the ones in prison.
It’s not much different in the US. Our government has also designated Pal Action a terrorist group. Our government is silencing protesters, writers, and speakers. We Americans are afraid to speak up because we may be called “antisemitic,” even though we’re not. We’re allowing ourselves to be bullied by actual supporters of terrorism.
The world is upside-down.
*THINK ABOUT THIS: Actual antisemitism (i.e.”Jew-hatred”) is not as prevalent as Israel partisans would like us to think. A large portion (45% by one study) of what the Anti-Defamation League calls antisemitism is simply criticism of Israel, the self-proclaimed “Jewish State,” in other words, opposition to Zionism.
Israel and its partisans are quick to punish speakers of such inconvenient truths, Israel partisans generally accuse them of spreading disinformation, being antisemites/racists/traitors, peddling a blood libel, or in some cases, simply making someone feel uncomfortable. What the accusers do not do is engage with the facts.
RELATED READING:
- A multiple-choice question: Who is Israel’s greatest enemy?
- Why as a Christian, I won’t be condemning Hamas anytime soon
- The Palestinians’ ironclad, inalienable right to resist
Want to do something for Palestine?
Contact the people in Washington DC who (allegedly) work for you and tell them, “ENOUGH. CEASEFIRE NOW. NO MORE WEAPONS TO ISRAEL. STOP THE GENOCIDE. NOW.”
Reach your Representative here, and your Senators here. Email President Trump here.
To formally address concerns about State Department policy, you can contact the Public Communication Line at (202) 647-6575 or submit an email via their “Contact Us” page.
I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter. I write about the Palestine-Israel issue whenever I can, and other issues relevant to progressives or those considering becoming progressive. If you would like to comment on this post, please pop over to my Facebook page. All of my posts are there and open to constructive comment. I welcome your thoughts.
FEATURED IMAGE: indigonolan via WikiMedia Commons
General Christian
About Kathryn Shihadah
I was raised as a conservative Christian, and was perfectly content to stay that way – until the day my stable, predictable world was rocked. A curtain was pulled back on conservative Christianity, and instead of ignoring the ugliness I saw, I confronted it. I began to ask questions I never thought I’d ask, and found answers I’d never expected. Old things began to fall away, and – behold! – the new me has come. What a gift to be a new, still-evolving creation. I found out that it’s better to look at the world through Progressive Lenses, with Grace-Colored Glasses. You can read more about the author here.
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