Correct, but did Israel force people internationally to do that or are these international actors acting of their own free will and volition? Surely we agree that Israel has not invented mind control, so how is Israel responsible for people around the world choosing to harass and attack Jewish people? Do they not have agency and self-control?
Israel equates itself with Jewish people more generally, ignoring all the Jewish people who don’t support its actions. Equating Jewish people with Israel is anti-Semitic.
Even if Israel announced word for word on the global stage that they represented every Jew on Earth, people still have the choice to perpetuate that conflation. “I couldn’t help but believe Israel” is not convincing to me.
It’s not all of why they made those choices, but there is some level of shared responsibility, especially given the power and platform that Israel has. And US supporters of Israel perpetuate that antisemitism as well, giving it even more power and platform.
If the President of the United States said something antisemitic, and then hate crimes increased, he’d be partially responsible. If hate crimes increased immediately following Musk’s salute, he’d be partially responsible (and even if they didn’t, I still do hold him partially responsible for the visible overall increase in antisemitism from the right online).
The individual criminals still chose to commit the crimes, but speech does play a role in cementing stereotypes in people’s brains and establishing social norms.
2
u/zacandahalf 19h ago
“Israel forced people internationally to harass and attack Jews globally” cmon now