Jews Talk Racial Justice - S2E12: Interrogating the Antisemitism Litmus Test
QUICK EPISODE OVERVIEW
In another episode tied to their "Flip the Script" resource, April and Tracie investigate the notion that the presence of antisemitism in progressive movements disqualifies those movements from Jewish involvement. Recognizing that, like all systemic oppressions, antisemitism is everywhere, Jews Talk Racial Justice wonders why engagement in progressive spaces feels optional to some when engagement in other spaces where antisemitism is equally present is not.
Content warning: April makes passing reference to past sexual assault.
Heads Up! We are taking some time off in the month of May 2021. You'll be able to enjoy reprises of our favorite episodes every Thursday in May. New content will resume in June.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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April and Tracie start right off with a phrase they sometimes in Jewish spaces, that because there is anti-semitism on the Left, that they cannot engage with those movements. Have you heard this? Do you feel this way yourself?
April reminds us that all forms of oppression are everywhere and that to say anti-semitism is present on the Left isn’t new or surprising, just as racism and sexism is everywhere, Have you thought about it this way before? What are the ways anti-semitism are “baked into the cake” of American and Christian dominant societies?
Tracie points out that if she didn’t engage in places that there was sexism, that she couldn’t engage in the Jewish community. Can you relate to this framing? Have you thought and felt this yourself?
April talks about engaging while still honoring our humanity and if we are supported and safe in engaging. What would you need to feel supported and safe in these moments of engagement when antisemitism may come up within groups you wish to act with solidarity?
April doesn't believe in distancing herself from contexts just because they aren’t where she thinks they should because by abdicating this space, it helps White Supremacists win. Do you agree?
For April and Tracie, a lot of the reaction Jews in this situation is a result of intergenerational trauma, particularly within White Jews who are descendants of Holocaust survivors and victims. Are you familiar with the concept of intergenerational trauma and its impact? Have you thought about your own?
April knows that isolation isn’t going to save us but relationships with allies and accomplices across lines of difference, as that has been the difference maker throughout our history. Who are your non-Jewish allies and accomplices? Who can become your allies if you were to cultivate a deeper relationship?
Tracie explains the dangers of creating a “litmus test” for organizations in order to engage because if Jews of Color did the same as it relates to racism, there wouldn’t be any Jews of Color in our community. Have you used this litmus test before?
How does it feel to hear April discuss her feelings of betrayal when White Jews walked away from the Women’s March because of claims of anti-semitism? How does this impact your thoughts on this idea of engaging?
Tracie rightly points out how Jewish people bristle when a Jewish person is used to judge the entire community and yet there are some Jews who do the same thing to other groups when one person makes/takes an antisemitic comment or action? Do you agree? Why is it problematic to judge a group based on the individual?
April and Tracie bring up the idea of a trauma lens. A trauma lens is an understanding that everyone endures and inherits trauma and subconsciously acts from that. Are you familiar with this approach? What are your initial reactions to it? Can you think of the ways you react out of your trauma at times?
INSIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE
“If a person does understand how systemic oppression works, they understand that anything that is a manifestation of systemic oppression, like sexism, racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, ableism, it is ubiquitous. It is everywhere. So to say it’s on the left, is redundant to me.”
“Change - effective, lasting change - most often happens in the context of connection
and relationships. ”
“In the subtext of the statement that ‘there’s antisemitism on the left and I cannot engage,’ is a tremendous amount of unhealed terror, about what has happened in the past and the ways that the situation might mirror other circumstances.”
“I really wanna challenge when Jewish communities, Jewish individuals say, ‘if there’s even an inkling of anything that could possibly be interpreted as antisemitic from anyone from this movement or this space, then I will cut them off forever.’ That litmus test feels so clearly counterproductive, because when I flip it and say ‘if a litmus test was used on me about racism or homophobia or transphobia?’ When we use litmus tests in that way, everybody loses.”
COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?
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