Last Wednesday, the SHALOM Club hosted Liora Bachrach, Midwest Campus Coordinator for StandWithUs, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the world about Israel, to address anti-semitism and how to combat it in the modern world.
In her speech, Bachrach called attention to the anti-semitism that still exists in the world today under the guise of anti-Zionism. She described Zionism is a movement for the reestablishment and protection of the Jewish State in their homeland, Israel.
“Anti-Zionism is the new antisemitism. It is the same face with a different mask,” Bachrach said. “Instead of hating on Jews themselves, people hate on the Jewish State. Instead of saying Jews are evil, they say the Jewish State or Israel is evil. So you can see that Anti Zionism and anti-semitism are actually the same thing.”
She also laid out what she called the “Three D’s,” a set of guidelines for determining whether or not a statement is anti-semitic. The first of the “Three D’s” is Demonization, or making Jewish people seem dangerous and undesirable. Bachrach cited examples such as current portrayals of Jewish people or the Jewish state as octopi, a derogatory image left over from anti-semitic Nazi propaganda, and groups like Students for Justice to Palestine.
The Second “D” stands for Delegitimization, or denying Israel’s right to its homeland.
“The Jewish people have a right to their Jewish Homeland just as every people have,” Bachrach said. “People want to delegitimize the Jewish people with the end goal of extinction. Jews are accused of taking over the land from the Palestinians, but in saying that you are not recognizing the Jew’s right to return.”
The third, “D” is for Double Standards, or expecting more of Israel than of other countries. Bachrach said that in 2015, the UN issued 20 Human Rights Violations to Israel, what she claimed to be an inordinate amount. Meanwhile she pointed out that Syria, which murdured 2,000 of its people that year, was issued none. Bachrach did not contest that the Israeli State committed some human rights violations that year, only that it is consistently and unfairly held to a higher standard than other countries.
Bachrach finished her speech with a lesson in combating anti-semitic language and ideas in conversation. She presented the ARM standard, which stands for Address, Reframe, and Message. She urged listeners to address critical arguments, but then reframe them to get the facts across, and finally to end with the message that anti-semitism is not acceptable or factual.
Junior Lydia Reyes, an attendee of the speech, said she considered it worth her time.
“I think anti-semitism is rampant around the country right now and in the world,” Reyes said. “Any chance we get to arm ourselves against that and to open other eyes to that is worth taking.”
Senior Hannah Brewer also attended and greatly appreciated the timeliness of the speech.
“I do think it is really important to be able to distinguish between anti-semitic statements and then legitimate criticisms of Israel. We know that anti-semitism has been rampant in the world for all of human history,” Brewer said. “So it is really important to just examine what you believe and why and make sure you have lots of facts, and make sure you are aware if you are legitimately criticizing or if there is an undercurrent of anti-semitism.”
