I may as well have been standing in a church in the 1970s this morning screaming “I AM GAY!” when I quietly in conversation with another woman in my gym changing rooms confessed “I'm a Zionist.” The room cleared. A yoga instructor quietly exited the conversation. And the person I was talking to said:
“Oh wow so you're extreme?”
“Extreme?”
“That's why you wear that big star around your neck?”
“Heh. No the star is because I'm Jewish. What do you mean 'extreme'?”
“Zionism is known to be extreme, right?”
“It's not extreme to me that Jews are entitled to not be treated as second/third-rate citizens and instead have earned the right, I think, to live in their indigenous homeland after returning to it and reclaiming, repurposing, and renovating the land. Do you?”
Nobody wants to really have this conversation when they’re half-naked, and running towards a shower cubicle, but there I was only too glad that at least one person remained who stood to be corrected. But here’s the part I’m kind of tired of. Why do I have to explain it all the time? It feels like I’m having to apologize for waking up still me, infecting everyone around me with my giant star, and causing mass inconvenience because I really don’t eat pork, I’m that Jew, and no I can’t just overlook the fact that [name of artistic genius] is an antisemite, and yes I will judge you if you think you can just “disagree” with my stance on Israel/Palestine. I have been dragging around a ton weight for years that my voice is a warning shot to anyone that I am “extreme”, that I'm bad PR, that I'm a stain on anyone else's cause, or reputation, or life, that all I can do is bring chaos and controversy and disaster to anyone near me. At least if you ever get to hang out with me you’ll know it won't be boring.
This week was an isolating time to be Jewish in the diaspora. To see The New York Times send a push notification to the entire country that read – essentially – “Israel's BIGGEST military-spoonsored air strike on Palestinian civilians in FIVE HUNDRED YEARS” diminished the truth of the reality. The truth is that the IDF went into Jenin to launch a counter-terrorism operation and dismantle an Iranian terror infrastructure so that the city could be returned to PA control. Bit clunky for a push notification, aye? To make matters worse, the BBC put Naftali Bennett, former Prime Minister, on the spot and didn’t ask but rather accused: “Israelis are happy to kill children.” (I'm sure you saw it, my jaw is still on the floor). The BBC was not going to ask why Mahmoud Abbas has been inciting and weaponizing a generation of Palestinian children, were they? No.
Alas, after public pressure, the Beeb “apologized”. They said their question was “not phrased well” and “inappropriate”. Let me fix that for you, guys: “We lied and spread blood libel that finds its roots in thousands-year-old Jew hatred, while hiding behind the United Nations, who have a great (READ: poor) track record of denying the Jewish people basic human rights”. Toda, and indeed, raba.
Back came the New York Times for another go and officially glorified the terror-affiliated targets with this headline:
Can I ask the lefties in the room… when American teenagers shoot up high schools in this country, do you qualify them as “teenagers” or as “terrorists”? Do you hide behind “The UN” when you’re rightfully outraged over those minors? Didn’t think so.
Anyway here are the children that the Isralies were “happy” to take out:
Oh and while we’re here, let’s hand the mic over to Ilhan Omar, everyone’s favorite Squad OG.
What “massacre”, bestie? The 12 killed have been claimed by terrorist groups. They want peace, according to you? Zero. Civilians. Died. ZERO CIVILIANS DIED.
The mainstream media doesn’t narrate that Israel is fighting terrorists because the mainstream media believes that Israel deserves whatever she gets. If you deserve the worst the world has to offer you then what does it matter whether the truth is accurately portrayed? The mainstream media for decades has done a consistently great job at making Israel match the worst of what her detractors have to say about her, with or without proof. It makes sense that people think Zionists are “extreme”.
It's more than 2 years since the 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis; a series of events that spurned from a private dispute in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. It's been more than 2 years, and we, the Jewish people, are just as susceptible to the same, if not worse, media bias. Our digital foot soldiers are exhausted, burned out and depleted of energy and resources, having paid extreme prices for their voices, and our establishments have failed to reach the powers that be and educate them to protect us from the spread of hateful disinformation. Many who raised funds to counteract this have also failed to put the money they acquired where their mouths are, and instead used it to fuel their own personal agendas. We are broken. This is our problem as a community. It’s time to think selflessly.
For antisemites, the problem is different and eternal. When not claiming that Jews are "happy to kill children" or that we control the media or that we're "white" people whose oppression doesn't count, or who don't have our own history, there's nothing left for them to "criticize" about "Israel". Funny that.
So happy to see you writing more Ms. Barlow. I have commented here before that I am not a Jew, but you could probably call me a Zionist. The fatigue you describe must be a heavy burden, but your voice is indispensable. Thank you.
It's hard for me to wrap my head around the reaction in the locker room. Nothing from the NYT surprises me and the stupid and misleading headlines are par for the course, but for the other women to vacate the locker room over the word "Zionist" is depressing. There's a lack of intellectual curiosity, a lack of interest in learning about other people. Life is complicated but many put everything into a box with labels as a way to simplify. No more difficult questions and debate, everything is a western with obvious good guys and bad guys.