Some Basic Thoughts About Anti-Semitism, University Protests, and the Far Right BS Machine

 Watching students getting arrested and expelled was bad.  Watching them get pummeled by right wing assholes (Zionists or far right provocateurs) with the cops' permission and watching cops use "rubber" bullets that are super dangerous has been even worse.  I have many thoughts about all of this so let me spew a bit to figure some of this stuff out.

Some really basic stuff about identity and anti-semitism:

• No individuals or groups are actually acting on behalf of entire ethnic groups despite, oh my, all of the assumptions and data I used when I was an ethnic conflict scholar.  This means:
• Not all allies of Israel are Jews.  
• Not all pro-Palestinians are Muslims.  
• Not all Jews are pro-Israel at this moment. 
  
• What is anti-semitism?  Hatred of Jews.  Criticism of Israel can be anti-semitic but is not necessarily.  Israel is a country, and it has a government.  All governments can and should be criticized when they abuse people and engage in bad policies.  Identifying Israel with all Jews can be anti-semitic because it is generalizing about an entire group.  Not all Arabs or Muslims are pro-Saudi Arabia AND criticism of Saudi Arabia is not always Islamophobic.  

Are these various encampments and anti-Israel protests anti-semitic? It depends.  Sorry, but it is not clear--it depends on their demands, their statements, their treatment of Jews.  If they happen to have a bunch of Jews within them, then they are probably not anti-semitic. 

Back to basic stuff, this time about punishing students:

• Any punishment of students should involve some kind of due process.  No student should be evicted without a big hunk of due process.
  
• Students should not be suspended or expelled or evicted for engaging in collective dissent as long as it is not violent.  Universities are supposed to places where speech should be at its freest.  
• Such protests can be inconvenient and/or annoying--that is how they make themselves known. When I mentioned this on social media, someone raised the John Lewis line about good trouble.  
• What protests should not do and protestors can be punished for is threatening other students. But that raises two important distinctions:
• individual punishment, not collective punishment.  Entire groups of students should not be punished for the statements of individuals or actions of individuals especially if those folks happen to be off campus (see the non-students outside of Columbia)
• Saying negative things about Israel may hurt one's feelings but does not count as threats.  Again, not all criticism of Israel is anti-semitic.  The actual words and actions matter.  It may suck for Jewish students to be on campuses where there are protests against Israel as insults of those sharing one's identity does hurt one's own self-esteem.  But hurt feelings are not tantamount to violence or assaults.  
  
• No president of any university should be calling in the cops to arrest their students unless their students are engaged in or threatening to engage in violence.  Campuses need to be safe for all students, including those engaged in dissent.  Calling in the cops is an escalation that can and often leads to violence.  The students at many of these places have been harmed, way out of proportion to whatever their alleged crimes.  These universities have failed a very basic part of their mission--to protect their students.  Again, there are now cops on campus using rubber bullets and pepper spray.
• Everyone should have learned by now that no one controls the cops in North America AND they like to escalate AND infiltration is probably too benign of a word to address how deeply the far right is embedded in North American police forces.  So, calling the cops is worse than throwing gasoline on a fire because the latter has no illusion of deniability.

Now, let's get to the far right bullshit of all of this: Republicans, Fox, and the rest of the far right apparatus complaining about "anti-semitic" students on college campuses is just bad faith bullshit.  These folks are not interested in protecting Jews, or they might have spoken up a bit with all of the anti-semitism whipped up by the far right.  Charlottesville?  Remember that?  Where were these folks who are so concerned with anti-semitism when the Nazis were yelling about Jews not replacing "us"?  Where were these folks when George Soros was being used to incite anti-semitism?  Oh wait, many of these folks were doing precisely that.  Fuck all of them.  

Ok, one last thing: to put this into context, if Nazis have the right to march into Jewish neighborhoods, like Skokie, Illinois, then even if the students were all anti-semites, they have a right to protest.  So, again, why is it ok for far right anti-semites to protest but not far left?*  To be clear, I am not saying that the students are all anti-semites, but just making the point that if they were, they would still have a right to protest.  On college campuses?  I am not so sure since many have hate speech regulations.  

All I do know for sure is that the college administrators have failed their students and have also abetted the far right in undermining higher education. The urge to do something should have been ignored  The semesters in these places were winding down--they could have easily outwaited the students.  Move graduate ceremonies if you must, but for fuck's sake, don't invite cops onto campus to beat your students and professors!

* I fear far right anti-semitism more than far left.  Why?  First, the far right has far more power.  Second, if one did the math, I am pretty sure the far right anti-semites have killed far more Jews than the far left.  When Netanyahu and others hang out with ideological kindred anti-semites "since everyone out there is anti-semitic," they are just giving those with the greatest ability and the most violent history more deniability. 

When I Am a Better Jew

 I have often struggled with my Jewish identity since I don't believe in any of the religious stuff, but I am aware that identity is socially constructed--it is not just up to me but to society to shape who I am, what groups I belong to, what groups I don't belong to.  That if a Nazi party were to come into power where I live, I would be targeted for execution whether I am a believer or not.

So, when I see tweets like this:

Republican Jewish Coalition Blasts Gosar Over Staffer’s Ties To White Supremacist: Fuentes Has ‘No Place’ In Congress https://t.co/3YrAoPleEw via @TPM

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) May 17, 2023

I realize that I am a better Jew than some.  How so?  Rule #1 of post-World War II Judiasm is Never Again!  That is, we must work to make sure nothing like the Holocaust happens again.  Yet there are Jews who have other priorities.  I have often wondered how an LGBTQ+ person could be a Republican, a Log Cabin Republican, can stay in a party that targets them as a dangerous other--a groomer, a pedophile--to be ostracized and targeted for violence.  But I am not a part of that community, so I guess I can't really judge.  

I am Jewish by descent, which is good enough to get me killed in Nazi Germany and targeted in 21st century Charlottesville.  So, I am beyond bewildered by "Republican Jews."  How can they support a party that is inciting violence against a variety of minorities?  

Maybe they think that these white supremacists, these misogynists are not likely to target Jews?  Well, again, Never Again starts with that famous statement by Martin Niemöller who said 

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

A movement of hate does not really discriminate--the resentment politics will ultimately target women, racial minorities, Indigenous people, LGBTQ+, and, yes, Jews.  So, thinking one is safe because a movement is targeting, say, Muslims, is foolish in the extreme.  Indeed, some of these folks are so ignorant they may attack the wrong people because they cannot tell a Sikh from a Muslim.

Maybe the Republican Jews think they can change their party to make it either tolerant or more selective?  That is the height of arrogance and also ignorant of history.  These Republican Jews are useful idiots who allow the white supremacists, the far right reactionaries that now dominate the party to claim that they are not these things because some of their "friends" are Jews.  That's right, these Jews are not only not helping, they are actually harming by giving cover, aid, and comfort to those that want them dead.

Maybe they care more about tax cuts?  Or about support for Israel even as the party only supports Israel to please the evangelicals, who see Jews as a means to an end--that a Jewish state controlling Jerusalem is a necessary step towards the End of Days.  Oh, and what happens when all the good Christians are sent to heaven on that day?  Nothing good.

Maybe they think that Trump can't be an anti-semite because his daughter married a Jew and he has Jewish grandkids?  Um, have they met Trump?  Yes, he claims to be a philo-semite, but most folks who claim such again see Jews as a means to an end, that their positive views about Jews are all the stereotypes, that Jews are only focused on Israel and not other stuff, like democracy, liberalism, etc.

So, when I see Republican Jews, I think those who have joined the Leopard Face Eating Party--what do they expect but to ultimately be a victim of those that they support?  Again, to put it as simply as I can, they are giving aid and comfort to those who seem them as less than, to those who would go along with or enthusiastically support depriving Jews (and other folks) of their rights and send them off to camps.  

So, I may be a lousy Jew, but I do remember one of the most consistent lessons of Hebrew school: Never Again.  These Republican Jews?  Either forgot or are selling out everyone else for their own narrow self-interests.

Identities and Conflict: Recurring B Mitzvah Edition

I went to Florida for a relative's Bat Mitzvah.  As I have remarked earlier here, these events make me feel uncomfy as I am not a believer.  Many of the prayers and songs are burned into my memory based on the years I had to go to the various services before I left home.  My father kept reminding me of the Jewish opportunities at college, which caused me to wonder whether he was either relentlessly optimistic or just in denial.  So, the only times I go to synagogues or temples are wedding and Bax Mitzvahs.  

This time, something else helped make me feel a part of this community, reinforcing my identity as a Jew--the obstacles in the driveway that forced me to drive left/right/left/right and prevented me or anyone from entering the parking lot quickly.  Yes, this synagogue had an entrance similar to those at military bases... which speaks to the threats facing Jews in North America.  At the last BM in the fall, there was a metal detector and some heavy security at the door of the synagogue in NY.  It used to be the case that when I walked in a strange city, I knew I was near an American embassy when I noted an increase in security barriers.  These days, seeing such stuff tells me that I am near either an embassy or a synagogue.  

The threat of violence is real. Anti-semitism, along with the other hates--misogyny, racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and xenophobia--is on the rise.  At CPAC this week, the ethnic outbidding to appeal to the whitest, most "christian" folks produced much targeting of transgender people, but these folks and their pals didn't stop there.  Nick Fuentes, who got to hang with Trump not that long ago, apparently talked about all kinds of folks (or isms, which really are targeting people) that need to go.

So, identity is about us and them.  And right now these folks out there are making me feel more Jewish because a basic part of that id is the threat, realized in pogroms long ago, in the Holocaust, and now in smaller scale violence, is increasing again.  So, I don't believe in all the religious stuff, but I do believe that there are folks out there that would love to put me and my relatives into showers and ovens.  So, I feel the us because the them is getting so toxic, so scary.

This is not going to go away anytime soon especially when major political parties--Republicans in the US--worry more about alienating the Nazi wannabe's in their base than standing up for freedom.  The supposed party of freedom is very much becoming a party of tyranny.  

While I loved seeing my extended family this weekend, I can't help but notice the dark side of identity and the threat we face. 

75 Years and Now What?

Entrance to Sachsenhausen

Today is the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest death camp run by the Sachsenhausen last spring.  I have been to numerous memorials and museums including Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. 
Nazis.  I have not yet visited it, but I have been to Dachau (33 years ago) and

On this particular day, I am feeling more outrage than sadness.  Why?  Because the lesson of Never Again is being eclipsed by the utility of hate.  The White House is chock full of white supremacists and, yes, anti-semites who have it quite useful to play up hatreds to gain and stay in office.  Trump started his campaign by calling all Mexican immigrants rapists and then promising a ban on Muslims.  Since then, the US has not only spent money on a farcical wall, but has set new lows in the number of refugees admitted.  So, instead of never again, it is more like Again, FFS?!

Yad Vashen, room that
identifies the victims

I still wonder whether Trump is genuinely a fascist, but I have no doubt that he and his administration are the greatest threat to large swaths of the American people (and to folks elsewhere).  Autocratic Trump does not see any limits on using the powers of the state against his enemies, and his enemies include people of color, women (at least those who don't go along with his crap), immigrants, and, yes, Jews.  Sure, he proclaims himself to be a philo-semite, but that is what modern anti-semites do--buy into stereotypes about Jews and suggest that these are positive things.

What is left of Sachsenhausen's crematoria

Of course, Trump is not alone in empowering anti-semites.  The aspiring autocrats of Europe are using the same playbook--all using George Soros as the modern day equivalent of the Rothschilds--a rich Jew portrayed as the evil force behind everything.  Even the Prime Minister of Israel is empowering these folks.  When in Israel, I asked folks why they put up with Netanyahu as the most anti-semitic leader of Israel, and they basically said that folks see Netanyahu siding with right-wing anti-semites against left-wing ones (anti-zionists).  Seems like a dumb way to go and one that betrays those lost in the Holocaust.

I happened to be reminded by a tweet about the Dutch museum of resistance, which made it more clear than most museums of this kind that there are three choices--resist, do nothing, or collaborate.  It can get complicated, but the right stance today is to resist the Trump Administration as much as possible.  Because Never Again requires work and effort, not sitting by and watching folks deploy hate against those who are different.

Trump and The Jews: When Philo Means Anti

This piece seeks to explain Trump's Philo-Semitism--that Trump claims to be a friend of Jews but is very much not.  It reminds me of my research trip to Romania in 2003 or 2004.  I had never heard the term Philo-semite until it was used to refer to the leader of the Greater Romania Party.  He was not able to speak with me because he was at Auschwitz proving his Philo-semitic credentials.  His party was a far right, virulently xenophobic, anti-Roma party which had been anti-semitic but was changing its spots (slightly). 

Why?  I seem to remember it was either because he thought that the European Union cared about it and not about discriminating against Roma, so it was best to make his party more EU-friendly for the upcoming elections OR because he thought the Jews do run everything.  Which is not great, really.

The WashPo piece explains that Trump and other self-proclaimed Philo-Semites believe the stereotypes about Jews but see them as good things, that they are cheap/clever (see the Horowitz list of stereotypes of advanced groups in yesterday's post), that their loyalty to Israel (not the US) makes them useful politically, etc.  But the piece goes awry:

"But while this form of “positive” anti-Semitism is better than the negative kind, it is still deeply dangerous"

No, hells no.  It is not positive and it is not better.  It might even be worse because it involves betrayal.  Jews see ordinary anti-semites, and they can prepare and address them and protect themselves.  A Philo-Semite appears to be a friend until he/she is not, so Jews might be surprised.  "Hey, Trump's daughter married a Jew and he has Jewish grandchildren, so we don't have to worry about him."  Uh, yes, we do.  Trump is a white supremacist, and his pals in that community don't think that Jews are whites--remember the chants at Charlottesville.  Anti-semitism, misogyny, homophobia, racism, and xenophobia tend to cluster together.  Trump feels more comfortable with these folks because his "philo-semitism" is just as anti-semitic as theirs. 

When someone proclaims themselves to be the best friends of group x, be suspicious.  The best friends of Jews often are not.  Trump may have given Israel a US embassy in Jerusalem and carte blanche in the occupied territories, but that makes him a friend of Netanyahu, not a friend of Jews.  Trump is not a friend of Jews.  The best evidence for that might just be the story of the morning (three or four shitshows ago), as he was proclaimed King of Israel by .... a Jew for Jesus.  For those who don't know or don't get it, Jews for Jesus are seen by Jews as wildly anti-semitic.  So, yeah, you can tell about someone's character by who their friends are.  Trump's friends are no friends of Jews.  So, if the Republican Jewish Committee wants to sell out its souls to suck up for a smidge of power, remember that they are betraying not Israel, but themselves. 

Israel and Anti-Semites--Unholy Bedfellows

When I was in Israel last week, one of the questions I asked several times was this: how could Israelis support a Prime Minister who pals around with anti-semites?  That Netanyahu has been buddying up with Viktor Orban, Hungary's anti-semitic prime minister/dictator wannabee, as well as other noted right-wing anti-semites.  And I wondered why Netanyahu was doing this and what price was he paying.

This piece speaks of an unholy alliance that gives some clues, but it was put a bit differently to me in Israel.  That the left wing in Europe is anti-semitic (some of it is, some of it is just critical of Israel--one can be critical of Israel without contempt for Jews, of course) and the right wing is anti-semitic so why not align with the ideologically similar?  Of course, this is extremely problematic for several reasons

1. What does one get from aligning with Hungary in any case?  Orban might have some sway among the right wing authoritarians in Eastern Europe, but Hungary has little power or influence.  Selling out one's soul for what?  A few shekels?  Because Hungary can't deliver much.
2. As Mrs. Spew reminded me last night, it is far, far more likely that the right-wing anti-semites would take the anti-semitic rhetoric and turn it into systematic violence than the left-wing anti-semites.  
3. Looking away when anti-semites rise was something that falls into the category of "Never Again," right?  What is the point of having a Jewish state if the Jewish state allies with those doing harm to Jews?

The reality of Israeli politics is that the right-wing dominates (the left got crushed in the aftermath of the second intifada), and that Netanyahu dominates the right-wing.  So, there is little penalty for Netanyahu to hang out with anti-semites in Europe or the US.  His coalition-making challenges do not center on his pal-ing around with Orban and his ilk, but on the conflict between two right-wing voting blocks--the Ultra Orthodox and the Russian Jews who hate the Ultra Orthodox.  So, no, besides some upset columnists, there was no cost for Netanyahu politically.

A related question I didn't really ask as much is how do the Israelis feel about being the means to an end?  Evangelicals want Jews to run the biblical lands since that is the requirement for the rapture/Armageddon/end of times (excuse me if I get the religious terms wrong), as these folks think they will go to Heaven or whatever.  These folks see Israel's Jews is a tool for getting what they want.  The response to my question was basically that Israelis understand this, but don't mind since they are using the evangelicals.  That the GOP now is firmly committed to uncritical support for Israel as it panders to these end of times-seeking evangelicals.  Of course, there is a cost, as Israelis are realizing that Netanyahu's treatment of Obama has helped to alienate Democrats, and they fear the day when the Democrats gain the White House.

But it is all about the short term--sucking up to those who are anti-Jewish (and, yes, evangelicals are anti-Jewish) for a few more years of support while selling out what the Holocaust has taught the Jews.

While the basic state of Israel-Palestine peace talks was depressing enough, this other dynamic was just gutting.  Strangely enough, I feel my Jewish identity more when I see Israel selling out the Holocaust.  Seeing these t-shirts being sold at Yad Vashem (the Holocaust memorial), well, had a complicated effect on me.  I will eventually get to the post on how this trip affects how I see myself and my identity, but this one is a clue.

Criticizing Israel and Its Supporters

I have seen a flurry of stuff online about American politicians and their stances on Israel (for a better thread, see here).  Folks have been talking about the role of money in shaping attitudes and/or policy.  Jews are sensitive to this since anti-Semites have long been blaming Jews for using money in all kinds of unsavory ways.  Also, Jews get upset when folks lump them all into the same basket.  So, we see accusations of anti-Semitism whenever support for Israel is criticized.  So, I am going to take the pieces apart and play the game of "anti-Semitic or not."

Before I get started, a few caveats.  I was born and raised Jewish, but do not believe/observe. I feel my Jewish identity more keenly these days as Trump has given aid and comfort to those who would want me dead, preferably discarded in an oven.  I have never been to Israel, in part because I never wanted to give my father the satisfaction. Now that he has passed away, it may be no accident that I am going to Israel this summer on one of those trips people talk about--where Israelis will try to convince me of the merit of their side of things.  Will that work?  See below.  I tend to resent those who think I should have specific opinions about Israel because of my background.  I tend to see both (all) sides having severe flaws.  But I also believe strongly the #notallx is important here because generalizing about entire groups is how we get into this morass in the first place (despite the fact that my academic work on the IR of ethnic politics tends to treat ethnic groups as actors, oops).

First, the most obvious one: criticizing Israel for various policies is not anti-Semitic on its own.  Criticizing Israel for allowing settlers to build in the occupied areas so that it becomes harder and harder to negotiate a two-state solution is fair game.  So is noticing that Israel has been launching poorly conceived wars.  And, oy yes, it is quite fair game to criticize Benjamin Netanyahu for all kinds of things.  Saying Israel has no right to exist?  That is more problematic--what is the argument?  That no state should enshrine a single religion?  Ok, then lots of states should not exist.  If it is because of its violent origins?  Um, ditto.

Second, one can criticize American support for Israel without being anti-Semitic.  That Israel has developed policies over time here and there that conflict with American interests.  That unthinking and unconditional American support for Israel may not help lead to a peaceful resolution.  That moving the US embassy to Jerusalem is a bad idea especially trading in this chip for nothing.

Third, and the topic du jour, explaining American support for Israel is a bit tricky.  The go-to move is to focus on AIPAC--the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee--which is widely known to be one of the most effective lobbying organizations.  Others push back, saying AIPAC is mostly pushing on an open door since the American people support Israel.  Here, arguing all or nothing are both problematic moves.  I think the best way to treat AIPAC is to compare it to other lobbying organizations--that it does not represent all those who have some kind of identity affiliation--the NRA does not represent all gun-owners.  Nor is it all powerful as it has lost on some key issues over the years. It is not responsible for all of the big bad decisions in the Mideast (hint: invading Iraq).  Politicians are always agents, having their own agendas so lobbying efforts don't determine what happens.  BUT lobbies do influence.  After all, why spend so much effort on public relations, on meetings, on attempting to persuade if they have no impact.  Why fly folks (such as myself this summer) to Israel if not to make them more sympathetic?  It worked to a degree when Japan flew me to Tokyo although I was already pro-Japan.  It worked a bit less well when Canada flew me to Afghanistan, as I did support the mission before and after, but was more informed and thus more critical after.  The actors that are investing resources in this kind of stuff are betting that it has an impact.

Getting back to the American people's support for Israel--maybe those lobbying for Israel have had some influence on this?  After all, the best way to get a politician to support Israel is to try to get his/her supporters to support Israel.  Again, this is nothing magical nor evil in this--lobbies do this all the time.  Those who study those who lobby for Israel (notice, I don't call it the Israel lobby--more on that in a second) should again consult the literature on lobbies and even on diasporas.

But the key here is this: AIPAC is just one actor.  Another key is that Jews are divided on Israel and are not alone in advocating support for Israel.  To see Jews everywhere as a unified force is problematic and anti-Semitic because it is generalizing about an entire group based on the behavior, actual or imputed, on a segment.  To ignore that others have agendas concerning Israel is also a problem--evangelical Christians have become more uncritical in their support of Israel than Jews.  To be clear, not all of them, but enough of them that the GOP has become more fervent in its support of Israel than the Democrats despite the fact that Jews tend to vote much more for the Democrats.  The rise of "Christian Zionism" is not pro-Jew, as it views Jewish control of a slice of the Mideast as means to an end--the end of days.  I posted before about Steve King and his being pro-Israel.  Indeed, folks have noticed that some throwing around accusations of anti-Semitism have used anti-Semitism for political gain.  Kevin McCarthy, that is you.

k pic.twitter.com/5MsHckVvzg

— Zeddy (@Zeddary) February 11, 2019

One last set of concerns: BDS--Boycott, Divest, Sanction.  Is this movement anti-Semitic?  Damned if I know.  In the abstract, the idea of sanctioning Israel for its policies is not inherently anti-Semitic.  If one can criticize Israel for having bad policies, then it is logical than one can try to impose costs upon Israel for such policies.  But we do not live in the abstract, and this movement includes people who are anti-Semitic.  I also think it is problematic because it is too much of a blanket policy.  I get the idea of not playing Sun City--targeting specific activities and denying the economic exchange--but denying the interaction of Israeli academics (one can say one is targeting institutions but the effect is the same) with academics elsewhere is extremely problematic, using the example I know best.


So, for me, the key moves that make something anti-Semitic in this kind of discussion are:

1. Asserting that Israel or agents of Israel control US policy.  Try to influence?  Sure, but control is going too far and starts whistling the usual tropes.
2. Asserting that Jews are behind everything.  Some Jews, to be fair, give to lobbying groups, fund campaigns, are in government.  But this tends to assume that all Jews are on the same page and that other folks/interests don't matter.  Jews have not made the GOP uncritical supporters of Israel--lobbyists representing segments of the evangelical community have done that.  Asserting the existence of a single Israel lobby is problematic--it is not a single actor.
3. Asserting that everything Israel does is evil.  Some of what it does is bad, much of what it does is misguided, but considering it a source for all evil is problematic.
4. Arguing that American Jews are not loyal Americans.  Every diaspora has members who focus on their homeland, some of these people care more about the homeland, but most are loyal to their new country.  Most American Jews are not Jonathan Pollard (who spied for Israel and was also paid for it).
5. Asserting that it is all about money.  

The challenge is that some folks will touch on some of these deliberately as dog whistles to their anti-Semitic audiences and others may bump into them less deliberately.  I tend to try to separate people by whether they seem to be operating in good faith or not.... so I don't buy Kevin McCarthy's indignation for a second.  But again, that might be my confirmation bias at work.  Ok, not in that case.  Not all criticism of Israel or American support of Israel is anti-Semitism, but some of it is, and given these times, I can see why folks suspect anti-Semitism to be at work.  It often is but not always.

Pro-Israel and Anti-Semitic? Happens All The Time

Watching this video reminded me that some things actually can go together even when it does not seem to make sense, such as being Pro-Israel and Anti-Semitic

Steve King blows up at questioner who pressed him on the Pittsburgh massacre #IA04 pic.twitter.com/7sFQyY9fOW

— Iowa Starting Line (@IAStartingLine) November 1, 2018

It is easy to prove Steve King's anti-semitic credentials.  He endorses neo-Nazis, he basically says at Auschwitz "enough about the Jews," and on and on.  So, when accused of being anti-semitic, he says he is pro-Israel.  Which is not really an answer since one can be both anti-semitic and pro-Israel.

One might think that Israel is full of Jews and defines itself as a Jewish state that anti-semites can't be pro-Israel.  That would be wrong because many folks who claim to be pro-Israel do so for a couple of reasons that have little to do with welfare of Jewish people:
a) They hate Iran enough that they see Israel as a useful tool against Iran
or more likely
b) They see a Jewish state in and around Jerusalem as a necessary condition for the biblical prophesy for the return of Jesus Christ.  In which case, yes, Israel again is a tool and not something to be valued for the people who live there.

So, one can hate Jews, one can spout conspiracy theories about prominent Jews (George Soros now, the Rothschilds before) running the worlds, one can associate with Nazis and still consider themselves allies of Israel.  Of course, the current leadership of Israel has done much to facilitate this by not confronting the hard right of the US, including Steve Bannon, "wooing" Viktor Orban who has been using anti-semitism in maintaining his increasingly authoritarian rule in Hungary.

Again, the key here is that one can claim to be pro-Israel and not be a philo-semite (to use the term I first heard used by a far right nationalist party in Romania).  Using one's supposed "Pro-Israel" stances as a shield against accusations of anti-semitism is a strategy used by folks who want to have some semi-plausible deniability, but it is mostly an insincere response.  Or an ignorant and insulting one as one simply conflates the Jewish people with Israel. Not all Jews are fans of current Israeli policy, and as the Orthodox types in Israel tend to assert, many Jews outside of Israel don't count.

Perhaps it is not widely known or considered how dumb an answer this is to accusations of anti-semitism, so we should call it out when we see it and hear it--that claiming to be pro-Israel is not a defense against accusations of anti-semitism.  It should be as mocked as the "I can't be racist, I have a Black friend..." line.