It’s Wrong to Fight Anti-Semitism with Islamophobia

Rabbi Marmur’s opinion piece (“Behind the Rise of Anti-Semitism in Europe”) in The Toronto Star mentions some of the horrendous violence by Muslims against Jews, especially in France. These acts are, sadly, well-known and have been loudly decried by most of the French political leadership. They led to support demonstrations in which French Jews were joined by non-Jewish citizens, including Muslims. Dow Marmur’s intent is, clearly, not to reveal the horrors that are already known, but to go “behind” the rise of anti-Semitism to reveal that it is really due to Nazi-style antisemitism being “Islamized.” This is actually also a very well-known though controversial theory, and it is a limited half-truth at best. Anti-Semitic Muslims are clearly misinterpreting both traditional and most modern Islam, but more importantly, they are misinterpreting the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, which is the elephant in the room that Rabbi Marmur judiciously does not touch. It is this poisonous conflict that has not only introduced anti-Semitism among Muslims, but also Islamophobia among Jews. Certainly, there are Islamists, including imams, who have adapted anti=Semitic language to Islam, but there are proportionately no more of these than there are Jews, including rabbis, who have adapted Islamophobic language to Judaism. True, some anti-Semitic Muslims have been more violent in Europe than Islamophobic Jews, but that is probably because Muslims are far more likely to live in violent slums, where anger more easily bubbles up as overt aggression. The perpetrators of some of the most hair-raising violence expressed the belief that they were attacking Jews who were “rich.” But beyond class issues, anti-Semitism among Muslims should be associated with geopolitics, not religion. So should be Jewish Islamophobia. Neither is justified, both are appalling, and both are fed by the Israel/Palestine conflict. To be portrayed fairly, both need to be mentioned (and fought) together.