Anti-Semitism has no place in Palestine advocacy | +972 Magazine
Anyone who claims to speak for Palestine while condoning
acts of bigotry against our Semitic brothers and sisters should not be
speaking on our behalf at all, let alone for those suffering in Gaza.
By Yasmeen Serhan
Amidst heart-wrenching death tolls and news accounts of the recent
escalation in Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza, reports of violence in a Parisian protest
against the Israeli military operation began to shower my newsfeed.
Articles detailed how hundreds of participants in a pro-Palestinian
demonstration allegedly took to the streets of Sarcelles – home to one
of France’s largest Jewish communities – and wreaked havoc on the
surrounding community.
Accounts described how protestors allegedly
threw Molotov cocktails near a synagogue and set fire to local
businesses and vehicles. Such actions came at the heels of Paris’ recent
citywide ban
on all pro-Palestine activity, including demonstrations. The protests,
according to these accounts, were supposedly in the name of Palestinian
“advocacy.”
A
protest condemning the Israeli assault on the Gaza strip, held outside
the Israeli consulate in downtown Chicago, IL on July 16, 2014. (photo:
Activestills)
