OPINION:
Just days ago, President Biden appropriately declared that “our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides.” He concluded his declaration by saying, “Silence is complicity.” Regrettably, the opportunities for the president to express himself on the subject of antisemitism abound.
Notably, the United Nations General Assembly very recently adopted a resolution declaring an official commemoration of the “Nakba.” The “Nakba” (the Arabic word for catastrophe) is the term applied by Palestinians to the creation of the state of Israel. The resolution passed by a vote of 90 to 30 (with some 40 nations abstaining). The General Assembly is, of course, the same body that, in 1947, adopted a resolution calling for the creation of Israel, thereby establishing the internationally recognized legal basis for the existence of that nation. Interestingly, among the supporters of the “Nakba” resolution were nations that actually attacked Israel in 1948 in an attempt to destroy it and kill its inhabitants in direct contravention of the United Nations’ decision regarding Israel.
This singling out of Israel, a nation-state member of the United Nations in good standing, for delegitimization is a truly reprehensible act. Indeed, it is an antisemitic act. Applying a standard to Israel that is not applied to other countries is now generally recognized as a form of antisemitism. And, assuredly, no U.N. state other than Israel has been subjected to the humiliation of a declaration calling for a special day commemorating its creation as a catastrophe.
By any measure, the United Nations has diminished itself by adopting the Nakba resolution. Most of the press in the United States, to the extent that it has taken any note of this action, has considered it reprehensible. However, it does not appear that any comment has emanated from the White House regarding this action, and the president has seemingly been silent.
But the U.N. General Assembly is not unique in its consideration of such a vile declaration. Little attention has been paid to a bill that was filed in May in the House of Representatives. That bill is very similar to the resolution just adopted by the United Nations. It calls upon the United States to commemorate the “Nakba” through official recognition and remembrance. In other words, the bill is intended to demonize and delegitimize the existence of Israel and to have the United States play a role in that effort.
The unabashed sponsors of this overtly antisemitic bill are all so-called progressive Democrats: Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Betty McCollum, Marie Newman, Jamal Bowman and Cori Bush. The bill has not been passed, and, fortunately, there does not appear to be any chance that it will be adopted. (Importantly, Mrs. Newman, one of the sponsors, was defeated in her bid for reelection.) However, the significant element relating to this bill is the fact that no strenuous objection to it was voiced by Mr. Biden or any other Democratic leader.
This silence stands in stark contrast to the outrage appropriately and vociferously expressed when former President Donald Trump recently held a dinner with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, and Nick Fuentes, both overt antisemites.
The Democratic establishment and its media supporters were up in arms over the inappropriate gathering at Mar-a-Lago, where a seemingly clueless Mr. Trump entertained the disturbed Mr. West and his bigoted sidekick. Mr. Trump has since said that he was trying to help the troubled Mr. West and had no idea who Mr. Fuentes was. It is, in fact, entirely believable that Mr. Trump did not know of Mr. Fuentes’ antisemitism. I certainly did not, and yet, as a member of the Jewish community, I consider myself very aware of purveyors of antisemitism.
While ignorance is assuredly not an excuse for bad behavior, and Mr. Trump’s expressed good intentions do not excuse his poor judgment and comportment, they may at least serve as an explanation. This is in contrast to the Democratic leaders’ abject failure to say anything about the very intentional attempt by their progressive wing to delegitimize the only Jewish nation in the world, an ally of our country and a member of the United Nations in good standing. There may be some ambiguity respecting Mr. Trump’s antisemitism, but there is none regarding that of the progressive sponsors of the “Nakba” bill submitted to the House.
Since the singling out of Israel for treatment inconsistent with the treatment afforded to other nations is now generally recognized as a form of antisemitism, the president and the leadership of the Democratic Party should speak out against these “Nakba” resolutions. They should admonish the progressive members of their party for their antisemitic actions. It is abysmally hypocritical to jump on an uninformed and careless Mr. Trump for his alleged antisemitism but to fail to call out the intentional and unambiguous antisemitism of members of their own party.
Mr. Biden has correctly condemned silence in the face of antisemitism and urged that this hateful ideology be confronted. The president can begin his personal confrontation of antisemitism and end the silence by calling out members of his own party who are intentionally engaging in an act of antisemitism within the very halls of Congress.
• Gerard Leval is a partner in the Washington office of a national law firm. His book, “Lobbying for Equality: Jacques Godard and the Struggle for Jewish Civil Rights During the French Revolution,” was published by HUC Press earlier this year.
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