If you publicly criticize Israel, you’ll sooner or later be confronted with the “why are you singling out Israel” critique. “There are so many nations in the world – so picking on the world’s one and only Jewish state must be motivated by antisemitism, right?”
Sometimes the “motivated by antisemitism” part is implied rather than said, as in this essay by Professor Jeroen Bruggeman.
First, why were there far more demonstrations than against other wars with far more casualties, such as Yemen, Sudan, Syria, Congo, Myanmar and Ukraine? Are Israelis and Palestinians more special than everyone else who uses and/or endures violence?
At less rarified levels, it’s often stated more baldly, as in this question on Quora.
On hypocrisy, why are we not protesting as hard for Yemen and Syria which is utterly far worse compared to Gaza/Palestine because villainizing Jews seems to be more politically correct than villainizing Muslims?
The IHRA definition of antisemitism, which has been taken up by many states and cities, the Trump administration and (under pressure from Trump) universities including Harvard and Columbia, includes “Applying double standards by requiring of Israel behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.”
The Nexus Task Force, an academic group focused on opposing antisemitism, replied:
Paying disproportionate attention to Israel and treating Israel differently than other countries is not prima facie proof of antisemitism. (There are numerous reasons for devoting special attention to Israel and treating Israel differently, e.g., some people care about Israel more; others may pay more attention because Israel has a special relationship with the United States and receives $4 billion in American aid).
Few if any of Israel’s apologists who raise the “why single out Israel?” argument could honestly say they personally give equal attention to all the worlds’ crises; they typically pay far more attention to Israel than any other country.
Which is fine! People are allowed to care more about one issue than another. Even critics of Israel.
I’m pleased with (if you’re less charitable, you might even say “smug about”) the five-panel bunny narrative in the big guy’s tattoos in this strip.
TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON
This cartoon has six panels.
PANEL 1
An outdoor park environment. In the background, a bearded man with a blue shirt holds a “Save Gaza” sign. In the foreground, a man in a polo shirt and a woman in a red skirt and black vest are talking about the bearded man.
POLO: Why does that guy single out Israel for criticism? Lots of countries do bad things!
VEST: I’ll ask him.
PANEL 2
The woman in the vest has approached the bearded man. From this angle, we can see that under the vest, she’s wearing a shirt with the Israeli flag on it.
VEST: There are so many evil governments, and yet you’ve decided to protest the only Jewish state. Do you have something against Jews?
PANEL 3
The bearded man earnestly replies.
BEARD: Huh. I guess I was raised to care about Israel. We talked about Israel a lot in Hebrew school. When other kids fundraised for UNICEF we donated our allowances for growing trees in Israel.
PANEL 4
The bearded man looks angrier.
BEARD: Also, I’m American. We give tons of weapons to Israel. So when Israel commits genocide, my tax dollars enable it.
PANEL 5
The bearded man smiles; the vest woman looks unconvinced.
BEARD: Besides, no one can focus equally on everything. I bet you pay more attention to Israel. If it’s okay for you to prioritize some issues, why isn’t it okay for me?
PANEL 6
The vest woman has returned to talking with the guy in the polo shirt.
POLO: So what did he say?
VEST: It’s like we thought, he just hates Jews.
CHICKEN FAT WATCH
“Chicken fat” is antiquated cartoonists’ slang for amusing but unimportant details in the art.
SHIRT: The bearded guy’s t-shirt has an image of a lit candle, then an image of a light bulb, then an image of the sun.
TATTOOS: The tattoos on bearded guy’s arms tell a little five panel story, showing a baby bunny growing up, falling in love, having oodles of babies, and finally dying.
PANEL 2: Charlie Brown is in the background.
PANEL 3: A flyer tapes to the tree says “LOST: Bad Dog,” in in smaller print, “Bad bad doggie! No! If found, do not give treats.” The photo shows a dog smoking a cigarette.
PANEL 6: The plant on the windowsill is Audrey II from “Little Shop of Horrors.”
Graffiti on the wall says “Why are you reading this?” and “BG is here.” (BG stands for “background”). It’s impossible to read, but the graffiti behind the woman says “Bilbo Lives.”
Because the truth matters.... While Trump isn’t good on LGBT issues, he’s probably the most pro-LGBT Republican president in American…