On the Shooting in DC

 Last night a madman shot and killed two employees of the Israeli embassy in DC. The murderer shouted “Free Palestine” after he was arrested. Trump, Netanyahu, and others are blaming that murder on “antisemitism.” But the murderer didn’t shout something like “Death to Jews!” He didn’t necessarily shoot those two young people who were about to be engaged because they were Jewish. He shot them because of what Israel is doing to the Palestinians in Gaza and on the West Bank. The way most Jews and most other Americans don’t differentiate between antisemitism and anti-Judaism drives me nuts.  

I am staunchly anti-Israel. The Netanyahu regime is committing crime after crime against humanity in Gaza. Yes, Hamas is a terrorist organization; and yes, it has committed crimes against humanity in its attacks on Israel. I understand Israel’s desire to eradicate it. But that is no excuse for how Israel has responded to Palestinian terrorism. I despise what they’re doing and think Netanyahu and others should be brought to justice as war criminals.  

But I don’t hate Jews. I don’t hate Judaism. I have immense respect for the ancient Jewish faith, which is, after all, the mother faith of my Christian faith. I find Christian antisemitism, which is really anti-Judaism, to be Christianity’s greatest sin, and that takes some doing. The Holocaust has a little bit of competition for holding the title jointly with that genocide, but it is clearly among the greatest crimes against humanity anyone has ever perpetrated. The state of Israel today, however, is not synonymous with  Judaism. Judaism is about tikkun olam, healing the world. The Israelis are not healing the world, they are creating a gaping wound in it. So bring the DC shooter to justice. What he did is despicable, and he deserves whatever he gets. But don’t call what he did antisemitism. That monster may be antisemitic, but he shot those innocent young people because he hates Israel and what it is doing to Palestine not necessarily because he hates Jews or Judaism. I sure wish people would stop equating the two hates. They are not identical.