Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Collective responsibility

In response to a wave of antisemitic attacks, EISCA has a post "Antisemitism and Jewish interchagability."
A key component of antisemitism is an inability - or refusal - to differentiate between Jews as a collective and Jews as individuals. This mental construct lumps all Jews together: Israeli Jews and Diaspora Jews. European Jews and American Jews. Jewish tourists in Mumbai and Jews going to synagogue. Or going about their business just about anywhere, for that matter.

Call it a form of antisemitic synecdoche, or use of the ‘part for the whole’. Or call it a form of collective guilt.
I want to ask some of these people: If you target Jews in France and Sweden and Britian... Do you actually want us in Israel?

No comments: