Immigrant Law School Graduate Thankful for America

A little late to this thread, but a few thoughts and observations to add.

The only portion of your posts I have interest in commenting on is the bolded comment. In my estimation her numerous references to Zionists are attempts to cover her antisemitism evident in previous events and associations. She's clever, but not that clever.

‘May Every Zionist Burn in the Hottest Pit of Hell’: Meet CUNY Law School’s Antisemitic Graduation Speaker | National Review
..."However, Mohammed’s rhetoric and antisemitism continued throughout the ensuing years. In 2022, Mohammed spoke at a rally put on by the activist group Within Our Lifetime, a pro-Palestinian organization that had a member imprisoned on federal charges for assaulting a Jewish man in New York City in 2022. Court documents following the attack showed the group had brought Molotov cocktails and instructed members to refer to targets as “Zionists” rather than “Jews” to avoid accusations of antisemitism."

 

The Jewish Law Student Association at her school spoke out in support of her. I don't believe they'd do that if they thought their classmate was an antisemite. Many of us don't consider ourselves "Zionists" based on what the term has come to mean today, so I take criticism of "Zionists" and "Zionism" as criticism of Israel and the people who support its brutal treatment of Palestinians.

 

I understand what you're driving at with this statement, but in the strictest sense I would disagree with you. The better known terms for exchanging words are 'synonym,' and 'euphemism', but this particular exchange is perhaps more aptly termed a metonym.
"A metonym is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated"

A Zionist is a person who sponsors and promotes the Jewish nation. But there are also Christian Zionists, and perhaps others who support Zionist causes for reasons of their own. Jews may or may not be Zionist, and Zionists are not necessarily Jewish.

The term Zionist has been slurred with an ugly history from its use in the fabricated and fraudulent anti-semitic screed "Protocols of the Elders of Zion". Published in Russia more than a hundred years ago it continues continues to generate hate and distrust in the ranks of the credulous.

American historian Deborah Lipstadt was sued in a British court by author/ historian / holocaust denier David Irving. Lipstadt had labeled Irving a holocaust denier in a book published by Penguin and Irving sued her and her publisher for libel and damage to his reputation. He lost.

Deborah Lipstadt has also said Zionist is a euphemism for Jew.
"On the left, (the author suggests), anti-Semitism is usually contentiously conflated with opposition to the policies of the Israeli government. Lipstadt does not fully accept this, pointing to anti-Semitic statements by Karl Marx and other left-wing figures, but she accepts that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the main locus, and argues that "Zionist" is often used as a euphemism for "Jew", pointing out that Stalin used exactly the same formulation 70 years ago."

Anti-Semitism today: ‘Zionist’ is often a euphemism for ‘Jew’

 

I don't think anyone is "completely" one thing. Is Mel Gibson an anti-semite? Maybe. But how many Jewish weddings has he attended? How many Jews attended his wedding? The answer might be surprising.

I had a number of Muslim friends in law school (I'm not a lawyer). Sometimes I would even sit with them in a classroom and study after hours. I once peeked over at an internet group one was part of on the law school board: Loaded with anti-semitic tropes. Do I actually care, nope. Did it surprise me, nope.

 

Personally, I think the people with the most to gain by conflating 'Jew' with 'Zionist' are the people that defend the Israeli state in some capacity, they want to make it about anti-semitism, because there is very little defensible about the Israeli state and its apartheid policies. Calling their critics bigots is a useful deflection. In my experience, the actual anti-Semites don't have any interest in concealing it, they aren't trying to trick anyone.

 

I concur that one can be an antisemite or a racist without hating every Jewish person or every member of the other racial group. But this is about the Jewish Law Student Association within her school supporting her. People are saying that we need to read between the lines and assume the worst about her. I'm saying that I'm not inclined to do that because of the stance JLSA took. They know her better than I do.

 

She'll be elected to congress by some flaming anti-american neo-prog shit hole district somewhere, within 5 years.

...because: *MAGA = horrible!!!!*

C'est la vie.

I guess the constitution wouldn't be the source of strength it is, if it weren't perpetually challenged by the haters du jure.

 

Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews. The most dangerous Zionists are the evangelical Christians who support Netanyahu and the continued settlement in the West Bank.

 

Well, I get what you are saying, but I think the actual most dangerous ones are the right-wing ones that run Israel and carry out those policies!