I understand perfectly what you’re saying. Antisemitism is a huge problem. That’s not up for debate. There are a lot of stupid people mistaking antisemitism for “pro-Palestine.” Not just anti-Israel—which is the appropriate response— but for legitimate antisemitism.

It’s like third wave feminist-come-latelies that mistake misandry for feminism. That’s not positive nor is it helpful. In fact it’s a problem in and of itself. And yes, this information/political identity literacy needs to be addressed.

BUT. The existence of stupid people does not negate the fact that there is a systematic elimination of Palestinian people by the IDF/Israeli state. You can call that a lot of names, but to avoid likening this atrocity to any historical one for cleanliness of explanation, I will stick to that description: a systematic elimination of a specific identity group from a state/territory. This is the much larger, much more immediate problem that needs to be addressed.

What complicates this issue and conflates these two issues (unnecessarily) is Israel itself, using the shield and cudgel of “antisemitism” to protect itself from MUCH NEEDED criticism and to muddy the waters of this discussion. When you put anyone on the defensive, having to fend off the label of “antisemitic” when they’re trying to criticize the Israeli state for the…well…genocide that it’s perpetrating on the Palestinian people, it furthers the decimation of the Palestinian people.

And, again, to clarify, antisemitism IS A HUGE PROBLEM. And there are a lot of political-discussion illiterates debating this issue in 140 characters or on protest signs—all without much more thought than “I need to be on the right side of this issue”—which leaves no room for the nuance of making this clarification.

Do you see what I’m saying?