Antisemitism goes local — and viral
'Anti-Zionists' show true colors in Great Barrington
Earlier this month, dozens of demonstrators protested in front of Great Barrington Town Hall, about half an hour north of me up in the Berkshires, against Israel’s military retaliation against the terrorist group Hamas. Organizers called the protest “Rage For Rafah,” a reference to the city in southern Gaza where Israel’s latest deadly military operations were focused.
The permitted protest, organized by a group calling itself “Anti-Imperialist Solidarity,” turned ugly when the participants crossed Main Street, targeting a popular coffee shop, Fuel, newly owned by two Jewish people: a married couple, Elan and Lydia Merkel; and their business partner Carol Keuma-Hipwell, a long time Fuel employee.
The group assembled in front of the coffee shop and disrupted the business by picketing and chanting on the sidewalk outside. From the coverage I’ve seen in the Berkshire Eagle (via Wayback) and the Berkshire Edge, it’s clear that a front-facing employee was recently fired. Demonstrators say it was because he had earlier expressed sympathies for the protesters’ beliefs. Fuel says he was let go because he refused, after repeated requests, to stop talking personal politics during his interactions with customers. The latter is a reasonable request. Like it or not, an outright refusal to comply is grounds for termination.
Let me say upfront that being opposed to Israeli policies does not make one an antisemite. I consider myself a supporter of Israel generally but I oppose some Israeli policies and politicians, including current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a corrupt monster and aspiring dictator who tried to severely undermine Israel’s independent judiciary, in effect, putting “it under his personal thumb,” as Vox put it.
But it’s hard to look at what these protesters did and not come away with the conclusion that antipathy toward Jews played a role. Here’s why:
Why did some of them carry signs with the names of the coffee shop’s owners? To the casual observer, the names certainly look like they’re of Jewish origin. Then, to proclaim that the owners support “genocide” plays right into the “blood libel” narrative — the allegation that Jews murder non-Jews, especially children, in order to obtain blood for for the baking of matzos during Passover or other rituals. Not convinced? See the Instagram post from the group that organized the demonstration:
By the way, the total misuse of the word genocide — whether ignorant or deliberate — might rally the anti-Israeli masses, but it does not help the cause of any of the pro-Palestinian activists in the eyes of the general public.
Just as it is fallacious to suggest that anyone critical of Israel is antisemitic, so too is it sophistry to assert that anyone supporting Israel’s current military action in Gaza advocates for genocide, which is defined by the Oxford American Dictionary as: “the deliberate and systematic killing or persecution of a large number of people from a particular national or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.” The United nations defines it similarly.
How do we know Israel is not engaging in genocide? Because Israel possesses the means to deliberately and systematically kill nearly every Palestinian in Gaza (and elsewhere in the region, for that matter) if it wanted to. But Israel does not, even under Netanyahu, the most right-wing leader of that nation since Menachem Begin.
Finally, Anti-Imperialist Solidarity, according to the Berkshire Eagle’s Heather Bellow, will not identify its leadership or organizers by name. AIS said the “results of its ‘class analysis’ — it ties Elan Merkel to past labor violations of a New York City construction company he works for — is another reason why its protest targeted Fuel. The group connects those issues with ‘gentrification’ and the exploitation of workers in the Berkshires.” See another Instagram graphic from AIS:
This feeds into another antisemitic stereotype about greedy Jews who exploit the less fortunate. I call it the Shylock trope, so named after the villainous Jewish money lender in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice.
The antisemitic beliefs of the organizers of the protest are therefore clear. They’ve as much as admitted it. They hide behind words such as Zionist rather than Jewish, but their intent is obvious. I do not know whether the protesters in Great Barrington were aware of this or whether they were simply being used. I hope the latter but suspect the former.
As Leigh Davis, vice chair of the selectboard in Great Barrington, said in a statement, “For me, the protests outside a small business had nothing to do with alleviating suffering that was happening in Gaza. For me, it’s blatant antisemitic behavior when you have a name of a business owner on a sign with the word ‘genocide.’”
Davis is also running this year for state representative to replace the retiring Smitty Pignatelli. I don’t live in her Massachusetts district, but if I did, she would get my vote. Progressives like Davis are brave to stand up to the radicals in their midst.
Political correctness is this period's new religious intolerance. How in god's name can someone think Fuel supports genocide? Great Barrington-ites marching in front of Fuel makes me think of the Klan.