FouadThe new "Do you condemn Hamas?" is going to be " Do you agree that Oct 7th was uniquely evil?"
Watch for it.
SheebThats the bottom line. Unfortunately a more politically correct response needs to be developed that can shut it down quickly and safely. Otherwise 'ANTISEMITISM', and effectively shuts down the conversation, which is their objective.
@Fou_ad I think simply referring to Indigenous resistance in North America as a comparison does the trick. Bringing it back to Americans own history, pointing out that it was genocide (not a controversial take among historians) and ethnic cleansing more than defangs the lazy antisemitic retort.
I think that can be easily brushed off because its not Israel and its 'long' ago. Also the idea that it is a controversial take will mean we need to resolve that and divert the attention from the atrocities committed by Israel.
Perhaps acknowledging that there is no hierarchy to horrors is a start and then pounding the idea that October 7th wouldn't have happened without say 1948 or the decades surrounding it?
Not sure that'll work either.
@Fou_ad Well, what I will never do is declare "what will and won't work" before even having the argument. People moving somewhere, somewhere where they have never lived previously, irrespective of the rhetorical-historical heft, necessarily results in displacement and violence. Meaning, through Zionism (or colonialism) you are necessarily advocating on behalf of violence. So when violence occurs, you cannot object since that was part of the original mission. It's a logical noose.
I dont agree that people moving necessarily results in displacement. Before the Palestinians were displaced they welcomed many jews from Europe and elsewhere fleeing persecution (and also some zionists planning the future ignominy they acted on).
@Fou_ad what we are referring to is not a refugee situation. Although, yes, historically mass immigration does often result in violence, or at a baseline, resentment and we have lots of evidence to support this.
But in this case we are referring to the intentional Zionist migration and the British colonial migration to "North America" (etc.). A migration intended to colonize and plunder and occupy will necessarily result in violence. Because that was the plan in Herzl's own words.