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The Antisemites Who Swear They Aren’t Antisemites

JL;DR SUMMARY Vanessa Berg's essay explores how contemporary antisemitism manifests subtly through selective empathy and moral inversions. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish IdentitySocial MediaJewish Self DeterminationCognitive DissonanceSelective EmpathyMoral InversionConflict NarrativesPeace Rhetoric

Places mentioned

Gaza, Palestinian Territories
"My cousins step-siblings (who arent Jewish) began posting about Gaza on social media with more and more fervor."
Israel
"Not about Hamas; not about the massacre; not about the women raped, the families burned alive, or the civilians kidnapped into terror tunnels."
Ukraine
"It is one of many ways antisemitism often reveals itself today: as an inability (or refusal) to distinguish between aggression and survival, between rejectionism and restraint.What struck me wasnt only the content of what they said."
Syria
"And yet, their desire for peace apparently applies to no other conflict on earth. Not Ukraine. Not Syria."
Sudan
"And yet, their desire for peace apparently applies to no other conflict on earth. Not Ukraine. Not Syria. Not Sudan."
Nigeria
"And yet, their desire for peace apparently applies to no other conflict on earth. Not Ukraine. Not Syria. Not Sudan. Not Nigeria."
Yemen
"And yet, their desire for peace apparently applies to no other conflict on earth. Not Ukraine. Not Syria. Not Sudan. Not Nigeria. Not Yemen."
Iran
"I just checked their social media and found exactly zero posts about the thousands of civilians being murdered in Irans streets at the hands of the theocratic regime there."

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