Photos, Video and Analysis from Gaza Protest March in NYC

I attended the protest march in New York City today against the assault on Gaza. This protest, like many others in the past week, was called by a coalition of groups with International ANSWER at the center. On the one hand, I'm not a supporter of the politics of these groups. On the other, NO ONE ELSE is out there. As a compromise, I attended but partly as a citizen-journalist. With luck, I'll leave supporters of both Israeli and Palestine feeling awkward to have me attending their rallies....

Obsession with the Holocaust

Once upon a time, the Jewish right wing obsessed in public about the Holocaust and how it shouldn't happen again. Menahem Begin had "never again" as part of his foreign policy soundbite routine. Based on what I saw today, the tables have turned; supporters of Palestinian rights are eager to connect the Holocaust to current events, even more than the pro-Israel counter protesters across the street.

First, some notes about the photos above. Most of the signs at the rally were printed and handed out by the organizers. While I made an effort to photograph hand made signs, most the signs at the march were prepared by the organizers. The yellow sign above that reads "Genocide in Gaza - Made in USA" was an official slogan of the rally.

Second, I observed a number of interactions between the organizers, who wore yellow arm-bands and the folks with the worst signs, such as the swastika and the start of david. None of the signs were deemed offensive, or even bad PR.

It's crazy to have to explain why these signs are problematic. But since many of the visitors to this site might be genuinely interested in a sincere answer, let's do it.

Why Using Nazism and the Holocaust to Support Palestine is a Grave Error

1. Because if the killing of some hundreds, or even thousands of people is "genocide" on a par with the Holocaust, then where do you go when the death toll hits five or six figures? Just as the Israeli response in Gaza is deemed "disproportionate" by the international community, we need to recognize that some verbal responses are "disproportionate" as well.

2. Part of the desire to use the Holocaust against the Jews/Zionists/Israelis is a natural and understandable desire to 'tweak the noses' of one's opposition. This kind of dark sarcastic or spiteful language isn't unique to this issue, but it's rarely as harmful. The problem is that political messaging to observers doesn't work when couched in this kind of language. In the same way that email often fails to convey humor, dark and spiteful doesn't convey political messaging well.

3. The Holocaust is an awful tragedy that befell the Jewish people. Taking that experience and turning it around as verbal barbs against the same group is tasteless and offensive. It's like white people using the "N word". Even though Blacks do it, you can't.

4. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has spread, and now includes many other groups. The Lebanese, for example, who paid an enormous price as a consequence of the Nakba. Or the Jordanians, whose demographics were drastically altered. By using Holocaust imagery and language, you are conveying that the opposition isn't merely Israel, or the Zionists, but all Jews. This has the effect of portraying your side as anti-Semitic, thus strengthening Israel's case. It also helps unite Jews in active or passive support of the Israeli PR effort.

Notice I'm being careful in my words to convey mostly strategic reasons to avoid this kind of imagery. There is of course, the moral and ethical imperative to treat other groups, and the sacred cows of those other groups, with a certain degree of respect. That doesn't mean supporting Israel just because most Jews do; Israel is a legitimate political issue. Violating Jewish sensibilities to score rhetorical point for Palestinians is cheap, mean-spirited, hateful, dishonest and vicious. These are sentiments that play well (sadly) with some overwhelmingly Arab, Muslim and far-left audiences. Since it comes at the cost of building support for Palestinian rights in the Western world, we can also say that using this language is also, ultimately, a blow against the Palestinian cause.

And a shout out to April Rosenblum's excellent pamphlet "The Past Didn't Go Anywhere" about anti-Semitism on the left. You can see a free version here.