Stop using triggering metaphors to dead Jews and expand your own influence by engaging with Jewish allies
A lot of well-meaning people want to draw attention to the plight of civilians in Gaza by using metaphors from times in history when Jewish people were slaughtered. These include genocide, the Warsaw Uprising, Holocaust, and Nazis, etc. One implication of these metaphors is that Jews are perceived as incapable of empathy unless someone converts a situation into language about them.[1] Hearing this constant near-obsession reminds me of the old expression: “The world loves dead Jews.”
Somehow instead of speaking about Gaza on its own terms there are folks with a near obsession about these metaphors. This isn’t just offensive (Jewish people are indeed capable of empathy, thanks) but it also wastes time that could be focused on helping innocent civilians.
This essay is directed to those outside the Jewish community whose concern for Palestinian lives transcends virtue signaling.
Don’t trigger and insult people who could be your allies
I’ve pointed out to people outside the Jewish community that making metaphors to dead Jews is a great way to make us feel unsafe engaging with someone. Starting a conversation with generational trauma is triggering, a distraction, and an insult. Regardless of whether they realize it, that says to me that they don’t believe I care about anyone but myself, that they deliberately want to poke me, and that they don’t mind taking time for a detour from the crisis in Gaza on which we should be laser focused—which also makes me question how much they actually care about it.
Instead I’d like to start conversations about Gaza by discussing Gaza.
Why work harder to make Jewish Americans feel safe engaging with you?
When I’ve discussed the need to drop the metaphors to draw a bridge to engage with Jewish Americans who otherwise feel unsafe, I was once asked why someone should take on the extra work to make Jewish people feel safe engaging with them. Why should they have to drop their coveted metaphors and bend over backwards, I was asked, when centering American Jews’ feelings of safety is more work and also conflates Jewish people and the Jewish state.
My response is below:
“You asked a valid question about why make extra effort to engage with American Jews—even when it’s more work to help us feel safe with you—which reinforces the problematic conflating of Jewish religion with the Jewish state. Here are some thoughts I’ve been mulling over that are around multiplying your own reach and influence:
First, the “A” in AIPAC stands for American and we need to weaken AIPAC. I’ve never given [them] a cent but know people who have, and personally work on persuading them to stop. Every American Jew you engage knows people who have supported AIPAC and can better reach them.
Second, almost every Jewish person in the world has relatives in the US and Israel—the biggest places that took us in. Of course American Jews don’t vote in Israel but usually have direct connections to people who do. Among Americans, Jewish people are positioned to reach the hearts and minds of Israeli voters who can help put an end to this madness. Israelis are fed with misleading news and we can get them more accurate news. You probably don’t have a lot of Israelis in your feed and talking to people who do can multiply your perspective.
Third, we have a greater stake because those who do conflate are literally murdering us in the street right now. People disagree about whether an IDF soldier’s parents are fair game [incidentally, we later learned that one of the destroyed cars belonged to some unrelated teenager who lives nearby], but there’s no debate about the Holocaust survivor in Colorado marching peacefully about hostages being flame torched to death. That gets American Jews activated about this topic and people who feel in danger have momentum can go in multiple directions so you especially want to help influence people who are reacting at extremes.
Helping to make Jewish people who are triggered right now feel safe will multiply your influence. That means dropping metaphors to triggering events (e.g., intifada, Holocaust, etc.), and welcoming them/us to the conversation even if it’s harder sometimes. To the extent it takes more effort that’s because it’s always work to get out of an echo chamber.
There are a lot of Jewish people like myself who on the day after 10/7 supported the self-defense of a sovereign nation that was attacked by terrorists and then flipped from supporting it along the way. Some flipped earlier and many are flipping at this very moment. Non-Jews who care about Palestinian safety and welfare have an opportunity to engage Jewish people and multiply their own influence. Those with performative support for Palestinians will see this as a chance to scold people for what they thought previously. This is a rare opportunity and we all need to make the most of it.”
For those people whose concern for Palestinians is more sincere then performative, it’s time to drop the metaphors to dead Jews and welcome Jewish American allies—who are growing more numerous by the day in decrying the destruction of Gaza and supporting Palestinian welfare, dignity, and self-determination.
We want to address Gaza by focusing on what to do today rather than starting with metaphors to WWII.
[1] It also attempts to neutralize the stated rationale of creating a Jewish state that was meant to ensure the safety of a group that had been victimized. If these victims then victimize another group then perhaps their state should be given back.