Gaza, Genocide, and Antisemitism

 Gaza, Genocide, and Antisemitism by Howard Lisnoff

Amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza, much of the world is turning a blind eye. As someone opposed to war over a lifetime, the latter is incomprehensible. There are other important issues relating to the Israel/Gaza war. Besides the repression of protest and free speech on US campuses, war is unpredictable. International law and US law have been flaunted for decades in war. The lie of collateral damage, a class of people that once was protected as noncombatants, often serves as a grotesque explanation and rationalization for murder. People seem to shrug off mass murder. Following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack against Israel, the rule of war involving proportionality of force was thrown to the wind.

Antisemitism is also growing. Antisemitism has always been present in the US. Antisemitism has been given new life by the Israel-Gaza war. The New York Times (June 2, 2025) reported on three recent incidents, culminating with the attack in Colorado on those supporting hostages held in Gaza. There, eight people were injured. Those Jews opposing Israel’s genocide are most often labeled self-hating and antisemitic, the latter is impossible for a Jew who has his/her feet on the ground and a head on one’s shoulders.  

In addition to the genocide in Gaza, is the paltry amount of humanitarian relief allowed into Gaza by Israel. Mass starvation of Palestinians, including children, is taking place. This is accomplished with the complicity of the US and the endless US weapons flowing into Israel. Mass starvation is collective punishment of a civilian population in a war-torn area. The latter is banned by the Geneva Conventions. This is reporting from the New York Times (June 3, 2025) report on Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians seeking aid:

“Israeli soldiers opened fire Tuesday morning near crowds of Palestinians walking toward a new food distribution site in southern Gaza, the Israeli military said. The Red Cross and Gaza health ministry said at least 27 people had been killed.” 

“For many, the connections to other recent outbursts of violence were impossible to miss. The attack in Boulder came less than two weeks after two Israeli Embassy employees were shot and killed as they left a reception at a Jewish museum in Washington. A month earlier, an arsonist set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion on the first night of Passover while Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, slept upstairs with his family.” (New York Times, June 2025).

Donald Trump’s reaction to the horrific assault against people in Colorado was telling:

“But Trump’s post made no mention of Jews or antisemitism. He pinned blame for the attack [in Colorado] on former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies and said it was a reminder of “why we must keep our borders SECURE.” (Soliman, who emigrated from Egypt, had overstayed his visa and applied for asylum, officials at the Department of Homeland Security said.) Stephen Miller, a deputy White House chief of staff, also made no mention of antisemitism in his posts on social media about the attack, focusing only on the suspect’s immigration status.” (New York Times, June 2, 2025).

The Israel/Gaza war attempts to normalize genocide in a nation founded partly by those escaping the Nazi Holocaust. The hypocrisy of these two issues in the same sentence is beyond the human imagination and beyond human moral values.