Condemn all kinds of antisemitism in Madison -- Reid Goldberg
Neo-Nazis marched in Downtown Madison, recently. Gov. Tony Evers, Wisconsin lawmakers and the UW-Madison chancellor promptly and correctly responded, issuing statements condemning the display of antisemitism on Madison’s streets.
But one can’t help but notice a difference in how these folks respond to antisemitism coming from certain hateful groups compared to that of others.
In the days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, a pro-Palestine demonstration took place on Madison’s campus, which saw energized participants chanting slogans praising the horrific actions of so-called “martyrs” and “freedom fighters” who deliberately slaughtered more than 1,000 civilians. In the wake of those demonstrations, many local leaders were not so quick to speak out.
Presumably this is because the decrying neo-Nazis, presumably aligned with the political right-wing, with statements of condemnation within hours of their shameful demonstration. Yet when college students, often aligned with the political left, display a like-minded hatred of Jews, these prominent voices in politics and academia have little to no interest in voicing direct, steadfast and outright opposition to such pernicious hatred. It’s increasingly apparent that their intolerance of antisemitism is dependent on who’s expressing it.
Reid Goldberg, Madison
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