This seems to be quite difficult to write, not least because each time I consider it, I become so overwhelmed by a fiercely depressive mood, but mostly because it should be so easy as to not require explanation and not even need to be said, it should be obvious to all but the most warped psychopaths, but genocide is always wrong, whoever commits it.
The context is, of course, the conflict between Israel and Palestine and it fills the news as well as online comment like a baleful cloud, obscuring all reasonable debate. No doubt much of this is down to cowardice, if Israel's bombing of Gaza were committed by any other country, it would be condemned on all sides of the Commons for instance, but the utter spinelessness of our political leaders on this matter leaves me in no doubt that they are afraid to stick to anything resembling a principle.
While really putting yourself out there, taking real risks to life and limb does take great courage, simply speaking up against genocide,wherever it occurs, while at a safe distance from the action, should be a simple matter of decency. It's simple at this level, denounce the atrocities of Hamas, denounce the retaliations of the Israeli military against the citizens of Gaza. But a campaign of intimidation is underway to prevent any such decency prevailing. A friend of mine who has done no more than speak against the revenge killings perpetrated by Israel has been told by at least a couple of people he'd considered friends that they had screen-shot his posts and "passed them on", to whom he has no idea. It's worth pointing out that he is Jewish, something I'd not normally mention with regard to him as it rarely comes up. In any case, he was not intimidated, but understandably found their attitude distasteful and upsetting.
A more serious case of intimidation occurred with the sacking of Artforum editor David Velasco for publishing an open letter supporting Palestine. The list of signatories of this letter is considerable and frequently eminent. Articles concerning the case can be found here: https://hyperallergic.com/853300/artforum-editor-in-chief-david-velasco-fired-after-gaza-ceasefire-letter/
and here: https://artreview.com/artforum-sacks-editor-in-chief-david-velasco-following-open-letter-on-palestine/
and the letter is at this link: https://www.e-flux.com/notes/571447/open-letter-from-the-art-community-to-cultural-organisations
While there's a very large number of signatories, some apparently went on to have second thoughts: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-world-divided-by-middle-east-petitions-2383877
I'll return to this in a moment. Not everybody felt so intimidated by the backlash: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67246847
It's ridiculous, but it seems necessary to mention that criticisms of the actions of the government of Israel is not anti-semitism. I repeat, criticisms of the actions of the government of Israel is NOT anti-semitism. To claim it is is either very stupid or very disingenuous and only serves to create cover for genuine anti-semitism. Let's not doubt that anti-semitism does really exist, it is foul and needs to be exposed, but we should not privilege anti-semitism above other kinds of racism. Both hatred of jews and hatred of arabs is of the same fabric as any other kind of racism, especially in its most extreme and humanity-denying manifestations. The many thousands of people in the streets of London (and, I'm gratified to see, Edinburgh, and no doubt many other cities, are certainly not guilty of jew-hatred, no doubt many are jews.
I wanted to make a point about that open letter. The very first name on the list of signatories is Nan Goldin, who is, of course, Jewish and many other names, some familiar, some not so, are also obviously Jewish. I refuse to believe that they are all somehow not sufficiently Jewish, or "self-hating jews" - surely they must be sufficiently self-aware to know that some people will condemn them for what is, after all, primarily a call to our common humanity?
Perhaps it would have been wise to include a condemnation of Hamas in that letter, make it clear that Hamas is not the whole of the Palestinian people, especially the children who, we are told make up a half of the population of Gaza. Similarly, the murderous, far-right government of Netanyahu is not all of Israel, far less all jews. (It isn't so long since Netanyahu was regarded as a dangerous extremist everywhere, somebody who should never be allowed anywhere near power.) But regarding Bibi Netanyahu and Hamas, read this article in Haaretz: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-20/ty-article-opinion/.premium/a-brief-history-of-the-netanyahu-hamas-alliance/0000018b-47d9-d242-abef-57ff1be90000
I do realise that finding any kind of real solution in the Middle East is very difficult, very complex and fraught with all sorts of problems that are monstrously intractable. There's hatred and a complete lack of trust on both sides. I don't have any answers, except for one. that both sides remember the other is also human and that the only alternatives to finding a reasoned and reasonable solution are either perpetual war or that one side or the other is wholly exterminated, which to any remotely normal person should be unthinkable.
