Notes From a (Still) Progressive Jew
Recently, I posted this on Twitter: “There's an attempt to paint Zionist Jews as politically conservative. So, just to clarify: I am a Zionist because I'm a progressive who also believes Jews should be counted as marginalized people who deserve self-determination and freedom from persecution in our homeland.”
I received the expected influx of antisemites informing me how evil Zionists are. They are easy to block and dismiss. But there were others who told me that I was debasing myself by begging progressives to accept me as a Jew.
Author Ben M. Freeman, who wrote Jewish Pride: Rebuilding a People, told me in a podcast last year: “Actually, I don't consider myself a member of the progressive world anymore. But I will say that my values have not changed. My values are my values, and no one can take that away from me. But I am not going to go to a party I am not invited to. I do not want to spend emotional energy in spaces that are not welcoming. I'm still a Jew with progressive values. But I will not throw my own community under the bus to satisfy the anti-Jewish hunger of the progressive world.”
His stance resonated deeply with me. We're Jews, with a unique identity that defies modern binaries of liberal and conservative. Our position is complex because antisemitism is a troubling constant, found at both extremes of the political spectrum.
Some conservatives, notably eager about the antisemitic "squad," have started envisioning a "Jexodus"—a mass exodus of Jews from the left to the right. While a handful might make this leap, I won't be joining them. This is simply another chapter in an old narrative—we remain a people apart.
Yet, the rise of antisemitism within progressive circles won't force me into the arms of MAGA conservatism. My answer to the bigotry isn't a pivot in my ethical compass. We stand as people apart, unwilling to compromise our values or beliefs. Our search for a political home may be unending, but that should not deter us from taking stands that align with our values.
Many conservatives can barely contain their excitement over the antisemitic “squad,” so they're inventing words like "Jexodus" in anticipation of Jewish hordes suddenly voting with white nationalists and neo-Nazis. Maybe some will. Not me. This is just a continuation of an old story. Jews are a people apart.
Antisemitic undertones within the Black Lives Matter organization do not undermine the fundamental truth that black lives do matter. The same principle applies to the political divide. Left-wing antisemitism does not invalidate the core tenets of progressive ideology that I align with.
Today, we find ourselves at a crucial junction. Our community is caught in an ancient tug-of-war—to either confront the world amidst mounting conflict or retreat further into ourselves. Now is the time to firmly reject antisemitism wherever it is found, but not to jettison our need to engage with the world by pointing out injustice. I don’t do it because I want to make the non-Jewish world happy or beg for their approval. I do it because that is the way I was raised as a Jew and as the son and grandson of Holocaust survivors.
Last week, I wrote about my family’s support of integration in Georgia in the early ‘1970s. Today, unfortunately, Jewish support for the civil rights struggle is forgotten by many in the black community. But we never did it for gratitude or recognition. We supported it because it was right. It’s hard, I know. But whoever said being Jewish was going to be easy?