An excellent, incisive piece Lucy. I echo your bewilderment at the world I find myself in. The moral inversion and institutional rot that are so embedded in Western Society is as great a threat to our stability, security and rectitude as any external threat. How do we find our way out of this morass?
The world turned upside’s down, with the introduction of the lie, not only as an tactical instrument but also as a main goal of this moral based and perfectly stikt central organised anti- Zionism.
The TRUTH that needed to trust is systematically undermined social cohesion.
Like recent with the empty boats or with Greta with the “ mistake“ posting a photo of a "starving hostage".
Today even the organisers behind the Flotillas proudly talk about how their campaign from the early start was based on lies
PLEASE make it possible to support you also through one-time donations🙏🏼
I agree about the ‘buy me a coffee’ option. I have too many paid Substack subscriptions at the moment to add more but I think your writing is excellent and I’d like to pay for it when I can.
It's also worth noting that antisemitism on the left goes back well beyond the creation of the modern State of Israel, the "socialism of fools" of the nineteenth century, when the image of the rich, exploitative capitalist was overlaid onto the much older image of the rich, exploitative Jew for political effect. Most of the left continues to be in total ignorance and denial of this history.
I didn’t know I was part of a minority. And now that I see it, I feel it dwindling too.
So sad to experience the fracturing of our Western civilizations losing the mortar of truth. I just can’t grasp how the chaotic void is being filled by unchecked private moralities. My only response is to purge my contact list of those who either can’t see the same light or maliciously manipulate the shadows cast by the light.
Seeing how widespread antisemitism became in just 2 years...I feel trapped in an inescapable darkness. How do you fight these socalled arguments when these lies are so encompassing both left and right worldviews? Even I reading a long diatribe of a " palestine supporter", knowing full well what lies or distortians the supposed arguments were , started thinking..not agreeing..but thinking how persuasive their story was. But then I read the line.." palestinans build, zionists destroy". And then I realised...all I needed to do was simply...look around..not online but at the real world. That cured my understanding of the persuasiveness right quick and I realised once again...it is not about arguments or rhetoric ...its the desire to believe the lies. And that desire comes from something way more essential to homo sapiens...ego and envy
A lot of them are!!! I pay thousands of dollars for different versions to suit different aspects of my daiky life. Spend hours refining, fact checking and debunking anything and everything I can. You're welcome to look through any of my work, critique it and I'll discuss 😉
The belief that it is one's religious or moral duty to convert or kill every Jew has been, and still is, well distributed throughout the West and former Soviet Union, and is near-universal, apparently, in the Arab world. It's a fertile ground for provocation. So of course, when the Jewish State takes up arms after the latest pogrom, people everywhere, whether on the left or right, will respond with their favorite antisemitic tropes (which you have well described). But is there more going on?
You voice an interesting observation:
"The digital echo chambers have grown so polarised it’s hard not to despair that anti-Western bots are working overtime to sabotage public discourse.2"
I have wondered if the polarization of discourse in the West is part of the ongoing effort by various actors to weaken and destroy Western Civ. In that context, mobilizing antisemitism is one more wedge issue (I mean, aside from being near and dear to Qatar's heart).
Beginning Oct. 8, the universal media campaign against Israel (before Israel had nearly gotten its act together to invade Gaza), as well as the pro-Hamas demonstrations with pre-printed signs explaining who the REAL victims were, all bespeak a widely coordinated and well-financed effort to mobilize antisemitism throughout the West. Whose agenda does that serve? Is it just the Arab world's payback for the 6 Day War, or is there a much broader coalition behind it?
I’m not sure, though, where you think I “denied accountability for Israel’s actions.” I actually wrote that this isn’t about saying Israel is immune from moral rot, and I explicitly noted that Israel is currently led by the most right-wing coalition in its history. Depending on context, I can be (and often am) very critical of Israel’s policies and leadership. But this piece wasn’t about that, it was an analysis of how both left- and right-wing forms of antisemitism fixate on Israel as “the Jew among nations,” projecting onto it a moral meaning that goes far beyond legitimate criticism of its behaviour.
You’re right that Hamas isn’t based in the West Bank, but support for Hamas there is actually much higher than in Gaza; around 70% of Palestinians in the West Bank expressed support for Hamas in recent polling, compared to less than 10% now in Gaza (last I checked). There are also other Islamist factions operating there, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad and many smaller militant networks. So while the dynamics differ from Gaza, the idea that the West Bank is somehow detached from the same ideological or militant currents isn’t accurate.
That said, none of that was really the focus of this essay. The point wasn’t to litigate specific Israeli actions in Gaza or the West Bank, but to explore the deeper double standards and moral projections (particularly on the left) that single Israel out in a way no other country is treated.
Yes, i think she misses the point with her opening statement. "When the World Split in Two, Antisemitism Found a Home on Both Sides."
1. Criticising a Jew (Soros) for doing unscrupulous things is not antisemitism. 2. What would she have Israel do against a religious culture that is sworn to anailiate them? In a life and death fight, gouging eyes is not immoral. 3. Wanting to see both sides as at fault by virtue signalling against Israel is a hold over from her lefty logic. 4. Hamas could end the war/destruction by stopping pursuing the destruction of Israel. Not the same for Israel.
I did not say criticism using Soros for doing unscrupulous things is antisemitism. I said it shows up in the mythology around George Soros. I specifically referenced an example from earlier this year Donald Trump publicly called for racketeering charges under RICO against Soros and his son, accusing them of funding violent protests, claims made without publicly available evidence. This kind of narrative feeds into long-standing antisemitic myths about shadowy, powerful Jewish financiers secretly manipulating social unrest.
An excellent, incisive piece Lucy. I echo your bewilderment at the world I find myself in. The moral inversion and institutional rot that are so embedded in Western Society is as great a threat to our stability, security and rectitude as any external threat. How do we find our way out of this morass?
I love your briljante view
The world turned upside’s down, with the introduction of the lie, not only as an tactical instrument but also as a main goal of this moral based and perfectly stikt central organised anti- Zionism.
The TRUTH that needed to trust is systematically undermined social cohesion.
Like recent with the empty boats or with Greta with the “ mistake“ posting a photo of a "starving hostage".
Today even the organisers behind the Flotillas proudly talk about how their campaign from the early start was based on lies
PLEASE make it possible to support you also through one-time donations🙏🏼
Since a few people have asked recently, I’ve set up a way to make one-off contributions. Here’s my Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/lucytabrizi
I agree about the ‘buy me a coffee’ option. I have too many paid Substack subscriptions at the moment to add more but I think your writing is excellent and I’d like to pay for it when I can.
👏👏👏 A stupendous and timely article, Lucy! You did a wonderful job on-it!
It's also worth noting that antisemitism on the left goes back well beyond the creation of the modern State of Israel, the "socialism of fools" of the nineteenth century, when the image of the rich, exploitative capitalist was overlaid onto the much older image of the rich, exploitative Jew for political effect. Most of the left continues to be in total ignorance and denial of this history.
Spot on as always Lucy. Think you may appreciate this article too: https://substack.com/home/post/p-171633378
incredible read
How not to agree Lucy?
I didn’t know I was part of a minority. And now that I see it, I feel it dwindling too.
So sad to experience the fracturing of our Western civilizations losing the mortar of truth. I just can’t grasp how the chaotic void is being filled by unchecked private moralities. My only response is to purge my contact list of those who either can’t see the same light or maliciously manipulate the shadows cast by the light.
On point, as usual Lucy 🙏🏻
I spent the first half of my life thinking we'd learned our lesson about the world's oldest hatred.
Nope.
Seeing how widespread antisemitism became in just 2 years...I feel trapped in an inescapable darkness. How do you fight these socalled arguments when these lies are so encompassing both left and right worldviews? Even I reading a long diatribe of a " palestine supporter", knowing full well what lies or distortians the supposed arguments were , started thinking..not agreeing..but thinking how persuasive their story was. But then I read the line.." palestinans build, zionists destroy". And then I realised...all I needed to do was simply...look around..not online but at the real world. That cured my understanding of the persuasiveness right quick and I realised once again...it is not about arguments or rhetoric ...its the desire to believe the lies. And that desire comes from something way more essential to homo sapiens...ego and envy
A lot of them are!!! I pay thousands of dollars for different versions to suit different aspects of my daiky life. Spend hours refining, fact checking and debunking anything and everything I can. You're welcome to look through any of my work, critique it and I'll discuss 😉
The belief that it is one's religious or moral duty to convert or kill every Jew has been, and still is, well distributed throughout the West and former Soviet Union, and is near-universal, apparently, in the Arab world. It's a fertile ground for provocation. So of course, when the Jewish State takes up arms after the latest pogrom, people everywhere, whether on the left or right, will respond with their favorite antisemitic tropes (which you have well described). But is there more going on?
You voice an interesting observation:
"The digital echo chambers have grown so polarised it’s hard not to despair that anti-Western bots are working overtime to sabotage public discourse.2"
I have wondered if the polarization of discourse in the West is part of the ongoing effort by various actors to weaken and destroy Western Civ. In that context, mobilizing antisemitism is one more wedge issue (I mean, aside from being near and dear to Qatar's heart).
Beginning Oct. 8, the universal media campaign against Israel (before Israel had nearly gotten its act together to invade Gaza), as well as the pro-Hamas demonstrations with pre-printed signs explaining who the REAL victims were, all bespeak a widely coordinated and well-financed effort to mobilize antisemitism throughout the West. Whose agenda does that serve? Is it just the Arab world's payback for the 6 Day War, or is there a much broader coalition behind it?
I appreciate the nuance of your comment.
I’m not sure, though, where you think I “denied accountability for Israel’s actions.” I actually wrote that this isn’t about saying Israel is immune from moral rot, and I explicitly noted that Israel is currently led by the most right-wing coalition in its history. Depending on context, I can be (and often am) very critical of Israel’s policies and leadership. But this piece wasn’t about that, it was an analysis of how both left- and right-wing forms of antisemitism fixate on Israel as “the Jew among nations,” projecting onto it a moral meaning that goes far beyond legitimate criticism of its behaviour.
You’re right that Hamas isn’t based in the West Bank, but support for Hamas there is actually much higher than in Gaza; around 70% of Palestinians in the West Bank expressed support for Hamas in recent polling, compared to less than 10% now in Gaza (last I checked). There are also other Islamist factions operating there, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad and many smaller militant networks. So while the dynamics differ from Gaza, the idea that the West Bank is somehow detached from the same ideological or militant currents isn’t accurate.
That said, none of that was really the focus of this essay. The point wasn’t to litigate specific Israeli actions in Gaza or the West Bank, but to explore the deeper double standards and moral projections (particularly on the left) that single Israel out in a way no other country is treated.
Yes, i think she misses the point with her opening statement. "When the World Split in Two, Antisemitism Found a Home on Both Sides."
1. Criticising a Jew (Soros) for doing unscrupulous things is not antisemitism. 2. What would she have Israel do against a religious culture that is sworn to anailiate them? In a life and death fight, gouging eyes is not immoral. 3. Wanting to see both sides as at fault by virtue signalling against Israel is a hold over from her lefty logic. 4. Hamas could end the war/destruction by stopping pursuing the destruction of Israel. Not the same for Israel.
I did not say criticism using Soros for doing unscrupulous things is antisemitism. I said it shows up in the mythology around George Soros. I specifically referenced an example from earlier this year Donald Trump publicly called for racketeering charges under RICO against Soros and his son, accusing them of funding violent protests, claims made without publicly available evidence. This kind of narrative feeds into long-standing antisemitic myths about shadowy, powerful Jewish financiers secretly manipulating social unrest.