By Marc Nodell
Since Oct. 8, while the bodies of Israeli boys, girls, men and women were still smoldering, we saw a number of local elected bodies, such as city councils, mayors, boards of supervisors and even school boards, proposing and passing resolutions calling for an unconditional cease-fire by Israel in Gaza.
This effort, which condemns Israel and appeases Hamas and its supporters, has only increased in volume and virulence and shows no sign of abating.
It is stunning that these local government bodies are focusing on resolutions about matters that they have absolutely no control or influence over, while all too frequently ignoring those issues that are actually within their purview, such as crime, affordable housing, fair elections, homelessness and drug addiction.
When confronted, these cease-fire proponents claim they need to have their voices heard as representatives of the people. While they certainly should speak up if they desire, they should do so as individuals and not as representatives of the community who elected them to focus on issues close to home. They should never use their official letterhead or website to promote their own personal agendas.
But the more serious problem with these “cease-fire and Israeli condemnation” resolutions is that they are unfair and one-sided.
Ask yourself the following:
Did these government bodies ever condemn the barbaric actions of Hamas in the days or weeks following the Oct. 7 massacre?
Did they speak publicly about the women who were gang raped, tortured, mutilated and murdered, or the babies and children who were burned alive?
Did these cease-fire resolution promoters ever reach out to the Jewish community to express sympathy, concerns and anger to a community that was reeling in pain and anguish?
Have they ever passed a resolution condemning the Chinese government on their enslavement, torture, rape and mistreatment of their Muslim population, the Uyghurs?
Have they condemned the ongoing genocide of Christian Nigerians (over 50,000 to date) who have been murdered, and women and girls raped and kidnapped by Boko Haram, which is driven by the same ideology as Hamas?
Have they condemned the enslavement of Black Africans by Arabs and Muslims (over 500,000), as documented by the African-Jewish Alliance, which is bringing attention to this shamefully ignored issue?
Have they condemned Hamas for keeping 130 hostages and sexually assaulting Israeli women and girls daily, according to reports?
Have they condemned Hamas, Saudi Arabia or Iran for the murders of gay and LGBTQ+ people, or acknowledged that Israel treats the LGBTQ+ community with respect and full rights?
These same bodies scream about equity, fairness and protection of minorities, but have they ever condemned the meteoric rise of antisemitism in our public K-12 schools and the attacks on Jewish students at universities?
Have they ever asked us what it is like to need to have armed security at our synagogues, religious schools and cultural events?
They talk about proportionality and the humanitarian crisis, yet they must know that the Allies in World War II did not worry about that because they knew German civilians would be killed as we were fighting for our lives. Why then is it only when Israel defends itself from barbaric assaults that proportionality become so important?
It is fair and justified to criticize the Israeli government. What is not justified is to hold Israel to a standard that no other country or people are held to, and that is exactly what they are doing. And that is the very definition of antisemitism.
In the words Emile Zola, “J’accuse.” I accuse you of antisemitic behavior, not because of your criticism of Israel, but because your actions meet the classic definition as newly recast in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition. They indeed are “[a]pplying double standards by requiring of it [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.”
Are the actions of these “cease-fire” groups based on antisemitism, virtue signaling, vote pandering or some other motivation? Only they can answer that. Are the people supporting these resolutions antisemitic?
Not necessarily. Many think they are just doing the right thing, but they should ask themselves a truly serious question — would they apply the same criticism if it were their families, friends and neighbors who were murdered, burned alive, raped and kidnapped?
My guess is that they would do everything they could to get their loved ones back home and to re-create a deterrence so that those who thought of doing it again, as Hamas has promised to do, would think twice.
I suggest that rather than pass resolutions that are ill-conceived, counterproductive and divisive, they should use their leadership positions to try and bring communities together to foster a truer understanding of the situation in Gaza and the Middle East.
Marc Nodell is a long-time resident of Northern Virginia who previously worked for a large multi-national organization and in the biotech industry. He is active in fighting antisemitism by working with such groups as the AMCHA initiative and local grass-roots organizations.
