Pro-Palestinian speech is a stance for liberation, not antisemitism

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Nearly 30 years ago, on Mar. 21, 1994, The Daily Orange published a letter to the editor titled “Redefine antisemitism.” That year, an Israeli-American mass murderer and religious extremist opened fire on 800 Palestinians and killed 29 to further Zionist political ideology. In a West Bank-occupied mosque, the murder was carried out as Palestinian Muslims gave prayer during Ramadan. They were martyred in their most vulnerable state, kneeling before God. Further settler violence led to another 21 killed and a total of 125 Palestinians injured. The horrific slaughter is known as the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre.

The letter was in response to antisemitic accusations over a political cartoon published in The Daily Orange. As described by the writer, the sketch depicted an “injured Palestinian dove sitting on the steps of a mosque,” honoring the lives stolen. The background featured the extremist holding a gun with his shadow forming the Star of David, which “symbolized the terrorist Baruch Goldstein’s nationality,” not his Jewish faith.

The writer pondered “What is antisemitism?”: not over the essence of its basic definition, but of its conflations. Although not explicitly, the letter grapples with the very conversations we are still having today, over how anti-Israel and anti-Zionist sentiments are misconstrued to be ones of antisemitism. As the Israeli flag co-opts the Star of David, any imagery of the flag used to criticize the state is disingenuously portrayed as anti-Jewish. The writer rejected this mischaracterization, writing that “what the cartoon depicted was just a reflection of reality” — Israeli violence against Palestine.

“It’s OK to judge what genuinely is antisemitic and what is not. But it would be ignorant to look away from the bloody picture of innocent worshipers and into other trivial things,” the writer concluded. Trivial, meaning focusing on distortions meant to distract from serious atrocities. To the critic, he wrote “I hope you redefine something else — your values.”

The letter was penned by class of 1994 senior Omar Haque, my father.

Courtesies of Emane Haque

Omar Haque’s 1994 letter to the editor.
Daily Orange Archives

Due to the destruction and discord sowed by British colonialism in South Asia, my father’s family fled violence in India as refugees and immigrated to Pakistan. Their connection with their ethnic homeland has been severed and has never been restored since.

Following in the steps of my dad, who contested ethnonationalism, occupation and apartheid, I have felt compelled to continue to act and write in support of liberation for all.

I believe many of us see ourselves reflected in the Palestinian struggle, which was made even clearer to me when attending Syracuse University’s “Shut It Down For Palestine” walkout.

For a moment, beyond the misguided narratives surrounding the walkout, I want to allow my experience of SU and SUNY ESF’s protests to stand alone.

To the speaker who has never been able to meet her family in occupied Palestine, the man whom Israel has prevented from returning to his wife and child in Gaza, the public servant who called on social workers to do better, the brave little boy with the Palestinian flag on his back like a superhero: I was so grateful to hear voices directly connected to Palestine as a part of our Syracuse community.

It also cannot be ignored that a large number of the protesters were Black students, highlighting the particular connection between Black Americans and Palestinians who fight against American and Israeli state-sanctioned violence.

Equally inspiring was the Cree two-spirit activist who spoke on solidarity between Indigenous communities, especially pertinent when Palestinian indigeneity is denied.

I admire SU’s brown, Arab, Muslim, Jewish and queer students standing together in vulnerability. Also commendable were the white students using their privilege to grant space and protect us. To everyone else I may have forgotten to mention for their courageousness, know I am in awe of you.

I know we understand that Palestinians are not just people in some far-off land, separated from us. They are our peers, our community; they live among us. Palestinians need our grief, anger, hope, action and unwavering solidarity.

As the evening set and the protest ended, I felt uplifted. Then I saw Provost Ritter’s statement.

I refute the allegation a speaker singled out Jewish and historically Jewish organizations on the basis of their religion. With my own ears, I stood and heard the speech referenced in the letter sent out; there were no calls for watchdogging, targeting or even disruption of their “Packages for Israel” event. Ritter and Senior Vice President Allen Groves have misled our community and harmed the SU Palestinian cause in ways that cannot be undone.

The email fails to address what actions by the organizations led the speaker to declare them as “complicit in genocide,” which was for sending aid packages to Israel amid their war crimes. I believe that specifying each campus organization by name not only ensured accuracy in understanding which actors were involved but also made sure to not coalesce the entire Jewish student body as those who approve of Israel’s genocidal campaign. These critiques were not aimed at any private individual, but the organizations who partnered with or hosted the event in their names. It would be antisemitic and a horrific generalization to just say “All Jewish people at SU” are supporting Israel’s actions, which the speaker did not. It would also be an insult to those in SU’s Jewish community who stand with Palestine.

Furthermore, the speaker once again reiterated what so many of us have continuously reassured: anti-Israel speech is not antisemitic.

In the 30 years since my father’s letter, and 75 years into Israel’s colonization, those in support of Palestine are still making these basic disclaimers. As long as Israel weaponizes Jewish pain and trauma against criticism of its statehood, we are made to do so.

I hope one day pro-Palestinian speech doesn’t have to “first and foremost” denounce antisemitism to qualify the validity of its arguments, and that it may just be understood that the two are not in opposition.

Do not be led to believe that anti-Palestinian stances provide protective armor for the Jewish people. They do not. Anti-Palestinian and anti-Jewish sentiments are simply different sides of the same worthless coin. No matter what side you bet on, it will flip in favor of denying people’s humanity.

Do not think the suppression of Palestinian voices means your voice will be heard. Institutions, like SU, do not have some innate maternal care for their people. They prioritize nurturing nothing but their own interests first. Remember the hardships THE General Body Sit-In and #NotAgainSU faced. Look at SU’s continued failure to properly address racist, Islamophobic, antisemitic and homophobic hate crimes and the concerns of students.

While SU tries yet again to suppress the movements and stories of students, we remember.

Syracuse University, your unwarranted reprimand against the speaker for their fair criticism, your threat of unnecessary FBI surveillance against marginalized communities, your failure to address the targeted campaign against Himika Bhattacharya, your relationship with Lockheed Martin and your audacity to stand on Onondaga land while repressing Indigenous voices are further blemishes on your already dismal track record.

Eventually, this institution will rot from the inside out. Or, it can fix itself while it’s still standing. If any future child of mine were to matriculate at Syracuse, I promise they would be sent here as my father sent me: to call out what we know to be wrong.

Emane Haque, Class of 2024