Today, as a woman of mixed Christian and Jewish background living in the United States, I do not feel free to express an opinion about the Gaza conflict without facing opposition or abuse. Only two days ago a woman who asked me to refer pregnant women to her acupuncturist business page, posted a Golda Meir quote online: “We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.” I had to do a double take. Who, exactly, was I supposed to refer to this woman? Was I meant to be racially selecting clientele for her, or did she honestly think a woman of color — any color — would find the insinuation that race dictates how much one loves one child an acceptable statement to make as a small-business owner specializing in birth and pregnancy?I chose to confront this woman in a private online forum consisting of 40 women who all trained together as doulas. I asked her why she thought her racist personal views were acceptable and appropriate for a birth professional. I was summarily removed from the forum by three women, who as far as I know see no conflict between this woman’s Zionist-derived racism and her personal career tending to pregnant women.I was, of course, told that I was anti-Semitic for confronting her. I’m sure that, having grown up swallowing Zionist propaganda about the promised land, this woman is absolutely incapable of extricating her religion from any criticism of the extremely unfortunate and unpleasant ideologies that are used to justify Israeli violence.

I have no particular affiliation with either the Palestinians or the Israelis, Judaism or Islam.  I do, however, have an ongoing academic interest in postcolonial studies and a strong feeling about my role in history as a white-skinned woman of European descent. I believe it my responsibility not only to oppose oppression but also to support oppressed people everywhere and recognize their right to resist occupation. The Palestinians are an oppressed people. Unlike the U.S.-funded Israelis, they are a people without an army, without a navy, without an air force, without free movement within, into and out of their own land. They are often denied access to basic requirements of well-being such as education, employment and medical attention because of their race and religion. While the United States channels roughly $3.1 billion of military aid to Israel every year, the Palestinians get little, though their needs are great. Despite this situation, they are people for whom, if you wish to prosper in the U.S., you cannot publicly be seen to support in any way — especially when it concerns speaking out against their continued oppression.

The fear of being tagged as anti-Semitic is why many Americans — including “progressives” such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren who continue to vote for pro-Israeli policies even when they say weakly that they do not support Israeli violence — stay silent. They cannot afford to be ostracized socially, politically and economically because of their views.Because of this silence, the pariah status of one who opposes Israeli violence and supports Palestine’s right to exist remains unspoken in the United States. We pretend it doesn’t happen. We carefully couch our opinions in phrases like “Well, both sides are at fault.” “Both sides have a point,” we say, holding our chins. We nod when someone tells us that Israel must destroy Palestine because Hamas hates all Jews and wants them dead, that Hamas uses children as human shields and parades them as martyrs. We remain silent because we do not want to upset friends. It’s a messy, complicated history. Vast religious differences come into play as well as colonialism and treaties and guilt, perhaps, about our roles and our ancestors’ collusion in a brutal history of anti-Semitism. But silence now, as before, is complicity. Silence was complicity during the civil rights movement, during apartheid, during Nazi Germany. The consequences for those who speak out vary widely, depending on the race, religion, nationality, gender, education and social and economic status of the speaker. Even Jews who speak out are targeted as traitors to their religion and people. For those of us who risk only a lost friend, a lost employer, a missed opportunity from something as simple as a Facebook status update, a marginal decrease in our income, as opposed to losing our entire family, home and livelihood, we have no excuse.

— exerpted from an article by Ruth Fowler writing for Al Jazeera America

To read Ruth Fowler’s complete article, click here.

Ruth Fowler