The recent attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, where a suspect rammed a truck into a building housing 140 children, is a chilling reminder that the line between “political criticism” and violent antisemitism has vanished.
The FBI has classified this as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. While some argue that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism “conflates” criticism of Israel with hatred of Jews, this attack proves that the perpetrators make no such distinction. The children in that school weren’t targeted for their personal political views or their stance on foreign policy; they were targeted because they were Jews.
When attackers strike a synagogue in response to events in the Middle East, they are explicitly linking the global Jewish community to the actions of the Israeli state. This is exactly why the IHRA definition is so vital: it recognizes that modern antisemitism frequently uses Israel as a pretext for terrorizing Jewish neighbors here at home.
We cannot afford the luxury of academic debate while our institutions are under siege. To oppose the right of Israel to exist, or to use Middle East tensions to justify local hostility, is to endanger Jews everywhere. I urge our community to stand with us. Our children deserve to live, learn, and pray without fear.
Veronica Darmon
Northampton