As both a resident of Jefferson County and as a Jewish person, I’m writing to condemn Representative Alex Mooney for voting in favor of HR 888 and further perpetuating the dangerous notion that anti-Israeli criticism is antisemitic. While antisemitism is deplorable, as is any other type of hate speech, anti-Israeli commentary is aimed at the actions of the State of Israel, and the political movement of Zionism, not the Jewish people.

Israel is not a theocracy. Biden has repeatedly declared that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. According to the Pew Research Center, there are Israeli groups who would prefer the state rule in accordance with Judaism (“Israel’s Religiously Divided Society,” March 8, 2016). But the reality, at least for now, is that there is a separation of church and state in Israel. In addition to this, nearly 20 percent of Israelis are not Jewish.

Ironically, it is because our representatives continue to conflate the State of Israel with the Jewish people that antisemitism is on the rise. For the last 50-some days, Israel has been engaged in a spree of horrific crimes against the Palestinian people. Naturally, people are angry. Unfortunately, because the American public has been misled, many assume that Israel commits these crimes in the name of all Jews, and lash out accordingly. But this is completely untrue.

Across the world, secular and religious leaders in the Jewish community have condemned Israel. Gabor Mate, an award-winning author and Holocaust survivor, was interviewed on Piers Morgan and expressed what many feel, “Israel has a right to defend itself — but it doesn’t have the right to impose an occupation on people.” In the U.S., the organization Jewish Voices for Peace works to pressure Israeli leadership to end the occupation and demand “Palestinian human rights and equality between Palestinians and Israelis” (Nadia Hijab, “At a Jewish Voice For Peace Conference: This Is What Solidarity Looks Like,” March 20, 2015, The Nation).

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would love for us to believe the lie that criticizing Zionism is antisemitic. But, no matter how many times our local leaders misrepresent the truth, we are not stupid. When we say we are anti-Zionist, we are speaking to a specific political ideology, one Netantyahu ascribes to, that believes Israel deserves to oppress, occupy and destroy as it sees fit for its own power and gain (Rashida Tlaib, “Anti-Zionism Isn’t the Same as Anti-Semitism,” Dec. 7, 2018, New York Times). When the Nazis committed genocide against Jewish people, they were wrong. Now, as Zionists commit genocide against Palestinians, they are wrong. It’s as simple as that.

Skadi Cooke, of Shannondale