Being Jewish isn’t monolithic
I am a Jewish citizen of New Hampshire and I reject all the assertions made in Liz Gabert’s letter on April 15. Governor Ayotte’s proclamation to “End Jew Hatred Day” panders to her Jewish constituents. She is using the version of antisemitism which has been used against anyone including people like me who criticize Israel. What Gabert sees as “Jew hatred exploding across the globe,” I see as translating criticism of Israel (antizionism) into antisemitism.
Ms. Gabert speaks of Oct. 7 as the beginning of a Jewish genocide. Hamas launched an attack that everyone agrees was heinous, but the genocide of Gazans followed immediately and continues to this day. What Israel did was use the tenets of Zionism to exploit the horror we are still watching unfold with the help of the Biden and now Trump administration. Sadly the oppression of Palestinians began long ago.
Ms. Gabert assumes, falsely, that I am a member of her all-encompassing family of “the Jewish People of New Hampshire,” she most likely does not distinguish between Judaism and Israel or Gazans from Hamas. I do not support Israel’s equally heinous actions against the Palestinian people of Gaza or the West Bank who are systematically being attacked by Jewish settlers with impunity.
The painful silence of our Governor and members of Congress is because they refuse to act and stop it. It is sad to think that they won’t speak the truth because they will lose the votes of people like Ms. Gabert.