If you find yourself looking at oppression and think to yourself “would they let this happen to the Jews!?” as a means of outrage – the answer is yes, it would happen to Jews. It has probably already happened to Jews in history and it is probably happening again now or is on track to happening again in the near future.
Yes, the restrictions in France and Sweden on halal shops also affect kosher shops.
Yes, the ban on the burkini would be similarly enforced if a Jewish woman was wearing one or something similar.
Yes, Jewish women are also affected by the “no head scarf” rule in France. It just doesn’t affect our school-going children as much because, in many Jewish cultures (but not all), we don’t cover our hair until we are married.
Yes, in the last few years: Jewish people have been second class citizens not afforded the rights of citizenship because of their status as Jews. Jewish people have been told to convert, leave, or die in a country that has had Jews for 2000 years. Jewish people of the diaspora have been attacked by terrorists, especially in France. Jewish people have been targeted and beaten for being visibly Jewish. Jewish people have been murdered for being Jewish.
We will not be part of your “oppression olympics” to prove other marginalized groups have it worse. We are not above our oppression; our oppression is not solely historical. Many laws that target Muslims also target Jews. Many people shouting against Muslims also shout against Jews. We are also targeted by the KKK and white supremacy. Yes, even if you think Jews are white, white supremacists don’t. Surprise. We are targeted for being Jewish, for having connections to Israel (regardless of our individual feelings on the matter). We are targeted whether we are religious or secular. We, the Jewish people, have had targets on our backs for over 2000 years and we continue to wear those targets today. Just because you don’t see it (or dismiss it because of your confirmation bias that Jews are no longer oppressed) doesn’t mean Jewish people don’t still go through these things.
So, again: would they let this happen to the Jews? The answer is always yes.
On a related note, if you are talking about a racialized tragedy, don’t use the Holocaust as a comparative device. Yes, people do tell Jews to “just get over” the Holocaust, people don’t always treat it with respect, sometimes we have trouble getting people to even admit it happened. You just don’t see it because you rarely make room for Jews in your social justice.
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Mooncustafer 