Not in My Name

I have written extensively here about antisemitism and the ways in which allegations of antisemitism have been used to demonize activists and justify the revocation of civil liberties. 

Now, this administration's executive orders that claim to be driven by efforts to curtail antisemitism and "protect Jewish students" are being used to enact extraordinary measures against an individual with a valid green card, a status that is meant to protect him against deportation.

Regardless of my feelings about Mahmoud Khalil's specific views on Israel and Palestine, I must condemn his arrest and detention without due process as profoundly un-American. Not only that, but it goes against my deeply-held Jewish values that call for the pursuit of justice. Tzedek, tzedek tirdof.

Peaceful protests and counter-protests related to the Israel-Gaza war in Union Square, June 2024

Last summer, I walked through Union Square to witness pro-Palestinian protests and pro-Israel counter-protests. Later that evening, I rode the train back to my hotel with a group of festive young people wearing keffiyehs in ways that seemed more performative than genuine to me. Do I wish that everyone would spend more time delving deeply into each other's history rather than shouting slogans? Yes. Did I feel unsure and a little unsafe around those people. Yes. 

Yet, I see no safety in a world where protecting one group is used as justification to oppress another. Lynch mobs and "driving out" mobs have long claimed to be acting to protect women and children. I am a woman with children, but a world without due process can never make me feel safer. (Similarly, I was outraged by the use of "defending women" to justify anti-trans edicts...)

Thus, I must stand with the NYCLU, and not the ADL on this issue. Not by might, and not by power, but by spirit alone shall we all live in peace.