It may be true that ‘being Jewish does not confer authority to speak on anything’ but as Dr Emanuele says, ‘if you are Jewish you cannot be labelled as antisemitic’. And then he labels certain letter writers with a conscience as anti semitic. He knows that all too often an opinion from an Episcopalian is dismissed out of hand. Well, if you cannot be labelled as antisemitic, what’s with the gatekeeper gagging clause? Maybe the signatories to the letter in the newspaper wanted to state their descendancy from Shem in order not to be judged as anti-semitic but to be seen as people with an opinion to be considered rather than dismissed unheard.
How can Dr Emanuele suggest that if you feel you should protest about the actions against the people of Gaza, it is irrelevant that at the same time you are Jewish? I would suggest that he is keen to label anyone who is horrified by what the Israeli people there are doing in Gaza as anti-semitic. No, they are anti but they are anti the actions of the Israeli government. If a practising Catholic puts on a condom, are they anti-Catholic i.e. against all Catholics? Of course not.
Why would he want to say that disputing, - for example questioning the inhumanity of the phosporous air strikes, - is like a gatekeeper breaking a taboo? Does this mean all the Jewish peoples must hold the same views, have no debate nor ever agree to differ? Not very healthy, bit like a very left wing or very right wing regime! They always lead to disaster.
It has certainly put the wind up me, for one, hearing people in the media talking of ethnic cleansing, it reminds me of Ben Gurion and “Plan D” , and I, for one, don’t wish to be part of it.