Expert: Berkeley orgs’ antisemitism symptomatic of Left’s discrimination

Nine UC Berkeley student organizations’ openly anti-Zionist bylaw revisions have aroused attention across the Golden State. David Bernstein, author of “Woke Antisemitism: How a Progressive Ideology Harms Jews,” dives into the Left’s “corrosive” antisemitic ideology on the Med Israel for fred (MIFF) YouTube channel. To receive daily updates of new Opp Now stories, click here.

Woke ideology holds two basic pillars. One, that bias and oppression are embedded in the very systems and structures of society. It’s not just a matter of personal attitude. And two, that only those who have lived experience, only those who have suffered from that oppression, have the insight and, really, the moral standing to define for the rest of society. And it’s that second claim, that standpoint claim that only those with lived experience of oppression can define it, that can be used to shut down debate. It can be used to impose dogma on society. … (2:42–3:18)

We’re living in an age of ideology. We’re living in an age of right-wing ideologies. We’re living in an age of left-wing ideologies. And these ideologies can take antisemitic forms that are in society and give them a permission structure. So, for example, on the right, you have replacement theory, which is a very popular idea on the extreme right, which is that immigrants are coming into this country and replacing the average American worker. And Jews are oftentimes blamed for doing the replacing. (3:30–4:03)

When we talk about antisemitism on the left, however, we often talk about a symptom without a cause, as if it just somehow came from outer space and landed on Earth one day. And I think what we’re seeing, of course, is that we’ve long had antisemitism on the left. We saw it in the Soviet Union in the form of anti-Zionism, but that also was embedded in a far left-wing totalitarian ideology. It didn't come from nowhere, either. This is being empowered by this ideology on the left I call Woke ideology or radical social justice ideology. (4:26–4:59)

The left-wing antisemitism we're seeing is corrosive. It corrodes the Jewish position in society. It disenfranchises Jews from politics. It makes it impossible for Jews to participate in social justice coalitions. It brings about over time this idea that Jews are a privileged class within society and are complicit in white supremacy. (7:08–7:34)

And it demands that you give up some key aspect of your identity in order to fit in. I think that’s really, truly tragic. We’ve seen Jewish institutions and Jewish schools teaching this ideology and teaching kids that they’ve been complicit in white supremacy, that they’ve taken advantage of their whiteness. And besides being untrue and outrageous, I think that's a terrible way of imparting Jewish pride to a younger generation. (33:23–33:56)

Watch the whole thing here.

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