Anti-Semitism is a form of hatred, and it is wrong (Short)

but we need to be careful about not to create the impression that it is the only form of hatred that matters, or the only form of hatred that should be addressed.

As Haley Stevens has been making news recently regarding her endorsement of Mike Rogers, there is a certain message that she espoused with her endorsement that I would like to draw attention to. Her message that Abdul El-Sayed is spreading hate by denouncing the state of Israel and not distancing himself enough with figures like Hasan Piker. Not being vocal enough against the rise of antisemitism. There is no denying that she does have a point as antisemitism has been on the rise and should be paid attention to. Yet there is a certain danger that is created as well, that antisemitism should be our sole focus and that no other form of hatred matters. Other forms of hate exists and should be called out as well whether it is racism against black people, Asian people, Latino people, Hispanic People, Arab People, Muslim People; sexism against women and non-binary people; hate for people of certain sexual orientations such as gay and lesbian; hatred against people with disabilities whether said disabilities are mental or physical, etc. Yet these forms of hate seem to be falling to the wayside when it comes to how dominant antisemitism has come into focus. It feels as though antisemitism is being put on a pedestal, demanding that it receives the attention it deserves and that any other form of hatred pales in comparison to it.

Of course, this is not to say that antisemitism shouldn’t be taken seriously. Haley Stevens is right to be concerned about the rise of antisemitism and the long history associated with antisemitism. Yet the solution should be to tackle all forms of hatred at once, not just focus on addressing one form of hatred while ignoring others. Yet with antisemitism, we risk running into that very danger where we focus solely on it while ignoring others. Addressing one form of hate while letting another form of hate fester and grow is a horrible tragedy, not a success. If by addressing antisemitism, we do nothing to address anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigotry, then how is this considered a success? Aren’t we just replacing one form of hatred for another instead of seeing a decline of hate in general?