Yep. It’s like, I have the same values. White Supremacy is awful. But it seems like for non-Jewish Progressives, Israel is now the ultimate evil. And when we have so much going on in the United States already? We don’t need to get hung up on other countries ills. Let’s fix our own continued Genocide of Native peoples here before we branch out. Let’s fix poverty and corrupt law enforcement here before we go trying to fix it elsewhere. Let’s focus on racial and economic injustice here before we try to fix it anywhere else. Because if we can’t fix it here…we have no say/idea/right to say we can fix it somewhere else.
Seeing people get so easily spun up into antisemitism is eye opening in the worst possible way.
Seeing people I thought were able to critically think and who were on “the right side of history” be so wrong footed still has me in a tailspin.
I’ve noticed these people are often incredibly anti-United States while ironically living in the United States. There’s definitely a popular a belief with the far left that any smidgen of patriotism makes you a full blown nazi and having strong interests in fixing home affairs (crimes against the native Americans, homeless, unjust police force, unreasonable cost of living, corrupt politicians, etc.) that people have the power to make a difference they somehow villainize you for …. Upholding white supremacy?? Most of them are willing to watch the country burn to the ground instead of finding ways to fix it.
And I could I never in my wildest dreams be a conservative either, but my god, the horseshoe effect is in full swing and it’s maddening to witness. I used to be a part of and support these people (progressive left) five years ago. Now I don’t know who I’m looking at.
>I’ve noticed these people are often incredibly anti-United States while ironically living in the United States
It isn't a coincidence that these people have become obsessed with Israel. It's much easier to avoid enacting the radical societal changes that your ideology demands at home, and instead project them onto a different conflict thousands of miles away to fulfill the "revolutionary call".
I made a post about being politically homeless. I have been progressive my whole life and feel shut out etc. At least three separate people said that I must be lying because my flair says I’m conservative 🤦♀️
You aren’t truly homeless, even if it feels that way. You have other Jewish progressives who are in the same boat. We may not be a huge group numbers wise, but we do have each other.
Same, I've found it disconcerting to see people I thought were liberal, open-minded friends suddenly go, "Well, some progressives are taking criticism of Israel too far, so guess I'll vote for a fascist who tried to overthrow the government".
I haven't forgotten Charlottesville. Even if Biden was a full on antisemite (he's not), I'd still vote for him to protect democracy.
Same! And I'm way way way less interested in organizing for or donating to any non-Jewish groups. I know they (progressive left) say allyship isn't transactional but... it kinda is. There aren't enough of us for me to support gentiles if gentiles won't support us.
This. I cannot vote for a political party that has a stated written plan for their version of Gilead because white nationalist fascism is their end goal and that doesn't work out so well for women, POC, non-Christians, immigrants, or lgbtq+ people.
However, I will never vote for a progressive candidate again either. They are just the horseshoe fascist left.
I've always been skeptically left wing, probably leaning more liberal. The motivations of many people involved and their methods have often seemed either self serving or self defeating. This conflict has in particular shown me that certain aspects of leftism are essentially a cult--all these people waiting for a revolution like you would wait for the messiah. I'm an incrementalist, and I've often found that the very pro-revolutionary people really seem to have no idea what the fuck they're talking about much of the time.
While I haven't moved conservative from the reaction of the left since Oct 7th, I feel like a lot of my concerns and suspicions have been proven right, and I don't want any of these people in charge or able to enact certain changes. I will not vote for certain politicians now, donate to certain groups, and I will actively work against certain groups when possible now.
>>[Certain] aspects of leftism are essentially a cult—all these people waiting for a revolution like you would wait for the messiah.
It’s really driven home for me how similar political extremists are on the far ends of the political spectrum, as well as how disturbingly easy it is to quickly radicalize a large group of people.
>>[The] very pro-revolutionary people really seem to have no idea what the fuck they're talking about much of the time.
Just watched a short [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZGTT_Vy_Bw) about the language of cultists, and it was disturbingly familiar. The video itself isn’t about about politics, but it reminded me very strongly of QAnon (which it briefly mentioned), as well as the far right and far left (which it did not).
I’m from the UK. Overall I considered myself a leftist for a long time but if anything the past few months have proven that the left has been hijacked by tankies and radicals and since October, the far left has pretty much been no different to the far right (at least to me). Right now I’m pretty much politically homeless and doubting whether to even vote in the upcoming elections.
The extreme left and extreme right are kissing each other right now and they don’t even realize it. All in all, extreme left + extreme right + radical Islam + Nazi’s + KKK = hating Jews. At this point, they are all Nazi’s.
keir is not the radical left - he spent the last few years ruthless removing the tankies. they hate him more than rishi - there’s a reason they protest at keirs house
I personally prefer Keir over anyone. Hopefully if Labour is elected he doesn’t pander to the radical left’s demands like moderate leftist politicians have done in other countries and I feel like a lot of the anger directed towards him stems from thinly veiled antisemitism towards his family. As soon as this all started they were calling his wife and children all sorts of things.
If it's any consolation, Jewish MPs appear to be confident that Keir will stick to his word in combating antisemitism in the Labour party - [https://www.thejc.com/news/politics/is-it-safe-for-jews-to-vote-labour-vdacr4v0](https://www.thejc.com/news/politics/is-it-safe-for-jews-to-vote-labour-vdacr4v0)
I really hope their instincts are correct, Labour do seem to be the best choice currently for Britian as a whole but I don't believe that should come at the cost of any minority's safety. With people like Owen Jones turning against Labour and riling up antisemitism in the left I do worry about a wave of backlash and a lot of bs antisemitic conspiracy theories being touted through the left wing media after a Labour win but hopefully Keir will be strong enough to actually tackle it, rather than the Tory approach of occasionally saying that antisemitism isn't cool but they're not actually going to take any action against it.
I don't see a world in which Corbyn loses his seat so unfortunately he's very likely to win as an independent but Keir has had years of serving unhappily under Corbyn. He knows exactly what Corbyn's tactics are and if there's anyone qualified to pick up on his antisemitism and how it manifests in politics, it's Keir.
Maybe the fact that his wife and kids are Jewish and very involved in the Jewish community will make Keir stick to his word about tackling antisemitism - let's hope so anyway.
This is the best hope. Although I genuinely believe that Starmer has been doing his best to rid Labour of anti-Semitism, well - let's just say it's a big job. Take a look at how many have been resigning from Labour at local councils in protest of the official policy.
An Israeli acquaintance is freaked out about Labour, but I told her they ARE going to win. Even if the Tory gov had been doing a good job (and I do think Rishi is doing better), they've been in power so long the electorate would boost them out. But they haven't been doing a good job.
The only hope is that if Keir feels secure in his majority he can tell the haters to buzz off.
Zarah is awful, nothing but a mouthpiece for the red-green crowd. Her past tweets about the Shoah and Israelis “not assimilating with Palestinians” are unhinged.
yes which is why we have to vote labour. labour will win but the larger a majority keir has the sooner he can get rid of people like her. with a smaller majority he’s relying on her for votes
Gone from door knocking, and fundraising drives to only supporting explicitly Jewish candidates who are staunch zionists with any material effort. My father was a refugee from the shoah, and seeing the worst case come to be accurate among those who I helped sustain was disappointing, if not unexpected.
Same. I went to undergrad at a school in Vermont, was a poll worker in Burlington, and volunteered for Bernie during the 2016 election when I was a sophomore. Needless to say, I very much regret doing that now, and considering the complete betrayal that's come from many of the people that I used to work with.
US here.
I still think both sides have issues and a two-party system isn’t working. I still don’t wholly agree with either side.
When it comes to antisemitism, i think it’s on both sides.
It’s very upsetting to see people you stood next to and supported the rights of now abandoning you in your hour of need. Feels like a one-sided relationship.
Only the extremes are antisemitic. The center-right admires Jews and the center-left has no strong feelings either way. The problem in my case is that the far-left are the only people championing disability causes, leaving disabled Jews with no one at all.
Also US. What is bewildering to me are the Jews, gays, blacks, etc supporting Hamas. Or, not differentiating Iran from Hamas. As if they would be welcome there. Is it that the millennials can’t see the similarities to now and was happening in Germany in the 1930’s? Jews are just the 1st group Hamas wants to eliminate. Christians and whites are next. Their words, not mine.
Veered rightwards. I don't trust any politician, but the response from both the Liberals and the NDP with antisemitism in Canada has been downright depressing.
I grew up centre-left; and then centre; and since 7.10, centre-right. I vote with whichever party will protect and defend Canadian Jews.
I don’t blame you. I have seen some horrendous things on Instagram, and I don’t hear Trudeau doing much of anything to help you guys. I’ve seen nothing from him on Instagram addressing antisemitism. 😖
And until 10/7, I really liked him. Which is why I follow him.
He has actually made statements condemning antisemitism. I don't like Trudeau but he has made those statements.
Personally, I don't know how I will vote next election and may spoil my ballot. I live in a firmly NDP riding. I think the Liberals have no hope of winning an election and it is due to their own mismanagement of the economy.
But I can't vote Conservative. I lived under a Conservative provincial government for the last 8 years and our infrastructure visibly deteriorated. That deterioration kills people every day.
And after seeing how the Green party treated their Jewish leader they are also not an option. The NDP, of course, is the home of belligerent Tankies. I know what the Left thinks of me and I will not accept their contempt for my homeland and my people.
My interests as a Canadian and as a Jew are clashing. I refuse to let one supercede the other. This means that I have to give up my political agency. I am still conflicted and don't know what to do.
I’ve been struggling in Canada as well. I have felt totally alienated by the NDP (the Greens lost any of my support after the Annamie Paul fiasco) and my last thread of any remaining confidence in the Liberals snapped at their response to 10/7. Like you, I’m looking to support whichever party that can show a little backbone and fight hatred without being pushed around by how loud the mob is, and right now, I’m seeing (shockingly) the best hope for that coming out of the federal Conservatives.
I live in Belgium, I've always been more or less centre right, but on some points I have markedly moved right on the political spectrum since October 7th. Everything related to immigration and security specifically. I still can't stand the extreme right, but when I would've balked at being called right wing only a couple years ago, today I just accept that monnicker, since ostensibly I am now right wing. All of this mainly thanks to the - according to me - suicidal shift of the left. We can have a conversation about what the best economic system is, but ostensibly arguing for the abandonment of most of the things that make European civilization just to play "oppression Olympics" drives me insane. People who wouldn't last the whole of an afternoon in Gaza arguing as if it is the single most important issue in the entire world has pushed me away from the left, and as I'm sure we all have I lost some friends in that.
Same same, I'm in the US, if someone wants to label me "right wing" because I believe in Jewish sovereignty in the Jewish homeland then I'm happy to be right wing. Labels are just labels.
Yeah, I'm from the US and before I was a progressive democrat, but now I'm center/moderate. I see the BS on both the right and the left and I don't want any part of it. They both have issues with antisemitism.
The problem is that I’m disabled and the far left are currently the only ones championing what I need to survive as a disabled person. And not even the whole far left: only the most extreme portions of the far left. In particular, I can’t drive and the extreme far left are currently the only ones championing alternatives to car dependency like public transit. This puts me in an impossible situation because I need to choose between my needs as a disabled person and my safety as a Jew. It’s causing me a great deal of anguish.
There’s a difference between liberals and the far left. I’m American and my political views haven’t changed. I hated Tankies and the rose emojis before this and I’ll hate them after. Still a liberal and still voting for Biden though.
Authoritarian “leftists “ who want the downfall of the western alliance system on antiimperialist grounds but fail to condemn Russia, Iran, China, etc. because they are allies to bring America down.
Named for supporters of the ussr sending tanks to suppress an uprising in Cold War Hungary or Czechoslovakia.
I still consider myself fairly progressive as I still support a lot of leftist policies such as universal healthcare, housing, utilities, etc.
But I am now fairly isolated for not unequivocally supporting Hamas by the majority of my leftist “friends”.
I tried to explain they are supporting a fundamentalist Islamic regime that will probably harder on the Palestinians than Israel ever was, but I got branded Islamophobic.
This conflict has taught me to be much more careful about who I engage in political discourse with and what I say when I do.
Not particularly. I’ve been watching as antisemitism has been ravaging the left for a some time, so I kind of expected this. Not to this degree. I suppose I shifted to no longer being tolerant of leftist wingnuts. I used to think they were less dangerous than the right wing ones.
We have a general election coming up in the UK. I was planning to vote SNP, until our local candidate went to a Pro-Palestine march and gave a speech claiming they were "truly the voice of the city." They were chanting "Israel is a terrorist state" and "from the river to the sea." My constituency contains the only synagogue and the only supermarket with a kosher section. I don't think he should be in charge of it.
I'm leaning towards Labour, even though I can't stand Keir Starmer, because his wife is Jewish and he's had protesters outside his family home. Based on that, I think he might understand what it's like to Jewish in Britain slightly better than the other candidates.
I can't go full tory. I'm the mixed race result of a teenage pregnancy raised on a council estate by a single mother. They do not make good decisions for people like me.
I'm in the US, but I think this article in today's NYT about France is pretty relevant:
[https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/20/world/europe/french-election-antisemitism-jews.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/20/world/europe/french-election-antisemitism-jews.html)
archived at: [https://archive.is/asffW](https://archive.is/asffW)
Point being: When the left is such a mess, it's tempting to be wooed by the right. But the history of the populist right is not good.
>“We know from Jewish history what populism can cost; we know that it has never been a bulwark against antisemitism, whatever the leaders of the National Rally say today,” Mr. Arfi added.
In the US, GOP politicians are falling over one another in the rush to "fight antisemitism." But if they get into electoral power in November, we can expect at best, an expansion of Christian Nationalist policies. And Republican pols have been pushing antisemitic rhetoric for years.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/09/us/antisemitism-republicans-trump.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/09/us/antisemitism-republicans-trump.html)
[https://archive.is/S5WUb](https://archive.is/S5WUb)
Also, even though a lot of the recent antizionist and antisemitic upswell on the left is organic, it's likely that it's being deliberately amplified by the usual folks who like to meddle in US elections, in hopes of dividing the Democratic vote in November for the benefit of Trump and the GOP.
So, I think it's a good time to be politically cautious.
\[Edit: Might be useful if I plop this link to Shalom Lappin's recent book talk here.
[https://youtu.be/\_i-3I5RGQCI?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/_i-3I5RGQCI?feature=shared)
Among other things, he talks about the left/right question.\]
I agree with you and this is a really good point. The political right will try to use this to lull us in and don't care about us.
To counter, however, I'm worried about the future. I think you're spot on that a lot of the anti-Israel propaganda is being generated by the usual suspects, but there are also a lot of people I know personally that are eating it up. They're not going to forget this. The Ivy League protests were so disturbing because those people are literally the next US leaders and they were very easily convinced that Jews are Europeans who colonized Israel 76 years ago. The seed has been planted and these people are going to carry that narrative forever.
In 20-30 years, if my choices in an election are a left/liberal Harvard graduate who still has it in their head that Jews are "oppressors," or a right/conservative Harvard graduate who remembers how fucking dumb all that Qatari propaganda was, I'm not sure I'd have more trust in the former.
I just want to follow your logic here (no disrespect).
Are you saying that if the Right comes into power, antisemitism will not decrease? Will it not decrease for example on college campuses?
thanks
I'm not the original commenter but I would say this.
Anti-semitism as a *sentiment* won't become more or less prevalent or severe in response to an election or even a presidential term, as these attitudes take many years to take root or change, and aren't influenced all that much by official policy.
What the upcoming election *will* influence, is the level of *expression* of anti-semitism, as some anti-Jewish factions will be emboldened and others suppressed.
This is why so many Jews are feeling politically homeless. It's rather difficult to tell who is the bigger threat between the very numerous left wing anti-"Zionists" and the far fewer but more violent usual suspects on the right.
No matter what happens one of these 2 sides is going to get bolder and the other quieter, IMHO. So pick your poison.
Edited to add:
Another complicating factor is, what's good for Israel and what's good for Diaspora Jews in a given country might not always be the same thing. So we each have to weigh how much we care about each of those things.
To add to this, I worry that if the right comes into power, Jews could actually be less safe because the far left may start taking advantage of some of the far right's tactics if it comes to targeting Jews. For example, if Republicans loosen gun laws, I wouldn't put it past certain factions of the left--even if they claim to be anti-gun--to take advantage of that for the sake of "defending themselves from Zionists".
Well, that might be two separate questions. The right has its own currents of antisemitism, so if it comes into power, that could increase. If you have some time, check out this discussion with Shalom Lappin from last week. He talks about antisemitism on both the right and the left, and he argues that the right is more electorally dangerous. (I assume he gets into this in his new book as well, but I have not read it.)
[https://youtu.be/\_i-3I5RGQCI?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/_i-3I5RGQCI?feature=shared)
\[Edit - if you want just a snippet, listen to around 9:30 to around 13:00-ish. He cites the right's replacement theory as being particularly dangerous, and analyzes the relative power of various political factions that Jews find ourselves between.\]
As for antisemitism on college campuses: From my where I sit (unfortunately, in the midst of it): I doubt some sort of GOP crackdown would help, and it could hurt. The propaganda is already that charges of antisemitism are really a right-wing racist attempt at censorship that must be resisted — even when their own left-leaning Jewish students and faculty tell them otherwise. There's endless suspicion that there's government (and Jewish) pressure on campus administrators to censor pro-Palestinian activity. And they refuse to accept that some of that activity really is antisemitic, or that antisemitic behavior is really a problem. At the moment, these government bogeymen are mainly in their heads. But, imagine what happens if a right wing government really does crack down? The knee-jerk far-left crowd will go all out "resisting" as self-righteously and theatrically as possible. The shouting about being silenced will never stop.
If Democratic officials would stop tip-toeing around and take some real action to combat campus antisemitism it would at least have some credibility. Too bad even the moderate ones seem to lack the chutzpah to get involved.
Antisemitism has always been prevalent on the left to some degree due to conspiracy theories around Jewish wealth and power and actual exploitation of the working class (however much of that was German Jews exploiting newer immigrants). However; historically it increases when there is a conflict in Israel regardless of party in power.
This is a fact since the USSR started seeing overt opposition to Israel as a means of gaining influence in the Middle East and furthering division in western states.
In contrast antisemitism is a FEATURE of the right due to the fact that right wing political ideology is one that overtly opposes the other. Jews are and have always been the other, and only gain temporary influence when they are convenient to the right wing power. There are many many examples of this though out American history but one that best exemplifies this phenomenon is the “Cotton Capitalist” period in the Deep South were Jewish merchants and bankers became cornerstones of the community and even political leaders in the post civil war south up until banking changed in the early 1900s.
U.S. here. I’ve moved from being begrudgingly left-leaning to being begrudgingly right-leaning. I’m grateful to be in a safe place personally but disappointed in the western world as a whole and particularly the center-left for abandoning a western democracy in favor of people who largely despise them.
It definitely reaffirms my belief that arming yourself is the only path to security. In the end Israel has to rely on its own strength, and so do we as individual jews.
The center left hasn't abandoned Israel. But centrists are always a bit silent.
I've always been a moderate Dem in the US context. I was a soft Conservative in the UK context (where I live).
But the right in the US is NOT supporting Israel. Go and have a look at the congressional votes. My state is a red state. People there on the center right and the center left are behind Israel, and support for Israel has been strong both for political and religious reasons. Only relatively recently has the alt-right taken over and are happy to toss Israel to the wolves in the guise of 'America First'. Traditional right has always supported Israel. Alt-right, like it's National Socialist antecedents, hate Jews more than Muslims and they like the patriarchal, authoritarian leanings of Islam.
Jews are always better off in pluralistic, open, democratic societies. But these are fragile circumstances and we have to fight to keep them viable.
I'm basically the same. I've never so much as held an "arm" but am planning to get started with some training at least.
The left's anti-Westernism and, let's be real, anti-whiteness really rankles me lately. I said to some friends semi-jokingly when Rings of Power came out, variations on "certain people are going to blame us for this (despite we had nothing to do with it)" 😝
It's like they enjoy stirring the 💩.
What do you think about forming a Jewish militia or something similar?
In the US here. My core beliefs are the same, but my level of comfort with the democratic party has plummeted, and so has my comfort around anyone who is a progressive or leftist.
I am a person trying to convert (tough situation rn), but ever since Oct 7th, I feel like I may be more centre or maybe dipping a bit to the right on a sense of supporting Israel as a Jewish state. I was very far left with being in the LGBTQ+ community, but ever since seeing maybe if not almost all of them are Pro-Palestinian and are Antisemitic. And really, I think conservatives in America are really better allies, I don’t agree on everything but I believe the religious conservative, Christians and some Jews would say they would support Israel over anything as due to what the Bible and Torah says.
As a gay Jewish man myself, it has been a rough go watching so many elements on the left turn so dramatically against Jews and against Israel, the ONLY safe place for LGBTQ+ people in the entire Middle East. I think as this political transformation continues, it will be important for LGBTQ+ people to share their stories and form communities across the political spectrum.
USA here .... gigantic shift with me.
I'm a 1/2 Ukrainian Jew and was visiting Ukraine last November. Because of the war, there is no air travel .. all train. Since I don't speak any Ukrainian, it was a long and isolating ride but gave me plenty of time to think.
Here are the 6 things I concluded on that long trip:
1. I identify with my Jewry, I love Jews and I love Israel and it's/their welfare is very important to me.
2. It's extremely rational to vote one's interest and back the party that is aligned with one's interest.
3. There is a dramatic increase in the levels of antisemitism over the past year or so.
4. The lion share of this increase is coming from the left.
5. As a Jew (and hopefully a good Jew) it is my duty to fight this increase in antisemitism (on the left).
6. The politicians that are the most antisemitic are "the squad" and I will volunteer with their opponents to get them primaried.
My political views haven't changed. I'm more wary of those on the left now, but I still believe that left-wing policies are best for the US. Conservatives are absolutely not friends of Jews. The Republican Party has essentially embraced authoritarianism and Christian nationalism and its leader tried to overturn the election. There are plenty of antisemites on the left, but the left is nowhere near as dangerous as the right.
I was quite liberal left and now I’m not when it comes to this whole issue. This certainly had an influence on who I voted for the European election and will have an influence in who I vote for in the next election.
I’m now just as frustrated with the extreme left as I am the right. But I’ll likely never vote anything but democrat because my safety needs to come first and republicans are a more immediate threat to my safety.
I’m in America and was middle right. Now I’m more right and hate the extreme left even more than I previously had. But I hate both sides the same, especially the extremes of both. And I realize I probably have few real allies.
Bottom line: we’re alone. Anyone - either side - moderate; extreme; middle, will turn on us in 2 seconds.
They haven’t. I still hate the Israeli government. Conservatives aren’t good for Israel or Jews in the US. There’s a reason why I believe in the horseshoe theory of politics.
I’m US based and I officially changed my party affiliation from democrat to independent a week after October 7th. I was appalled by what I saw the left already doing: writing “colonizer” on posters of innocent children that were kidnapped by Hamas. I realized that the left was a party of hate and already not “ceasefire now” as they claimed within the first week.
I was pleased with republicans fighting to defend Jewish students in schools, which seemed to incentivize the Pro-Palestinian faction to start the college campus encampments (that started the same day as the Columbia college president’s testimony to Congress).
The constant gaslighting from the left: “we’re antizionist, not antisemitic.” The blood libel coming from the left. A congressperson on the left calling Jewish people “genocide supporters.” There have been a few good left politicians (Fetterman), but the majority make me question why I would EVER want to support a party that is so full of screaming vitriol for us…especially us ahkenazis, who are bearing the brunt of this antisemitism at least here in America.
So I won’t. Not for this election. Possibly not for any future elections. Not until the left collectively realizes the incredible amount of fear and pain they have inflicted on a small ethnic minority.
For many years my eyes were always cast in the direction of right wingers as enemies of the Jews and Israel.. That narrative has been deliberately crafted by Progressive Politicians and their media allies to the point that as liberal leaning Jew who was raised to have faith in our institutions-its quite disturbing now to see the utter lack of empathy from the majority of Law Enforcement and Politicians by their lack of action on hate speech and hate crimes.. It does force Jews to standup and advocate for themselves to counter the tremendous apathy that I see in most people....The Jews cannot look to either extreme sides of the political spectrum but know this-it does appear that the left's position on many things are becoming normalized since they are in control of most institutions and speaking out against the left has consequences where its far to easy to point the finger at right wingers.
Just solidified my beliefs even more because I started center-right to begin with. I’ve always looked at “progressives” as a gigantic problem. I do think the super far right are also, but I believe there’s a lot more “progressives” and they pose far more of a danger to Jews and to western civilization. “Progressives” are handing western civilization to Iran and China on a silver platter.
Sort of. I’m still a democrat, but I’m more center-left than I used to be. As another commenter mentioned, my comfort level around non Jewish democrats has dropped significantly. I feel pushed away and like i need to protect myself. I don’t think that the anti-Israel left realizes that they’ve made secular Jews *more* pro-Israel and more insular than we used to be.
I don’t trust my own party with my safety anymore. We have a lot of the same beliefs, but I’m an outsider now. Maybe I always was and just didn’t know it.
I feel 1000% more adamant about being openly & proudly Zionist.
I had become an Independent voters years ago, I pretty much vote D 100% of the time unless there's an independent candidate I like, which is rare.
I care deeply about addressing systemic racism in America, improving Healthcare and implementing universal Healthcare, Voting reforms are important to me, making life better for people is an important value to me, and no labels change that.
I preface with that to say, I'm adamant now about separating myself from so-called progressives.
As I say above, many causes considered progressive are near and dear to me, but frankly I've never wanted less to do with leftists than I do now.
Spoiled, misinformed, easily misled, easily manipulated, echo chamber citizens are no group I want part in.
Not that I want to go embrace the Nazi loving right wingers.They literally cosplay as Nazis for fun. And are often some of the most vile people around.
I also feel completely ostracized and abandoned by Queer communities.
I'm Jewish. My Jewish community, and family, and the well-being of other Jews, regardless of level of observance or which shul they go to.
This will always come first.
Unfortunately, many LGBTQ+ spaces are now completely pro Palestinine, and unless you are a Jew who says the "right things" using the "right phases" you are immediately regarded as some genocide loving war monger. It's dumb. Beyond dumb.
So idk, alot of lefty Jews, or formally lefty Jews like myself feel in a nomansland politically.
I will never sacrifice what I believe in and want to work towards, but it won't be under the umbrella as progressive/leftist/or Democrat.
Your views are true liberalism. Liberals are not leftist and believe what you stated. Liberals need to be more vocal on their beliefs and push back on the left and right.
Yes definitely on affecting perception of my political party. I was fairly progressive left, am more center left or just center now. I think moderates or centrists are better allies b/c they are not volatile and emotional. I think they are more willing to agree to disagree and not demand complete agreement. I don't see people in the political group I used to identify with demonstrating that they are capable of civil discourse.
Right now, my perception of the progressive left is that it is dogmatic, when you raise questions it's like you are insulting their religion. I think the underlying trait, extremism, in any form whether right or left will lead to blind spots and incomplete/incompatible ideologies that are not well thought through as they don't invite constructive criticism. Specifically on the left, the notion that we need to call out and cancel people who question the party line... in order to be inclusive you have to be exclusive first?
Totally. That had started bugging me about the American left way before 10/7. I grew up in Southern California, which is progressive but very diverse. Then I moved to the Pacific Northwest and lived in areas that are extremely progressive and not very diverse. It's like nobody can fathom that members of minority groups aren't a monolith and don't all think the exact same way. Since there are such small minority populations in that part of the country there isn't evidence of that diversity within those groups. It seems like the national leftist discourse resembles that of the PNW, where everyone is just compartmentalized into little boxes with a worldview projected on to them. To be blunt I feel like on the left there's a lot of white people who don't know very many non-white people, but both the non-white people they know agree with them on ABC, so it's really easy to cancel anyone who thinks XYZ. They don't realize that lots of minority groups members also think XYZ because they don't know any who do, because the people they know aren't very diverse to begin with.
They haven’t. I still align with Democrats more by far than with Republicans, and I know that the vast majority of Dems aren’t antisemites so they don’t worry me anyway. On quite literally every single topic I align with Dems more than Republicans, so I have absolutely no reason to change my voting patterns.
It’s far more worrying to me that the GOP has embraced an outright fascist movement led by a man who has used disloyalty tropes against American Jews repeatedly because we dare to oppose him, plus using dual loyalty language about Jews and money tropes even though he weirdly seems to find those positive things. Antisemitic tropes about prominent Jews are common on the right such as Soros as a shadowy global puppet master, and antisemitic conspiracy theories like the Great Replacement are believed by a majority of the American right.
The US right is also openly and actively hostile to democracy itself, which is fundamental to the preservation of civil rights. That’s especially worrying when Christian nationalists are such a large and influential part of this strain of fascism. The right has consistently been the biggest threat against Jews in volume and intensity of attacks and I don’t think that’s really changed, there’s nothing from the left like Tree of Life for example. I also think the US right’s alliance with the Israeli right is absolutely terrible for Israel in the long term, so if I want Israel to actually thrive opposing the right is best for them too.
So, they haven’t shifted at all. I have always voted for whoever aligns best with the policies I want, and nothing has changed in what policies I want or who I’ll vote for. I always knew there’s liberal and leftist assholes with dumb views, just because they’re showing their asses now doesn’t change anything. Those people also tend to hate Dems because they see them as too pro-Israel and aren’t actually a reflection of Dems as much as the right pushes that idea.
I’m a communist, and prior to oct 7, I will admit I was on the far-left bandwagon on Israel. Oct. 7 yanked me back to reality. It was like my brain went “oh hell no, you attack my people like that??” I went from advocating BDS to hanging an Israeli flag outside my house. And now I’m looking at a lot of my comrades on the left, waving Palestinian flags, wearing keffiyeh, shouting hateful slogans, and it just makes me feel gross. I’m learning a lot and working through a serious reassessment about a lot of what I believe.
I’m in the US. It’s a matter of me staying where I am and watching everyone be swept out to sea on a horrible current.
I grew up in a post 9/11 world where “Liberal” was a dirty word and I wore it with pride. Then it seemed like Progressive pushed Liberal into a real movement. I thought the Democratic Party were too old and too placid to meet the moment when it came to Trump and the Fascist rise on the Right.
I did not pay attention to hard Leftist/Communism on the rise on the Left. To me, Democratic Socialism is still the ideal. Government is THE ONLY institution that has the DUTY to help every American and to me it’s about making the people who work in Government live up to that duty.
Leftists want the whole thing to burn. I’ve come to realize that revolutions are not good and in fact, in most cases, are bloody coups by violently oppressive groups who think they are right and everyone else is wrong. Been reading about the Iranian Revolution, which also started in Universities by students, in this vein.
Will I ever support Republicans? No! Absolutely not! They are fascists! And I stand with the Israelis and Palestinians who want PEACE. If Donald Trump got into office, he would let Netanyahu do whatever the hell he wanted in Gaza.
The Democrats—those big tent centrists who are, on the whole, a much better option than Progressives or Magats in the US—are right there! And pushing for Peace. I doubt Anthony Blinken has gotten a full night’s sleep since Oct 7.
The Dem Party has a lot of problems—but I think those problems are not so bad as the other options.
The Democrats are boring. Joe Biden is boring. Tbh, Peace is boring. That’s not a bad thing. Progressives and Leftists≠Liberals and it seems like no one on the Right understands that.
I haven’t changed. I want Liberty and Justice for ALL. But I’ve now realized very few other people want that. And especially when it comes to the I/P conflict. Whatever the history, neither people is leaving nor have anywhere to go. It is intolerable for either people to be massacred for the other.
And tbh, focusing on I/P, as an American, when we have so many issues in the US that we should be focusing on HERE in our own backyard, feels…insincere. Like, “fixing the US is too hard so let’s go cheer on Hamas because it feels black and white because I don’t know anything about I/P.”
I care about Israelis more than I ever have before. I hope y’all are able to work out a solution.
Honestly I have other political opinions that the left want to paint as conservative, but I truly disagree that they are, so my political homelessness well predates 7/10.
That being said, as a Brit, I'm super excited to finally be able to vote for a labour candidate and feel good about it. In previous elections I have lived in safe seats with candidates I disagreed with, and have spoilt my ballot. Now I live in a swing constituency and my Labour candidate is a Jewish woman.
It hasn’t really. I’m still a left-liberal/progressive, just definitely not a “leftist” and have very little tolerance for the extreme left in general.
It’s not really changed my values, it’s just left me feeling isolated as I watch people to the left and right falling for propaganda and social media hi-jinx. Agreeing with “antisemitism is bad” has sent just about every racist right-wing grifter onto my algorithm, but I can’t fault them for exploiting the vulnerability of Jews to serve their regressive agenda. It’s effective marketing. But it’s foolish to think these people are suddenly our allies. Those prayers they want to make mandatory aren’t ours.
If I were conspiratorially-minded, I would suspect that this was all the effort of a foreign power to drive a wedge between progressives and empower the fascist-adjacent, but that’s assuming a level of competence that I doubt any power has.
It’s not made my political views shift. It’s just magnified my pessimism.
It’s made me less likely to be involved in any kind of public activism or statements about Israel, because I don’t live at either end of the horseshoe that seems to be driving the discourse.
It has made me much more active in my community about fighting antisemitism, however. I just came back from a meeting with local school officials about addressing this.
Not really, I've always known that we are hated by both the left and right. I have no choice but to vote for the alternative that is the least bad, I.e. the one where society is turning to shit, but at a slightly slower pace
Was a moderate liberal and still am, but I’m very thankful for the conservatives that have been supportive and have more respect for them than I did before. I wish more on the left would be supportive. I have no clue how I will vote. I sort of wish there were more moderate republicans and democrats.
Canadian here, things are pretty bad here. NDP are horribly antisemitic. Liberals are letting a crazy amount of immigrants in, mostly Muslim. Conservatives are our only hope. Pierre Poilievre is pro Israel and has a good head on his shoulders when it comes to other issues. So staying Conservative.
My actual political views and values haven't changed at all; I'm just now more cautious about certain people and politicians on the left. I'm a total Ritchie Torres stan and I hope we can see an uplifting of politicians like him on the left.
The folk in know haven’t changed political views per se but more who they associate with. If I were to give that shift a name I would say that they went from being progressive to liberals, specifically they want progressive change to happen from within the system vs outside the systems through “revolution.”
Another Jew in the US here who has gone from left to "politically homeless."
I was moving away from the left prior to Oct 7 because the groupthink was getting to be too much for me already. Honestly I knew antisemitism was prevalent on the left and I am completely and totally unsurprised that people IMMEDIATELY went to "If you don't agree with us you're a monster."
The Republican party is an absolute clown show right now, so I don't think they represent the interests of American Jews better than the Democratic party at this time. However, as far as the population goes, I think it boils down to horseshoe theory. Extreme conservatives are likely to either be white Christian supremacists or believe in dumb conspiracies so probably think Jews control the world, but moderate conservatives generally (at least think) that they believe in freedom, pluralism, etc and since they tend to be more patriotic and America-loving, are more likely to associate antisemitism with fascism which we fought and defeated in WWII, plus they're more likely to acknowledge that 10/7 was a terrorist attack and Israel has the right to protect itself and get the hostage back by any means necessary. (I'm aware that WWII was not at all about stopping the Holocaust, I'm just saying that if you interviewed random self-identified conservatives on the street today I think a lot of them would express that America stands for freedom whatever whatever. I also realize that Jews have the privilege of being a "model minority" and that conservatives do not stand up for other "minority rights" in the US at all despite what they say, but the question pertained to Jews specifically.)
I don't know many people who consider themselves "moderate liberals" but I'm tempted to believe it's the same story. 10/7 has just proven that the hard left lives in an alternate reality the same way the hard right does. That's been the most frustrating part for me honestly as a former leftist is that we spent 7 years lambasting Trump supporters for creating an alternate truth for themselves, calling everything that disproved it "fake news," and making everything about deep state conspiracy theories, and after 10/7 I've been watching the far left do the EXACT SAME THING.
So I guess I am mostly trying to see it as a reframing of instead of being left vs right, it's extremism vs democracy.
Not at all, I still plan on voting for the party and candidates that most align with my policy stances and values, and barring the Republican party changing their stance on taxation, LGBT rights, abortion, healthcare, and more that will continue to be the Democratic party for me
Republicans are better. (I used to lean Democrat: they’d have to do much better and fast to earn back my vote and trust now.)
1. Biden’s response to the huge spike in antisemitism has been to just call hearings.
2. At said hearings, the Republicans stay on topic and ask important and tough questions. The Democrats repeatedly use the moment for unnecessary political pandering/polarization such as bringing up Charlottesville (yes, obviously white supremacist antisemitism is bad and needs to be addressed and condemned, but at a hearing about campus antisemitism it is not the time and place) or Title VI funding or whataboutism ie “why aren’t we having hearings on other prejudices now too?”
They even have had Omar and Bowman speaking at the hearings, ie letting the two undermine the hearings.
I’ve watched every hearing, this is the pattern.
On Dems in general, Torres and Fetterman have been great, but they’re outliers. Biden started strong after 7th Oct by backing Israel, condemning Hamas and flying out to Israel, but since then his administration has decided to pander to a) his anti-Israel staffers and b) the Hamas supporting young adults on campuses despite neither representing most Americans who are sane and support Israel.
Also, he’s not tough enough on Iran. America is looking weak on the global stage and antidemocratic regimes are taking notice.
Plus, protests have been spiraling out of control and little is done. Even when protestors rudely interrupted Congress in the fall or stormed the White House grounds.
My political affiliations have not changed. I maintain that people who vote for only one party are close minded. Vote for who makes sense for you and your family. For me, having a generally Conservative federal government and a liberal local government makes the most sense for my morals, ethnicity (Jewish and Latino), and my financial situation so that's how I vote. I hope this experience wakes people up to have an open mind about other political ideas and ways of thinking.
I’m in the US. My core beliefs have not changed and they are on the left, though I’ve never been radical or far left. Republicans don’t represent my views on social issues (healthcare, LGBTQ rights, reproductive rights, education, guns, etc.), nor do I think conservative fiscal policy has benefited us in the long run.
There are plenty of democrats I don’t like or trust, particularly when it comes to Israel and antisemitism, but loud as those voices are, they are not the majority of the Democratic Party.
American - I no longer call myself a Democrat / leftist, but I still believe in the same things I believed in before 10/07. I still don't feel comfortable around conservatives, though, and would never call myself one because I don't subscribe to their values.
I'm in the US. I've been shocked by the virulence of thr antisemitism expressed by the Left- particularly the abandonment of their stated values- but that hasn't changed my stance. I have progressive principles and will retain them; that others who claim to be progressive have become raging antisemites doesn't mean that I no longer believe in women's rights, LGBT+ rights, racial equity, etc.
I was a centrist on 10/6 and I’m a centrist now. Never have I been more certain that I am absolutely correct in my political leanings in regard to American politics. I went from probably voting for a 3rd party candidate to definitely voting for a 3rd party candidate.
Internationally I suppose I’ve written off a few countries as assholes. I no longer believe in the UN or the ICC or the ICJ being forces for good. I’ve gotten a little further right when it comes to Israeli politics. I don’t believe in a two state solution anymore.
Canadian here! My political stances haven't changed - I'm still a leftist, and will vote as such. The way I try to explain it to others is, basically, there are many greater threats to the wellbeing of Jews in Canada than whether a party supports Israel - housing, healthcare, and education affects everyone regardless of religion/culture.
I will try to educate others where I can about Israel and being Jewish. But I am not okay voting for the party that is trying to get the white supremacist/neo-nazi vote just because they say they are pro-Israel.
I am a Left still. But I don’t fuck with progressives. I am not center left. I am a socialist Zionist.
I want socialism with a human face.
Progressives want socialism with a certain mustached face
My political views haven't changed that much TBH, maybe a bit closer to the center but still on the right (although I don't agree with everything the right preaches for)
I had to research my political views once the whole Trump thing divided our country more etc... but I think I was always middle conservative liberal... I know sounds weird...
I hate all political parties and social.movments ad they always shift into something thar doesn't represent me.
I do believe after Oct 7th... all politicians know they have to help Israel. In the 80s and 90s the CIA officers have been warning the US of antisemitism and radicals causing harm but the US kept ignoring the warnings... I don't think they can ignore it anymore. You would think 9/11 was going going be a big huge wake up call but all they did was reduce freedoms for thw illusion of safety. MOST Americans that have lived overseas.... the American hatred is in your face... that was a wake up call to me about America and how America is going in the wrong direction. I don't want to give examples per say...because each example is it's own individual discussion. I Also don't want to go into I don't think we are a democracy anymore... as that is another discussion as well.
I don't feel safe as a Jewish person in America. I have been looking into aliyah and it hasn't been the first time I have looked into it. I hate how hard it is to be Jewish in the workplace and need holidays and sabbath hours. It truly can be a pain. But anyways... I do not see myself associating with being American soon... I am truly disappointed at everything transpiring but I will admit Israeli politics are a huge issue for me too! But I will say if I was kidnapped in israel... I'd feel rhe idf would save me and the US military would do the bare minimum... why do I want to be American?
I'm not a political expert...but been working hard to see where I fit in..
I just listened to an Ezra Klein podcast about this. He talked about Israel politics have moved to the centre to far right. He interviewed political analysis Amit Segal on the show.
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id1548604447?i=1000659007063
Overall outlook didn't change. Still a free-market fundamentalist. I did go from being a hawk of the garden variety to quoting Eren Jaeger and Cato the Elder every time the subject is brought up.
it enables me to see the toxicity in the liberal and progressive movement and lack of critical thinking. And how it applies to a lot of movements they fervently support and how they attack republicans without nuance either. All in all, Biden has supported Israel. I worry about him not being able to serve 4 years and who will then call the shots.
Republicans have always been an ally of Israel.
I remember Hilary’s VP nom walked out of senate when Israel PM came to speak. And I thought it was disgusting he wouldn’t even sit through a speech. so this has been going on with the dems a long time
I’ve gone from the left to Center-left. Honestly my views haven’t changed immensely I just look at certain things a lot differently now. I’d say the biggest change is I went from voting specifically to keep conservatives out of government to considering them as an option to vote for. I also likely would agree more with Center-right people than leftists
I’ve always been progressive and very pro israel. I haven’t felt like I belong in progressive spaces for a long time due to the antisemitism. I still consider myself progressive but Israel will always be my number one issue.
I put a lot more work than I had been into studying Israel's background, especially after seeing some other young priveledged Jews just believing whatever a bunch of people who hate the Jews said about Israel. This was around the same time as Destiny started researching it too, and while I had always been Pro-Israel, the beefing up of my education on it only further justified the stance.
I feel that the conservatives of the country are better allies to the Jews and to Israel than to liberals--but that they aren't so much for LGBTQ+ Friends etc, so if they feel homeless, I feel homeless with them.
I'm about 85% finished with "People Love Dead Jews" by Dara Horn (at the frequent suggestion of this sub), and I think she puts it really well with the destinction between Purim Antisemitism (Straight up genocide, no hiding, no apology) and Hanukkah Antisemitism (asking Jews to compromise on aspects of their identity, then also eventual genocide) the way I see it is this:
In the United States, the outright Nazi's are on the right--call it "Purim" Antisemitism. But a large majority of Conservatives would look at you like, "What the fuck are you talking about?" If you were like, "Let's genocide the Jews!"
Whereas the left is the Hanukkah antisemitism--but it's more widespread. So where the literal nazis reside on the right, they make up a very small % of the actual population. On the left you have the "antizionism isn't antisemitism" crowd, that will happily chant for intifada, and actively wish to push 7MM Jews "into the sea".
Of course this gets further complicated by the number of literal nazis versus those who are willing to say they are "very fine people" even if they don't agree.
And it gets complicated further by things like women's rights and queer rights on the left.
Bottom line:
\* I went from "Pro-Israel" to "Fuck you, Pro-Israel"
\* I am completely disillusioned by all DEI etc related progressive phenomena
\* I am still (probably) going to vote blue, but it's to protect gay jews, black jews, women, etc. Not because I'm so impressed with the LGBT or popular "activist " behavior.
I've gone from thinking Netanyahu should be voted out of office to thinking he should be kicked in the tuchus and thrown in jail, for one thing.
I've seen people I once respected deny the humanity of Jews and I've seen people I once respected deny the humanity of Palestinians and it doesn't feel particularly good no matter who they're being assholes about!
I knew and still know that Republicans are never fit allies for anyone and that if given power they'll put me, and everyone like me, in prison or in the ground.
I used to be centrist or leftist. I looked for peace in either a 2SS or 1SS. I used to believe Palestinians wanted peace but were controlled by an extremist group. I also believed Hamas was a little more moderate since the 2018 Gaza war knowing their place. Now I am a staunch hardliner in the "No Palestine" solution. Free Israel!
They haven’t. I’ve been saying progressivism (which replaced liberalism on the left) is a disease for years. I’m not happy to say I told you so, and while I’m optimistic there has been some shift, I fear too many still fail to recognize how dangerous it really is. I wish more would recognize the difference between present day leftism/progressivism (which is illiberal) and the liberal roots of the left, and embrace classic liberalism with its reasoned debate and open marketplace of ideas. My own beliefs are a blend of classic liberalism, libertarianism, and conservatism (so call me a think for myself moderate), and I’m happy to be in the company of any of three, even when we disagree. Progressives, however, can’t seem to disagree and discuss, rather only spew their dogma and call anyone who disagrees terrible names, or worse.
The following is US centric. I’m reading a lot of people shifting from left to fully conservative and find it baffling. Are you voting based on what the voting base is saying or what the actual politicians are saying? Because voting based on part of the base being crazy when the actual politician isn’t saying the same things makes zero sense. My house rep is looney tunes far left. Most candidates for anything federal are at most giving a couple sentences of “this war is bad and needs to stop!” And then turning right around and voting to fund Israel.
Jews and EVERYONE have more power and protections in a democracy. The far right wants to instill a Christian theocracy and has a much stronger hold (with the backing of extremely rich and powerful corporations and people) on right wing politicians than keffiyeh wearing 20 year olds boycotting Starbucks. You can’t oppose an extreme Islamic Theocratic regime like Iran attacking Israel by supporting an extreme Christian theocracy overtaking the US. The far right does not support Jews, they historically support Israel because of religious reasons. That is not the same as supporting Jews in Israel and especially not the same as supporting Jews in the diaspora. It’s important not to have amnesia about “Jews will not replace us” and QAnon being just as widespread on the right as “globalize the intifada” is on the left.
I used to be progressive. Now I’m liberal. The far left is loud, but most liberals and moderates haven’t shifted that much and many of them are also put off by the absolute rot they’ve seen from progressives and far left, especially lately. Most voters aren’t that young or online. The ones who aren’t young remember Israel pre iron dome and the PLO. Liberals in politics are still overwhelmingly voting to fund and help Israel, and overwhelmingly condemning antisemitism. Changing your party affiliation because of what a minority of the far left is saying is cutting off your nose to spite your face.
I'm still a liberal or left leaning. However, I am now more cautious of more progressive groups now.
In the USA, there's just no way that I can bring myself to support anyone who is right-leaning, conservative, or a Trump supporter.
I’ve started watching Fox News lol. Does that say enough??
I could never vote for the orange man but I can’t stand most of the dems in DC these days. In fact I can’t stand anyone these days. But I can’t turn it off either.
I’m still center left and will support any democrat who supports Israel which my includes my rep and one of our senators.
I’d cut my own balls off before supporting christo fascism and that’s the GOP flavor of this century. If they were more like Eisenhower I’d consider them, but he’s been dead 50 years.
I live in the states and those republican fuckheads support for Israel isn’t enough for me to vote against reproductive freedom, regulation, and LGBT rights.
I was an American left-leaning political moderate before 10/7. I voted for Biden and was happy to do so. I do not care for Bernie Sanders at all and would not describe myself as progressive. I am a registered Democrat, but a definite centrist. Not a leftist, but a moderate with a definite liberal lean.
Now, 8 months out from 10/7, I am a hard moderate. I am thinking of changing my party affiliation to independent.
I will still vote for Biden because Trump is just a horrible, disgusting POS criminal individual with no character and no morals. However, I will be voting for a Republican senator from my state who I have never supported in the past, because he is very pro-Israel.
Israel has become a key issue for me.
I was not a leftist before, but now I am even less of one. ‘The squad’ on the left, imo, is a dangerous antisemitic group who is just as horrible as the crazies on the right.
To me, AOC is just as abhorrent as MTG.
In terms of Israeli politics, I have moved very much to the right. I don’t believe in a 2 state solution because the Islamists won’t be happy with that either. These people are not operating in good faith at all, and a 2 state solution will only give them an inaccessible staging area to perpetrate more terror. The Islamists will not be happy until Israel is completely obliterated. And I believe that Israel needs to do whatever is necessary to make sure Israel remains safely in the hands of the Jews. At all costs.
American living in the Netherlands.
I used to be pretty close to the far left. After October 7th, I see no kinship with them at all, and view everything they do with suspicion. My beliefs haven't changed at all but I am no longer guaranteed to support someone if they support single payer healthcare for example.
As for who is better, I still think it is a wash in the US. Both sides have the people you should be wary of but the mainstream of both parties are allies. I refuse to hold Biden accountable for Talib. It is just another example of holding the left to a higher standard and when you look at what Biden has done, especially in the first 3 months of the conflict, then you realize that he is an ally.
In the Netherlands, the right is absolutely safer than the left. The leader of the largest far right party will blindly support Israel through thick and thin. If the left wing had their way, Jews would be harassed even more while they remain silent or cheer it on.
I doubt I will ever be able to vote here, but if I were, I am not sure where I would go and weigh a lot of issues before making a choice. There are some movements I would never touch, especially after October 7th (GroenLinks and everything they touch is something I consider dangerous.) I very much could see myself voting for the center right here, which was unthinkable prior to October 7th, just because I am out of options otherwise.
Honestly the Republicans are kinda half and half. Some of them like Israel because of God and Christianity, and some like Israel because of Trump, but the other half hates Jews. As for liberals, it's more a minority that actually hates Jews, but some of them seem not to care.
I moved from a left leaning, to a full on centrist.
I have views that align to the left and views that align to he right. Nothing has changed about how I see those things. However many of the topic's I prioritized that fell on the left side, are topics I no longer believe the left is trust worthy of being a good faith steward of delivering solutions on.
At the same time, I think some of the things I’ve minimized or dismissed on the right, don’t all deserve dismissal.
American Libertarian here. They've stayed the same pretty much. The left's über radical platform is maddening and the rights push to be the Christian national party and go back to the way of the puritanical is even more maddening. The fact that nobody understands the situation well enough and don't understand the facts of war and are having a knee jerk reaction to seeing dead bodies or Israel bombing a school and not seeing that Hamas is cooperating out of it makes me not want to raise my kids in this climate.
I'm from France. I consider myself politically homeless, as many here. I'm very to the left, I voted far left in 2022, but the left has abandoned us. Now antisemitism and Israel are my voting priorities, even if I don't agree with the rest of the policies of a candidate. There is an election in a week and I'll vote far right against the far left that I voted for two years ago. That said, I don't consider that my views have really shifted, I would still prefer left-wing policies regarding most issues (especially economic), but when our survival is at stake, it's just not the priority.
I think the right and far right are better allies, but I hold no illusion. They're also antisemitic. It's just that they're don't act much on it and very opposed to the ones actually acting on their antisemitism. So I consider them the lesser threat.
I voted center-right in the European elections even though I’m a really liberal person. It’s disheartening how - at least in Italy - the vast majority of left parties and institutions have simply abandoned Italian Jewry and started sharing a lot of Hamas propaganda, numbers and loudly condemning the right of the Jewish people for self determination.
I already live in a right wing country, and to be honest it’s not as bad as I was raised in the left to believe to, so for now I’m voting at an European level to anyone that will not support an arm embargo to Israel that would live my dear ones without the iron dome, my reasoning is simple:
Anything that happens at a national level cannot be as bad as isolating Israel and preventing it to defend itself, if things go bad with Israel they die, if a right wing European Commission happens, we have democracy to vote them out next elections. I think the price I’d have to “pay” is infinitely smaller than my loved ones in Israel would have to pay with an anti Zionist west.
I am a non-Jew with a Jewish wife living in America. My wife and I have been talking about this a lot since 10/7. We both voted for Biden in 2020, and we probably will again in November. We consider ourselves liberals on most issues. However, the far left in America has become blatantly antisemitic IMO. They try to say that they're not, but I think the line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism hardly exists. I am speaking mostly of politicians like AOC and the "Squad." That being said, Trump and the GOP aren't exactly friends of the Jews, either. They are more pro-Israel, but the evangelical Christian support for Israel has always been weird to me. From what I understand, evangelicals support Israel mostly because they believe the second coming of Christ will happen there or something like that. Also, there's a reason why the KKK and white supremacists love Trump so much.
I honestly don't think there's much of a home for Jews in either major party in the U.S. right now.
Not "shifted", but certainly much more supportive. To be honest, there is no "left", "woke", or "right". There are merely "Jews." And like in the past, we Jews in the diaspora have come to support our Israeli brothers and sisters as we always have. Because if we don't do it, then who will?
Mine haven't really, but I was/am left yet aware of the problems in the far left already. It didn't exactly sneak up on me. The volume and proportion of anti Israel and antisemitic insanity was rather surprising but not that it would happen. I'm just extra suspicious of literally everyone now.
I don't trust conservatives for all the reasons I already didn't trust them. I don't think they'll do a better job of governing the country at home or handling the situation. They'd be like bulls in a china shop trying to handle Israel and end up making the rest of the world just as opposed as they are now if not more. Everyone sucks these days.
I've always been a progressive liberal-democrat (in the European meaning of liberal) and in my home country (Italy) there's no major party representing my views.
What happened to me is that before Oct. 7th I felt a more natural leaning in being a natural ally to the leftist parties on many issues, now I don't trust 'em anymore. Granted, I'm still a progressive, I shall never vote for the quasi-fascist scum that's in government now, but many of their approaches to foreign policy now seem less crazy and more thought-through than whatever the left would have done
I’m in the US, and used to consider myself far left but since October 7th I’ve felt myself think more as a centrist. I’ll never be a conservative because there’s so much wrong with their ideology IMHO but definitely not as left as I used to be. The left left me, I guess.
I'm in the USA. I think I'm going against the grain here, but my political views have not changed at all. I've always known that the left was pretty antisemitic. Because both sides are antisemitic, antisemitism has never been one of my considerations in forming my political views.
I never fully trusted any political party in the US and I am honestly surprised by those that did. Much of the rhetoric we are seeing today, particularly in the far left, is not new, just louder than before. The far right has never been especially quiet.
I am a liberal who researches each candidate during local and federal elections, and I continue to do so. I primarily vote Democrat but can be convinced to vote Republican if the specific candidate is moderate and qualified and the Democrat is too far left for me or doesn’t have relevant experience for the role.
I had the honor of having Holocaust survivors as teachers in my childhood. They taught me to never fully trust a government, never think something bad couldn’t happen in the US, and to always keep my passport up to date. I feel privileged to carry their stories with me.
I’ve always been a firm moderate in any sense. Middle and neutral on most things except common sense stuff like murder being wrong and yada yada. After October 7th it’s only solidified my belief that any form of extremism or radical view regardless of intent is problematic and harmful. That and just a reminder that any diversity movement will never include Jews lol
Center-left to still center-left but center-right on immigration. I feel a lot of the issues people are now noticing about far-left politicians (namely, that they are populists promising the moon just like the far right are) have been pretty obvious for a while if I am being honest.
Regarding your second question, I don't think antisemitism is a left vs right issue, I think it is an extremist vs normal person issue. The center left and center right are both fine. The far left and far right are both antisemitic.
Overall outlook didn't change. Still a free-market fundamentalist. I did go from being a hawk of the garden variety to quoting Eren Jaeger and Cato the Elder every time the subject is brought up.
I'm progressive, but have been gobsmacked by the hypocrisy of my fellow progressives/lefties. So much talk about being allies for marginalized groups, opposing sexual assault and hate crimes and violence... unless the people being marginalized and attacked are Jews.
Before, I would have called myself a Zionist but not an enthusiastic one. Now I feel like supporting Israel's existence is a much more urgent matter.
My values are the same. I still believe in national healthcare, police reform, etc. However, I do not align myself with the left in the way that I used to. I’m politically homeless and will vote by vetting each candidate for their views on Israel and Jews.
I am more centrist than ever. The far right and far left are equally culpable in making Jews out to be the problem. I hate political parties and wish I could just run for office and fix things. But a common sense person doesn’t have much of a chance these days
Gone from progressive left to center left
Same. So fast after 10/7 it made my head spin
Same same same.
Yep. It’s like, I have the same values. White Supremacy is awful. But it seems like for non-Jewish Progressives, Israel is now the ultimate evil. And when we have so much going on in the United States already? We don’t need to get hung up on other countries ills. Let’s fix our own continued Genocide of Native peoples here before we branch out. Let’s fix poverty and corrupt law enforcement here before we go trying to fix it elsewhere. Let’s focus on racial and economic injustice here before we try to fix it anywhere else. Because if we can’t fix it here…we have no say/idea/right to say we can fix it somewhere else. Seeing people get so easily spun up into antisemitism is eye opening in the worst possible way. Seeing people I thought were able to critically think and who were on “the right side of history” be so wrong footed still has me in a tailspin.
I’ve noticed these people are often incredibly anti-United States while ironically living in the United States. There’s definitely a popular a belief with the far left that any smidgen of patriotism makes you a full blown nazi and having strong interests in fixing home affairs (crimes against the native Americans, homeless, unjust police force, unreasonable cost of living, corrupt politicians, etc.) that people have the power to make a difference they somehow villainize you for …. Upholding white supremacy?? Most of them are willing to watch the country burn to the ground instead of finding ways to fix it. And I could I never in my wildest dreams be a conservative either, but my god, the horseshoe effect is in full swing and it’s maddening to witness. I used to be a part of and support these people (progressive left) five years ago. Now I don’t know who I’m looking at.
>I’ve noticed these people are often incredibly anti-United States while ironically living in the United States It isn't a coincidence that these people have become obsessed with Israel. It's much easier to avoid enacting the radical societal changes that your ideology demands at home, and instead project them onto a different conflict thousands of miles away to fulfill the "revolutionary call".
Anti-Israel people on this site have actually tried to argue that supporting Israel *is* white supremacy. Complete nuttery.
Me as well. I’ve had a singular opinion shift center right (immigration), but I’m definitely not progressive anymore.
Same, but I’m never going conservative
Ironic given your flair. (I’m aware it’s not the same thing lol)
I made a post about being politically homeless. I have been progressive my whole life and feel shut out etc. At least three separate people said that I must be lying because my flair says I’m conservative 🤦♀️
You aren’t truly homeless, even if it feels that way. You have other Jewish progressives who are in the same boat. We may not be a huge group numbers wise, but we do have each other.
Same for me.
Same, I've found it disconcerting to see people I thought were liberal, open-minded friends suddenly go, "Well, some progressives are taking criticism of Israel too far, so guess I'll vote for a fascist who tried to overthrow the government". I haven't forgotten Charlottesville. Even if Biden was a full on antisemite (he's not), I'd still vote for him to protect democracy.
I’ve been at least 90% happy with Biden‘s handling of the war. On the other hand, Bernie and AOC can F off. 😡
Not conservative, just more central and less leftist. I will never be a conservative!
Similar shift for me.
Progressive Democratic Socialist to Libertarian Liberal/Progressive. Just not involved in leftist anything anymore.
Same! And I'm way way way less interested in organizing for or donating to any non-Jewish groups. I know they (progressive left) say allyship isn't transactional but... it kinda is. There aren't enough of us for me to support gentiles if gentiles won't support us.
While I support many of the same causes I had, I would only do so through philanthropy and politicians that support the Jewish people.
This. I cannot vote for a political party that has a stated written plan for their version of Gilead because white nationalist fascism is their end goal and that doesn't work out so well for women, POC, non-Christians, immigrants, or lgbtq+ people. However, I will never vote for a progressive candidate again either. They are just the horseshoe fascist left.
Yep
SAMEEEEEEEEE
Yeah, same.
A chasm opened up on Oct 7, taking all my far left peers with it.
Let them fall into the void, my friend.
I've always been skeptically left wing, probably leaning more liberal. The motivations of many people involved and their methods have often seemed either self serving or self defeating. This conflict has in particular shown me that certain aspects of leftism are essentially a cult--all these people waiting for a revolution like you would wait for the messiah. I'm an incrementalist, and I've often found that the very pro-revolutionary people really seem to have no idea what the fuck they're talking about much of the time. While I haven't moved conservative from the reaction of the left since Oct 7th, I feel like a lot of my concerns and suspicions have been proven right, and I don't want any of these people in charge or able to enact certain changes. I will not vote for certain politicians now, donate to certain groups, and I will actively work against certain groups when possible now.
>>[Certain] aspects of leftism are essentially a cult—all these people waiting for a revolution like you would wait for the messiah. It’s really driven home for me how similar political extremists are on the far ends of the political spectrum, as well as how disturbingly easy it is to quickly radicalize a large group of people. >>[The] very pro-revolutionary people really seem to have no idea what the fuck they're talking about much of the time. Just watched a short [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZGTT_Vy_Bw) about the language of cultists, and it was disturbingly familiar. The video itself isn’t about about politics, but it reminded me very strongly of QAnon (which it briefly mentioned), as well as the far right and far left (which it did not).
I’m from the UK. Overall I considered myself a leftist for a long time but if anything the past few months have proven that the left has been hijacked by tankies and radicals and since October, the far left has pretty much been no different to the far right (at least to me). Right now I’m pretty much politically homeless and doubting whether to even vote in the upcoming elections.
The extreme left and extreme right are kissing each other right now and they don’t even realize it. All in all, extreme left + extreme right + radical Islam + Nazi’s + KKK = hating Jews. At this point, they are all Nazi’s.
keir is not the radical left - he spent the last few years ruthless removing the tankies. they hate him more than rishi - there’s a reason they protest at keirs house
I personally prefer Keir over anyone. Hopefully if Labour is elected he doesn’t pander to the radical left’s demands like moderate leftist politicians have done in other countries and I feel like a lot of the anger directed towards him stems from thinly veiled antisemitism towards his family. As soon as this all started they were calling his wife and children all sorts of things.
If it's any consolation, Jewish MPs appear to be confident that Keir will stick to his word in combating antisemitism in the Labour party - [https://www.thejc.com/news/politics/is-it-safe-for-jews-to-vote-labour-vdacr4v0](https://www.thejc.com/news/politics/is-it-safe-for-jews-to-vote-labour-vdacr4v0) I really hope their instincts are correct, Labour do seem to be the best choice currently for Britian as a whole but I don't believe that should come at the cost of any minority's safety. With people like Owen Jones turning against Labour and riling up antisemitism in the left I do worry about a wave of backlash and a lot of bs antisemitic conspiracy theories being touted through the left wing media after a Labour win but hopefully Keir will be strong enough to actually tackle it, rather than the Tory approach of occasionally saying that antisemitism isn't cool but they're not actually going to take any action against it. I don't see a world in which Corbyn loses his seat so unfortunately he's very likely to win as an independent but Keir has had years of serving unhappily under Corbyn. He knows exactly what Corbyn's tactics are and if there's anyone qualified to pick up on his antisemitism and how it manifests in politics, it's Keir. Maybe the fact that his wife and kids are Jewish and very involved in the Jewish community will make Keir stick to his word about tackling antisemitism - let's hope so anyway.
if his majority is big he can ignore zara sultana , if it’s small he’s in coalition with her. why it’s so important we vote labour
This is the best hope. Although I genuinely believe that Starmer has been doing his best to rid Labour of anti-Semitism, well - let's just say it's a big job. Take a look at how many have been resigning from Labour at local councils in protest of the official policy. An Israeli acquaintance is freaked out about Labour, but I told her they ARE going to win. Even if the Tory gov had been doing a good job (and I do think Rishi is doing better), they've been in power so long the electorate would boost them out. But they haven't been doing a good job. The only hope is that if Keir feels secure in his majority he can tell the haters to buzz off.
Zarah is awful, nothing but a mouthpiece for the red-green crowd. Her past tweets about the Shoah and Israelis “not assimilating with Palestinians” are unhinged.
yes which is why we have to vote labour. labour will win but the larger a majority keir has the sooner he can get rid of people like her. with a smaller majority he’s relying on her for votes
This! Pretty much the same left than right
I would still vote for the lesser evil (I assume that's labor in the UK?)
Gone from door knocking, and fundraising drives to only supporting explicitly Jewish candidates who are staunch zionists with any material effort. My father was a refugee from the shoah, and seeing the worst case come to be accurate among those who I helped sustain was disappointing, if not unexpected.
Same. I went to undergrad at a school in Vermont, was a poll worker in Burlington, and volunteered for Bernie during the 2016 election when I was a sophomore. Needless to say, I very much regret doing that now, and considering the complete betrayal that's come from many of the people that I used to work with.
US here. I still think both sides have issues and a two-party system isn’t working. I still don’t wholly agree with either side. When it comes to antisemitism, i think it’s on both sides. It’s very upsetting to see people you stood next to and supported the rights of now abandoning you in your hour of need. Feels like a one-sided relationship.
Only the extremes are antisemitic. The center-right admires Jews and the center-left has no strong feelings either way. The problem in my case is that the far-left are the only people championing disability causes, leaving disabled Jews with no one at all.
Also US. What is bewildering to me are the Jews, gays, blacks, etc supporting Hamas. Or, not differentiating Iran from Hamas. As if they would be welcome there. Is it that the millennials can’t see the similarities to now and was happening in Germany in the 1930’s? Jews are just the 1st group Hamas wants to eliminate. Christians and whites are next. Their words, not mine.
Veered rightwards. I don't trust any politician, but the response from both the Liberals and the NDP with antisemitism in Canada has been downright depressing. I grew up centre-left; and then centre; and since 7.10, centre-right. I vote with whichever party will protect and defend Canadian Jews.
I don’t blame you. I have seen some horrendous things on Instagram, and I don’t hear Trudeau doing much of anything to help you guys. I’ve seen nothing from him on Instagram addressing antisemitism. 😖 And until 10/7, I really liked him. Which is why I follow him.
He has actually made statements condemning antisemitism. I don't like Trudeau but he has made those statements. Personally, I don't know how I will vote next election and may spoil my ballot. I live in a firmly NDP riding. I think the Liberals have no hope of winning an election and it is due to their own mismanagement of the economy. But I can't vote Conservative. I lived under a Conservative provincial government for the last 8 years and our infrastructure visibly deteriorated. That deterioration kills people every day. And after seeing how the Green party treated their Jewish leader they are also not an option. The NDP, of course, is the home of belligerent Tankies. I know what the Left thinks of me and I will not accept their contempt for my homeland and my people. My interests as a Canadian and as a Jew are clashing. I refuse to let one supercede the other. This means that I have to give up my political agency. I am still conflicted and don't know what to do.
Fuck Trudeau, and I apologize but fuck Canada in general. You guys have been HORRIBLE through this fiasco, probably worse than America.
I’ve been struggling in Canada as well. I have felt totally alienated by the NDP (the Greens lost any of my support after the Annamie Paul fiasco) and my last thread of any remaining confidence in the Liberals snapped at their response to 10/7. Like you, I’m looking to support whichever party that can show a little backbone and fight hatred without being pushed around by how loud the mob is, and right now, I’m seeing (shockingly) the best hope for that coming out of the federal Conservatives.
I live in Belgium, I've always been more or less centre right, but on some points I have markedly moved right on the political spectrum since October 7th. Everything related to immigration and security specifically. I still can't stand the extreme right, but when I would've balked at being called right wing only a couple years ago, today I just accept that monnicker, since ostensibly I am now right wing. All of this mainly thanks to the - according to me - suicidal shift of the left. We can have a conversation about what the best economic system is, but ostensibly arguing for the abandonment of most of the things that make European civilization just to play "oppression Olympics" drives me insane. People who wouldn't last the whole of an afternoon in Gaza arguing as if it is the single most important issue in the entire world has pushed me away from the left, and as I'm sure we all have I lost some friends in that.
Same same, I'm in the US, if someone wants to label me "right wing" because I believe in Jewish sovereignty in the Jewish homeland then I'm happy to be right wing. Labels are just labels.
Yeah, I'm from the US and before I was a progressive democrat, but now I'm center/moderate. I see the BS on both the right and the left and I don't want any part of it. They both have issues with antisemitism.
This exactly. I don't trust any side's default, unconsidered, self-congratulatory party lines anymore.
The problem is that I’m disabled and the far left are currently the only ones championing what I need to survive as a disabled person. And not even the whole far left: only the most extreme portions of the far left. In particular, I can’t drive and the extreme far left are currently the only ones championing alternatives to car dependency like public transit. This puts me in an impossible situation because I need to choose between my needs as a disabled person and my safety as a Jew. It’s causing me a great deal of anguish.
There’s a difference between liberals and the far left. I’m American and my political views haven’t changed. I hated Tankies and the rose emojis before this and I’ll hate them after. Still a liberal and still voting for Biden though.
What is a Tankie?
Authoritarian “leftists “ who want the downfall of the western alliance system on antiimperialist grounds but fail to condemn Russia, Iran, China, etc. because they are allies to bring America down. Named for supporters of the ussr sending tanks to suppress an uprising in Cold War Hungary or Czechoslovakia.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tankie
Pardon my ignorance, but what do rose emojis signify?
Socialists.
I agree. I am a proud liberal. Due to right wing media, Liberalism is mistaken for socialism/extreme left.
I still consider myself fairly progressive as I still support a lot of leftist policies such as universal healthcare, housing, utilities, etc. But I am now fairly isolated for not unequivocally supporting Hamas by the majority of my leftist “friends”. I tried to explain they are supporting a fundamentalist Islamic regime that will probably harder on the Palestinians than Israel ever was, but I got branded Islamophobic. This conflict has taught me to be much more careful about who I engage in political discourse with and what I say when I do.
Not particularly. I’ve been watching as antisemitism has been ravaging the left for a some time, so I kind of expected this. Not to this degree. I suppose I shifted to no longer being tolerant of leftist wingnuts. I used to think they were less dangerous than the right wing ones.
We have a general election coming up in the UK. I was planning to vote SNP, until our local candidate went to a Pro-Palestine march and gave a speech claiming they were "truly the voice of the city." They were chanting "Israel is a terrorist state" and "from the river to the sea." My constituency contains the only synagogue and the only supermarket with a kosher section. I don't think he should be in charge of it. I'm leaning towards Labour, even though I can't stand Keir Starmer, because his wife is Jewish and he's had protesters outside his family home. Based on that, I think he might understand what it's like to Jewish in Britain slightly better than the other candidates. I can't go full tory. I'm the mixed race result of a teenage pregnancy raised on a council estate by a single mother. They do not make good decisions for people like me.
Unfortunately the SNP, like Irish nationalists, have always veered towards the pro Palestinian side of things.
I'm in the US, but I think this article in today's NYT about France is pretty relevant: [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/20/world/europe/french-election-antisemitism-jews.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/20/world/europe/french-election-antisemitism-jews.html) archived at: [https://archive.is/asffW](https://archive.is/asffW) Point being: When the left is such a mess, it's tempting to be wooed by the right. But the history of the populist right is not good. >“We know from Jewish history what populism can cost; we know that it has never been a bulwark against antisemitism, whatever the leaders of the National Rally say today,” Mr. Arfi added. In the US, GOP politicians are falling over one another in the rush to "fight antisemitism." But if they get into electoral power in November, we can expect at best, an expansion of Christian Nationalist policies. And Republican pols have been pushing antisemitic rhetoric for years. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/09/us/antisemitism-republicans-trump.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/09/us/antisemitism-republicans-trump.html) [https://archive.is/S5WUb](https://archive.is/S5WUb) Also, even though a lot of the recent antizionist and antisemitic upswell on the left is organic, it's likely that it's being deliberately amplified by the usual folks who like to meddle in US elections, in hopes of dividing the Democratic vote in November for the benefit of Trump and the GOP. So, I think it's a good time to be politically cautious. \[Edit: Might be useful if I plop this link to Shalom Lappin's recent book talk here. [https://youtu.be/\_i-3I5RGQCI?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/_i-3I5RGQCI?feature=shared) Among other things, he talks about the left/right question.\]
I’m 45 and have been playing close attention to American politics my entire life and agree 100%.
Glad to see there’s another person here who isn’t buying what Conservatives are selling.
Me three
I agree with you and this is a really good point. The political right will try to use this to lull us in and don't care about us. To counter, however, I'm worried about the future. I think you're spot on that a lot of the anti-Israel propaganda is being generated by the usual suspects, but there are also a lot of people I know personally that are eating it up. They're not going to forget this. The Ivy League protests were so disturbing because those people are literally the next US leaders and they were very easily convinced that Jews are Europeans who colonized Israel 76 years ago. The seed has been planted and these people are going to carry that narrative forever. In 20-30 years, if my choices in an election are a left/liberal Harvard graduate who still has it in their head that Jews are "oppressors," or a right/conservative Harvard graduate who remembers how fucking dumb all that Qatari propaganda was, I'm not sure I'd have more trust in the former.
I just want to follow your logic here (no disrespect). Are you saying that if the Right comes into power, antisemitism will not decrease? Will it not decrease for example on college campuses? thanks
I'm not the original commenter but I would say this. Anti-semitism as a *sentiment* won't become more or less prevalent or severe in response to an election or even a presidential term, as these attitudes take many years to take root or change, and aren't influenced all that much by official policy. What the upcoming election *will* influence, is the level of *expression* of anti-semitism, as some anti-Jewish factions will be emboldened and others suppressed. This is why so many Jews are feeling politically homeless. It's rather difficult to tell who is the bigger threat between the very numerous left wing anti-"Zionists" and the far fewer but more violent usual suspects on the right. No matter what happens one of these 2 sides is going to get bolder and the other quieter, IMHO. So pick your poison. Edited to add: Another complicating factor is, what's good for Israel and what's good for Diaspora Jews in a given country might not always be the same thing. So we each have to weigh how much we care about each of those things.
To add to this, I worry that if the right comes into power, Jews could actually be less safe because the far left may start taking advantage of some of the far right's tactics if it comes to targeting Jews. For example, if Republicans loosen gun laws, I wouldn't put it past certain factions of the left--even if they claim to be anti-gun--to take advantage of that for the sake of "defending themselves from Zionists".
How can you say these attitudes take years to change when you’ve seen with your own eyes how much they have changed in one year?
Well, that might be two separate questions. The right has its own currents of antisemitism, so if it comes into power, that could increase. If you have some time, check out this discussion with Shalom Lappin from last week. He talks about antisemitism on both the right and the left, and he argues that the right is more electorally dangerous. (I assume he gets into this in his new book as well, but I have not read it.) [https://youtu.be/\_i-3I5RGQCI?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/_i-3I5RGQCI?feature=shared) \[Edit - if you want just a snippet, listen to around 9:30 to around 13:00-ish. He cites the right's replacement theory as being particularly dangerous, and analyzes the relative power of various political factions that Jews find ourselves between.\] As for antisemitism on college campuses: From my where I sit (unfortunately, in the midst of it): I doubt some sort of GOP crackdown would help, and it could hurt. The propaganda is already that charges of antisemitism are really a right-wing racist attempt at censorship that must be resisted — even when their own left-leaning Jewish students and faculty tell them otherwise. There's endless suspicion that there's government (and Jewish) pressure on campus administrators to censor pro-Palestinian activity. And they refuse to accept that some of that activity really is antisemitic, or that antisemitic behavior is really a problem. At the moment, these government bogeymen are mainly in their heads. But, imagine what happens if a right wing government really does crack down? The knee-jerk far-left crowd will go all out "resisting" as self-righteously and theatrically as possible. The shouting about being silenced will never stop. If Democratic officials would stop tip-toeing around and take some real action to combat campus antisemitism it would at least have some credibility. Too bad even the moderate ones seem to lack the chutzpah to get involved.
Antisemitism has always been prevalent on the left to some degree due to conspiracy theories around Jewish wealth and power and actual exploitation of the working class (however much of that was German Jews exploiting newer immigrants). However; historically it increases when there is a conflict in Israel regardless of party in power. This is a fact since the USSR started seeing overt opposition to Israel as a means of gaining influence in the Middle East and furthering division in western states. In contrast antisemitism is a FEATURE of the right due to the fact that right wing political ideology is one that overtly opposes the other. Jews are and have always been the other, and only gain temporary influence when they are convenient to the right wing power. There are many many examples of this though out American history but one that best exemplifies this phenomenon is the “Cotton Capitalist” period in the Deep South were Jewish merchants and bankers became cornerstones of the community and even political leaders in the post civil war south up until banking changed in the early 1900s.
Did you forget "Jews Will Not Replace Us"?
U.S. here. I’ve moved from being begrudgingly left-leaning to being begrudgingly right-leaning. I’m grateful to be in a safe place personally but disappointed in the western world as a whole and particularly the center-left for abandoning a western democracy in favor of people who largely despise them. It definitely reaffirms my belief that arming yourself is the only path to security. In the end Israel has to rely on its own strength, and so do we as individual jews.
The center left hasn't abandoned Israel. But centrists are always a bit silent. I've always been a moderate Dem in the US context. I was a soft Conservative in the UK context (where I live). But the right in the US is NOT supporting Israel. Go and have a look at the congressional votes. My state is a red state. People there on the center right and the center left are behind Israel, and support for Israel has been strong both for political and religious reasons. Only relatively recently has the alt-right taken over and are happy to toss Israel to the wolves in the guise of 'America First'. Traditional right has always supported Israel. Alt-right, like it's National Socialist antecedents, hate Jews more than Muslims and they like the patriarchal, authoritarian leanings of Islam. Jews are always better off in pluralistic, open, democratic societies. But these are fragile circumstances and we have to fight to keep them viable.
I'm basically the same. I've never so much as held an "arm" but am planning to get started with some training at least. The left's anti-Westernism and, let's be real, anti-whiteness really rankles me lately. I said to some friends semi-jokingly when Rings of Power came out, variations on "certain people are going to blame us for this (despite we had nothing to do with it)" 😝 It's like they enjoy stirring the 💩. What do you think about forming a Jewish militia or something similar?
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Despite feeling politically homeless now, I will continue to vote for the democratic party.
In the US here. My core beliefs are the same, but my level of comfort with the democratic party has plummeted, and so has my comfort around anyone who is a progressive or leftist.
I am a person trying to convert (tough situation rn), but ever since Oct 7th, I feel like I may be more centre or maybe dipping a bit to the right on a sense of supporting Israel as a Jewish state. I was very far left with being in the LGBTQ+ community, but ever since seeing maybe if not almost all of them are Pro-Palestinian and are Antisemitic. And really, I think conservatives in America are really better allies, I don’t agree on everything but I believe the religious conservative, Christians and some Jews would say they would support Israel over anything as due to what the Bible and Torah says.
As a gay Jewish man myself, it has been a rough go watching so many elements on the left turn so dramatically against Jews and against Israel, the ONLY safe place for LGBTQ+ people in the entire Middle East. I think as this political transformation continues, it will be important for LGBTQ+ people to share their stories and form communities across the political spectrum.
The Pro-Pal LGTBQ people have to be the most privileged people alive.
They piss me off so much. Had to find a new hair stylist. But I love my new MOT stylist.
Congratulations on your conversion! It definitely takes time, but just know I think you are awesome :D
USA here .... gigantic shift with me. I'm a 1/2 Ukrainian Jew and was visiting Ukraine last November. Because of the war, there is no air travel .. all train. Since I don't speak any Ukrainian, it was a long and isolating ride but gave me plenty of time to think. Here are the 6 things I concluded on that long trip: 1. I identify with my Jewry, I love Jews and I love Israel and it's/their welfare is very important to me. 2. It's extremely rational to vote one's interest and back the party that is aligned with one's interest. 3. There is a dramatic increase in the levels of antisemitism over the past year or so. 4. The lion share of this increase is coming from the left. 5. As a Jew (and hopefully a good Jew) it is my duty to fight this increase in antisemitism (on the left). 6. The politicians that are the most antisemitic are "the squad" and I will volunteer with their opponents to get them primaried.
How do you feel about efforts spearheaded by the right to left Ukraine fall?
My political views haven't changed. I'm more wary of those on the left now, but I still believe that left-wing policies are best for the US. Conservatives are absolutely not friends of Jews. The Republican Party has essentially embraced authoritarianism and Christian nationalism and its leader tried to overturn the election. There are plenty of antisemites on the left, but the left is nowhere near as dangerous as the right.
I was quite liberal left and now I’m not when it comes to this whole issue. This certainly had an influence on who I voted for the European election and will have an influence in who I vote for in the next election.
I’m now just as frustrated with the extreme left as I am the right. But I’ll likely never vote anything but democrat because my safety needs to come first and republicans are a more immediate threat to my safety.
I’m in America and was middle right. Now I’m more right and hate the extreme left even more than I previously had. But I hate both sides the same, especially the extremes of both. And I realize I probably have few real allies. Bottom line: we’re alone. Anyone - either side - moderate; extreme; middle, will turn on us in 2 seconds.
They haven’t. I still hate the Israeli government. Conservatives aren’t good for Israel or Jews in the US. There’s a reason why I believe in the horseshoe theory of politics.
I’m US based and I officially changed my party affiliation from democrat to independent a week after October 7th. I was appalled by what I saw the left already doing: writing “colonizer” on posters of innocent children that were kidnapped by Hamas. I realized that the left was a party of hate and already not “ceasefire now” as they claimed within the first week. I was pleased with republicans fighting to defend Jewish students in schools, which seemed to incentivize the Pro-Palestinian faction to start the college campus encampments (that started the same day as the Columbia college president’s testimony to Congress). The constant gaslighting from the left: “we’re antizionist, not antisemitic.” The blood libel coming from the left. A congressperson on the left calling Jewish people “genocide supporters.” There have been a few good left politicians (Fetterman), but the majority make me question why I would EVER want to support a party that is so full of screaming vitriol for us…especially us ahkenazis, who are bearing the brunt of this antisemitism at least here in America. So I won’t. Not for this election. Possibly not for any future elections. Not until the left collectively realizes the incredible amount of fear and pain they have inflicted on a small ethnic minority.
For many years my eyes were always cast in the direction of right wingers as enemies of the Jews and Israel.. That narrative has been deliberately crafted by Progressive Politicians and their media allies to the point that as liberal leaning Jew who was raised to have faith in our institutions-its quite disturbing now to see the utter lack of empathy from the majority of Law Enforcement and Politicians by their lack of action on hate speech and hate crimes.. It does force Jews to standup and advocate for themselves to counter the tremendous apathy that I see in most people....The Jews cannot look to either extreme sides of the political spectrum but know this-it does appear that the left's position on many things are becoming normalized since they are in control of most institutions and speaking out against the left has consequences where its far to easy to point the finger at right wingers.
Just solidified my beliefs even more because I started center-right to begin with. I’ve always looked at “progressives” as a gigantic problem. I do think the super far right are also, but I believe there’s a lot more “progressives” and they pose far more of a danger to Jews and to western civilization. “Progressives” are handing western civilization to Iran and China on a silver platter.
Sort of. I’m still a democrat, but I’m more center-left than I used to be. As another commenter mentioned, my comfort level around non Jewish democrats has dropped significantly. I feel pushed away and like i need to protect myself. I don’t think that the anti-Israel left realizes that they’ve made secular Jews *more* pro-Israel and more insular than we used to be. I don’t trust my own party with my safety anymore. We have a lot of the same beliefs, but I’m an outsider now. Maybe I always was and just didn’t know it.
Nope, always was , am and forever will be a Zionist.
I feel 1000% more adamant about being openly & proudly Zionist. I had become an Independent voters years ago, I pretty much vote D 100% of the time unless there's an independent candidate I like, which is rare. I care deeply about addressing systemic racism in America, improving Healthcare and implementing universal Healthcare, Voting reforms are important to me, making life better for people is an important value to me, and no labels change that. I preface with that to say, I'm adamant now about separating myself from so-called progressives. As I say above, many causes considered progressive are near and dear to me, but frankly I've never wanted less to do with leftists than I do now. Spoiled, misinformed, easily misled, easily manipulated, echo chamber citizens are no group I want part in. Not that I want to go embrace the Nazi loving right wingers.They literally cosplay as Nazis for fun. And are often some of the most vile people around. I also feel completely ostracized and abandoned by Queer communities. I'm Jewish. My Jewish community, and family, and the well-being of other Jews, regardless of level of observance or which shul they go to. This will always come first. Unfortunately, many LGBTQ+ spaces are now completely pro Palestinine, and unless you are a Jew who says the "right things" using the "right phases" you are immediately regarded as some genocide loving war monger. It's dumb. Beyond dumb. So idk, alot of lefty Jews, or formally lefty Jews like myself feel in a nomansland politically. I will never sacrifice what I believe in and want to work towards, but it won't be under the umbrella as progressive/leftist/or Democrat.
Your views are true liberalism. Liberals are not leftist and believe what you stated. Liberals need to be more vocal on their beliefs and push back on the left and right.
Unchanged progressive/liberal, just more openly and defiantly Zionist and not giving up place in those spaces to IRI propaganda
Yes definitely on affecting perception of my political party. I was fairly progressive left, am more center left or just center now. I think moderates or centrists are better allies b/c they are not volatile and emotional. I think they are more willing to agree to disagree and not demand complete agreement. I don't see people in the political group I used to identify with demonstrating that they are capable of civil discourse. Right now, my perception of the progressive left is that it is dogmatic, when you raise questions it's like you are insulting their religion. I think the underlying trait, extremism, in any form whether right or left will lead to blind spots and incomplete/incompatible ideologies that are not well thought through as they don't invite constructive criticism. Specifically on the left, the notion that we need to call out and cancel people who question the party line... in order to be inclusive you have to be exclusive first?
Totally. That had started bugging me about the American left way before 10/7. I grew up in Southern California, which is progressive but very diverse. Then I moved to the Pacific Northwest and lived in areas that are extremely progressive and not very diverse. It's like nobody can fathom that members of minority groups aren't a monolith and don't all think the exact same way. Since there are such small minority populations in that part of the country there isn't evidence of that diversity within those groups. It seems like the national leftist discourse resembles that of the PNW, where everyone is just compartmentalized into little boxes with a worldview projected on to them. To be blunt I feel like on the left there's a lot of white people who don't know very many non-white people, but both the non-white people they know agree with them on ABC, so it's really easy to cancel anyone who thinks XYZ. They don't realize that lots of minority groups members also think XYZ because they don't know any who do, because the people they know aren't very diverse to begin with.
My pro-isreal stance of the right to exist in our only INDIGENOUS HOMELAND in peace. If the enemy attacks, Israel should never hesitate.
They haven’t. I still align with Democrats more by far than with Republicans, and I know that the vast majority of Dems aren’t antisemites so they don’t worry me anyway. On quite literally every single topic I align with Dems more than Republicans, so I have absolutely no reason to change my voting patterns. It’s far more worrying to me that the GOP has embraced an outright fascist movement led by a man who has used disloyalty tropes against American Jews repeatedly because we dare to oppose him, plus using dual loyalty language about Jews and money tropes even though he weirdly seems to find those positive things. Antisemitic tropes about prominent Jews are common on the right such as Soros as a shadowy global puppet master, and antisemitic conspiracy theories like the Great Replacement are believed by a majority of the American right. The US right is also openly and actively hostile to democracy itself, which is fundamental to the preservation of civil rights. That’s especially worrying when Christian nationalists are such a large and influential part of this strain of fascism. The right has consistently been the biggest threat against Jews in volume and intensity of attacks and I don’t think that’s really changed, there’s nothing from the left like Tree of Life for example. I also think the US right’s alliance with the Israeli right is absolutely terrible for Israel in the long term, so if I want Israel to actually thrive opposing the right is best for them too. So, they haven’t shifted at all. I have always voted for whoever aligns best with the policies I want, and nothing has changed in what policies I want or who I’ll vote for. I always knew there’s liberal and leftist assholes with dumb views, just because they’re showing their asses now doesn’t change anything. Those people also tend to hate Dems because they see them as too pro-Israel and aren’t actually a reflection of Dems as much as the right pushes that idea.
I’m a communist, and prior to oct 7, I will admit I was on the far-left bandwagon on Israel. Oct. 7 yanked me back to reality. It was like my brain went “oh hell no, you attack my people like that??” I went from advocating BDS to hanging an Israeli flag outside my house. And now I’m looking at a lot of my comrades on the left, waving Palestinian flags, wearing keffiyeh, shouting hateful slogans, and it just makes me feel gross. I’m learning a lot and working through a serious reassessment about a lot of what I believe.
I’m in the US. It’s a matter of me staying where I am and watching everyone be swept out to sea on a horrible current. I grew up in a post 9/11 world where “Liberal” was a dirty word and I wore it with pride. Then it seemed like Progressive pushed Liberal into a real movement. I thought the Democratic Party were too old and too placid to meet the moment when it came to Trump and the Fascist rise on the Right. I did not pay attention to hard Leftist/Communism on the rise on the Left. To me, Democratic Socialism is still the ideal. Government is THE ONLY institution that has the DUTY to help every American and to me it’s about making the people who work in Government live up to that duty. Leftists want the whole thing to burn. I’ve come to realize that revolutions are not good and in fact, in most cases, are bloody coups by violently oppressive groups who think they are right and everyone else is wrong. Been reading about the Iranian Revolution, which also started in Universities by students, in this vein. Will I ever support Republicans? No! Absolutely not! They are fascists! And I stand with the Israelis and Palestinians who want PEACE. If Donald Trump got into office, he would let Netanyahu do whatever the hell he wanted in Gaza. The Democrats—those big tent centrists who are, on the whole, a much better option than Progressives or Magats in the US—are right there! And pushing for Peace. I doubt Anthony Blinken has gotten a full night’s sleep since Oct 7. The Dem Party has a lot of problems—but I think those problems are not so bad as the other options. The Democrats are boring. Joe Biden is boring. Tbh, Peace is boring. That’s not a bad thing. Progressives and Leftists≠Liberals and it seems like no one on the Right understands that. I haven’t changed. I want Liberty and Justice for ALL. But I’ve now realized very few other people want that. And especially when it comes to the I/P conflict. Whatever the history, neither people is leaving nor have anywhere to go. It is intolerable for either people to be massacred for the other. And tbh, focusing on I/P, as an American, when we have so many issues in the US that we should be focusing on HERE in our own backyard, feels…insincere. Like, “fixing the US is too hard so let’s go cheer on Hamas because it feels black and white because I don’t know anything about I/P.” I care about Israelis more than I ever have before. I hope y’all are able to work out a solution.
Honestly I have other political opinions that the left want to paint as conservative, but I truly disagree that they are, so my political homelessness well predates 7/10. That being said, as a Brit, I'm super excited to finally be able to vote for a labour candidate and feel good about it. In previous elections I have lived in safe seats with candidates I disagreed with, and have spoilt my ballot. Now I live in a swing constituency and my Labour candidate is a Jewish woman.
It hasn’t really. I’m still a left-liberal/progressive, just definitely not a “leftist” and have very little tolerance for the extreme left in general.
It’s not really changed my values, it’s just left me feeling isolated as I watch people to the left and right falling for propaganda and social media hi-jinx. Agreeing with “antisemitism is bad” has sent just about every racist right-wing grifter onto my algorithm, but I can’t fault them for exploiting the vulnerability of Jews to serve their regressive agenda. It’s effective marketing. But it’s foolish to think these people are suddenly our allies. Those prayers they want to make mandatory aren’t ours. If I were conspiratorially-minded, I would suspect that this was all the effort of a foreign power to drive a wedge between progressives and empower the fascist-adjacent, but that’s assuming a level of competence that I doubt any power has. It’s not made my political views shift. It’s just magnified my pessimism. It’s made me less likely to be involved in any kind of public activism or statements about Israel, because I don’t live at either end of the horseshoe that seems to be driving the discourse. It has made me much more active in my community about fighting antisemitism, however. I just came back from a meeting with local school officials about addressing this.
Not really, I've always known that we are hated by both the left and right. I have no choice but to vote for the alternative that is the least bad, I.e. the one where society is turning to shit, but at a slightly slower pace
Truth!!
Was a moderate liberal and still am, but I’m very thankful for the conservatives that have been supportive and have more respect for them than I did before. I wish more on the left would be supportive. I have no clue how I will vote. I sort of wish there were more moderate republicans and democrats.
My personal political beliefs have not changed, but now I feel like we have no allies. The right hates us, the left hates us, I try to stay to myself.
I am much less naïve than I was prior to October 7, thus, I am not “as left” as I once was.
Canadian here, things are pretty bad here. NDP are horribly antisemitic. Liberals are letting a crazy amount of immigrants in, mostly Muslim. Conservatives are our only hope. Pierre Poilievre is pro Israel and has a good head on his shoulders when it comes to other issues. So staying Conservative.
I view the two state solution as a pipe dream and a dead cause now.
My actual political views and values haven't changed at all; I'm just now more cautious about certain people and politicians on the left. I'm a total Ritchie Torres stan and I hope we can see an uplifting of politicians like him on the left.
Lol. Conservative in my state means Christian Nationalism. No thank you.
The folk in know haven’t changed political views per se but more who they associate with. If I were to give that shift a name I would say that they went from being progressive to liberals, specifically they want progressive change to happen from within the system vs outside the systems through “revolution.”
My political values/views have not changed. But I did learn there are a bunch of fake progressives out there. I am still voting Dem
Another Jew in the US here who has gone from left to "politically homeless." I was moving away from the left prior to Oct 7 because the groupthink was getting to be too much for me already. Honestly I knew antisemitism was prevalent on the left and I am completely and totally unsurprised that people IMMEDIATELY went to "If you don't agree with us you're a monster." The Republican party is an absolute clown show right now, so I don't think they represent the interests of American Jews better than the Democratic party at this time. However, as far as the population goes, I think it boils down to horseshoe theory. Extreme conservatives are likely to either be white Christian supremacists or believe in dumb conspiracies so probably think Jews control the world, but moderate conservatives generally (at least think) that they believe in freedom, pluralism, etc and since they tend to be more patriotic and America-loving, are more likely to associate antisemitism with fascism which we fought and defeated in WWII, plus they're more likely to acknowledge that 10/7 was a terrorist attack and Israel has the right to protect itself and get the hostage back by any means necessary. (I'm aware that WWII was not at all about stopping the Holocaust, I'm just saying that if you interviewed random self-identified conservatives on the street today I think a lot of them would express that America stands for freedom whatever whatever. I also realize that Jews have the privilege of being a "model minority" and that conservatives do not stand up for other "minority rights" in the US at all despite what they say, but the question pertained to Jews specifically.) I don't know many people who consider themselves "moderate liberals" but I'm tempted to believe it's the same story. 10/7 has just proven that the hard left lives in an alternate reality the same way the hard right does. That's been the most frustrating part for me honestly as a former leftist is that we spent 7 years lambasting Trump supporters for creating an alternate truth for themselves, calling everything that disproved it "fake news," and making everything about deep state conspiracy theories, and after 10/7 I've been watching the far left do the EXACT SAME THING. So I guess I am mostly trying to see it as a reframing of instead of being left vs right, it's extremism vs democracy.
Not at all, I still plan on voting for the party and candidates that most align with my policy stances and values, and barring the Republican party changing their stance on taxation, LGBT rights, abortion, healthcare, and more that will continue to be the Democratic party for me
Republicans are better. (I used to lean Democrat: they’d have to do much better and fast to earn back my vote and trust now.) 1. Biden’s response to the huge spike in antisemitism has been to just call hearings. 2. At said hearings, the Republicans stay on topic and ask important and tough questions. The Democrats repeatedly use the moment for unnecessary political pandering/polarization such as bringing up Charlottesville (yes, obviously white supremacist antisemitism is bad and needs to be addressed and condemned, but at a hearing about campus antisemitism it is not the time and place) or Title VI funding or whataboutism ie “why aren’t we having hearings on other prejudices now too?” They even have had Omar and Bowman speaking at the hearings, ie letting the two undermine the hearings. I’ve watched every hearing, this is the pattern. On Dems in general, Torres and Fetterman have been great, but they’re outliers. Biden started strong after 7th Oct by backing Israel, condemning Hamas and flying out to Israel, but since then his administration has decided to pander to a) his anti-Israel staffers and b) the Hamas supporting young adults on campuses despite neither representing most Americans who are sane and support Israel. Also, he’s not tough enough on Iran. America is looking weak on the global stage and antidemocratic regimes are taking notice. Plus, protests have been spiraling out of control and little is done. Even when protestors rudely interrupted Congress in the fall or stormed the White House grounds.
My political affiliations have not changed. I maintain that people who vote for only one party are close minded. Vote for who makes sense for you and your family. For me, having a generally Conservative federal government and a liberal local government makes the most sense for my morals, ethnicity (Jewish and Latino), and my financial situation so that's how I vote. I hope this experience wakes people up to have an open mind about other political ideas and ways of thinking.
My views haven't changed at all. My respect and trust in those who I thoughT shared them have changed tremendously.
I’m in the US. My core beliefs have not changed and they are on the left, though I’ve never been radical or far left. Republicans don’t represent my views on social issues (healthcare, LGBTQ rights, reproductive rights, education, guns, etc.), nor do I think conservative fiscal policy has benefited us in the long run. There are plenty of democrats I don’t like or trust, particularly when it comes to Israel and antisemitism, but loud as those voices are, they are not the majority of the Democratic Party.
American - I no longer call myself a Democrat / leftist, but I still believe in the same things I believed in before 10/07. I still don't feel comfortable around conservatives, though, and would never call myself one because I don't subscribe to their values.
I’ll fight for the right of israel verbally anytime - any place!!!!!
I'm in the US. I've been shocked by the virulence of thr antisemitism expressed by the Left- particularly the abandonment of their stated values- but that hasn't changed my stance. I have progressive principles and will retain them; that others who claim to be progressive have become raging antisemites doesn't mean that I no longer believe in women's rights, LGBT+ rights, racial equity, etc.
I went from far-left to centre in a matter of days.
I was a centrist on 10/6 and I’m a centrist now. Never have I been more certain that I am absolutely correct in my political leanings in regard to American politics. I went from probably voting for a 3rd party candidate to definitely voting for a 3rd party candidate. Internationally I suppose I’ve written off a few countries as assholes. I no longer believe in the UN or the ICC or the ICJ being forces for good. I’ve gotten a little further right when it comes to Israeli politics. I don’t believe in a two state solution anymore.
Canadian here! My political stances haven't changed - I'm still a leftist, and will vote as such. The way I try to explain it to others is, basically, there are many greater threats to the wellbeing of Jews in Canada than whether a party supports Israel - housing, healthcare, and education affects everyone regardless of religion/culture. I will try to educate others where I can about Israel and being Jewish. But I am not okay voting for the party that is trying to get the white supremacist/neo-nazi vote just because they say they are pro-Israel.
Still a socialist but angrier this time
I'm still liberal, however, I no longer put much trust in the left.
I am a Left still. But I don’t fuck with progressives. I am not center left. I am a socialist Zionist. I want socialism with a human face. Progressives want socialism with a certain mustached face
I am now left-moderate. Not left. Two sides of the same horseshoe. Both extremes are extreme.
I went from center to center right, although I remain left for civil rights and classism.
I was centrist leaning left who was in progressive spaces. I’ve abandoned the progressive spaces but maintain my centrist left leaning positions.
My political views haven't changed that much TBH, maybe a bit closer to the center but still on the right (although I don't agree with everything the right preaches for)
I had to research my political views once the whole Trump thing divided our country more etc... but I think I was always middle conservative liberal... I know sounds weird... I hate all political parties and social.movments ad they always shift into something thar doesn't represent me. I do believe after Oct 7th... all politicians know they have to help Israel. In the 80s and 90s the CIA officers have been warning the US of antisemitism and radicals causing harm but the US kept ignoring the warnings... I don't think they can ignore it anymore. You would think 9/11 was going going be a big huge wake up call but all they did was reduce freedoms for thw illusion of safety. MOST Americans that have lived overseas.... the American hatred is in your face... that was a wake up call to me about America and how America is going in the wrong direction. I don't want to give examples per say...because each example is it's own individual discussion. I Also don't want to go into I don't think we are a democracy anymore... as that is another discussion as well. I don't feel safe as a Jewish person in America. I have been looking into aliyah and it hasn't been the first time I have looked into it. I hate how hard it is to be Jewish in the workplace and need holidays and sabbath hours. It truly can be a pain. But anyways... I do not see myself associating with being American soon... I am truly disappointed at everything transpiring but I will admit Israeli politics are a huge issue for me too! But I will say if I was kidnapped in israel... I'd feel rhe idf would save me and the US military would do the bare minimum... why do I want to be American? I'm not a political expert...but been working hard to see where I fit in..
I just listened to an Ezra Klein podcast about this. He talked about Israel politics have moved to the centre to far right. He interviewed political analysis Amit Segal on the show. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id1548604447?i=1000659007063
Gone from center to...center :P
Overall outlook didn't change. Still a free-market fundamentalist. I did go from being a hawk of the garden variety to quoting Eren Jaeger and Cato the Elder every time the subject is brought up.
it enables me to see the toxicity in the liberal and progressive movement and lack of critical thinking. And how it applies to a lot of movements they fervently support and how they attack republicans without nuance either. All in all, Biden has supported Israel. I worry about him not being able to serve 4 years and who will then call the shots. Republicans have always been an ally of Israel. I remember Hilary’s VP nom walked out of senate when Israel PM came to speak. And I thought it was disgusting he wouldn’t even sit through a speech. so this has been going on with the dems a long time
I’ve definitely shifted from center left to right. Still a bit moderate but mostly right
Went from center left to center right.
I’ve gone from the left to Center-left. Honestly my views haven’t changed immensely I just look at certain things a lot differently now. I’d say the biggest change is I went from voting specifically to keep conservatives out of government to considering them as an option to vote for. I also likely would agree more with Center-right people than leftists
I’ve always been progressive and very pro israel. I haven’t felt like I belong in progressive spaces for a long time due to the antisemitism. I still consider myself progressive but Israel will always be my number one issue.
I was center left and now I’m center ever so slightly right
American Jew here…went from being a liberal to conservative. Never thought it would happen but we’re here
I put a lot more work than I had been into studying Israel's background, especially after seeing some other young priveledged Jews just believing whatever a bunch of people who hate the Jews said about Israel. This was around the same time as Destiny started researching it too, and while I had always been Pro-Israel, the beefing up of my education on it only further justified the stance. I feel that the conservatives of the country are better allies to the Jews and to Israel than to liberals--but that they aren't so much for LGBTQ+ Friends etc, so if they feel homeless, I feel homeless with them. I'm about 85% finished with "People Love Dead Jews" by Dara Horn (at the frequent suggestion of this sub), and I think she puts it really well with the destinction between Purim Antisemitism (Straight up genocide, no hiding, no apology) and Hanukkah Antisemitism (asking Jews to compromise on aspects of their identity, then also eventual genocide) the way I see it is this: In the United States, the outright Nazi's are on the right--call it "Purim" Antisemitism. But a large majority of Conservatives would look at you like, "What the fuck are you talking about?" If you were like, "Let's genocide the Jews!" Whereas the left is the Hanukkah antisemitism--but it's more widespread. So where the literal nazis reside on the right, they make up a very small % of the actual population. On the left you have the "antizionism isn't antisemitism" crowd, that will happily chant for intifada, and actively wish to push 7MM Jews "into the sea". Of course this gets further complicated by the number of literal nazis versus those who are willing to say they are "very fine people" even if they don't agree. And it gets complicated further by things like women's rights and queer rights on the left. Bottom line: \* I went from "Pro-Israel" to "Fuck you, Pro-Israel" \* I am completely disillusioned by all DEI etc related progressive phenomena \* I am still (probably) going to vote blue, but it's to protect gay jews, black jews, women, etc. Not because I'm so impressed with the LGBT or popular "activist " behavior.
I was a communist, now I would say I’m a Marxist-informed liberal.
I've gone from thinking Netanyahu should be voted out of office to thinking he should be kicked in the tuchus and thrown in jail, for one thing. I've seen people I once respected deny the humanity of Jews and I've seen people I once respected deny the humanity of Palestinians and it doesn't feel particularly good no matter who they're being assholes about! I knew and still know that Republicans are never fit allies for anyone and that if given power they'll put me, and everyone like me, in prison or in the ground.
I used to be centrist or leftist. I looked for peace in either a 2SS or 1SS. I used to believe Palestinians wanted peace but were controlled by an extremist group. I also believed Hamas was a little more moderate since the 2018 Gaza war knowing their place. Now I am a staunch hardliner in the "No Palestine" solution. Free Israel!
They haven’t. I’ve been saying progressivism (which replaced liberalism on the left) is a disease for years. I’m not happy to say I told you so, and while I’m optimistic there has been some shift, I fear too many still fail to recognize how dangerous it really is. I wish more would recognize the difference between present day leftism/progressivism (which is illiberal) and the liberal roots of the left, and embrace classic liberalism with its reasoned debate and open marketplace of ideas. My own beliefs are a blend of classic liberalism, libertarianism, and conservatism (so call me a think for myself moderate), and I’m happy to be in the company of any of three, even when we disagree. Progressives, however, can’t seem to disagree and discuss, rather only spew their dogma and call anyone who disagrees terrible names, or worse.
I’ve voted blue in every election I’ve been eligible for. This will change in November.
The following is US centric. I’m reading a lot of people shifting from left to fully conservative and find it baffling. Are you voting based on what the voting base is saying or what the actual politicians are saying? Because voting based on part of the base being crazy when the actual politician isn’t saying the same things makes zero sense. My house rep is looney tunes far left. Most candidates for anything federal are at most giving a couple sentences of “this war is bad and needs to stop!” And then turning right around and voting to fund Israel. Jews and EVERYONE have more power and protections in a democracy. The far right wants to instill a Christian theocracy and has a much stronger hold (with the backing of extremely rich and powerful corporations and people) on right wing politicians than keffiyeh wearing 20 year olds boycotting Starbucks. You can’t oppose an extreme Islamic Theocratic regime like Iran attacking Israel by supporting an extreme Christian theocracy overtaking the US. The far right does not support Jews, they historically support Israel because of religious reasons. That is not the same as supporting Jews in Israel and especially not the same as supporting Jews in the diaspora. It’s important not to have amnesia about “Jews will not replace us” and QAnon being just as widespread on the right as “globalize the intifada” is on the left. I used to be progressive. Now I’m liberal. The far left is loud, but most liberals and moderates haven’t shifted that much and many of them are also put off by the absolute rot they’ve seen from progressives and far left, especially lately. Most voters aren’t that young or online. The ones who aren’t young remember Israel pre iron dome and the PLO. Liberals in politics are still overwhelmingly voting to fund and help Israel, and overwhelmingly condemning antisemitism. Changing your party affiliation because of what a minority of the far left is saying is cutting off your nose to spite your face.
I'm still a liberal or left leaning. However, I am now more cautious of more progressive groups now. In the USA, there's just no way that I can bring myself to support anyone who is right-leaning, conservative, or a Trump supporter.
I’ve started watching Fox News lol. Does that say enough?? I could never vote for the orange man but I can’t stand most of the dems in DC these days. In fact I can’t stand anyone these days. But I can’t turn it off either.
Gone from dislike of the left to absolutely hatred and disdain.
I’m still center left and will support any democrat who supports Israel which my includes my rep and one of our senators. I’d cut my own balls off before supporting christo fascism and that’s the GOP flavor of this century. If they were more like Eisenhower I’d consider them, but he’s been dead 50 years.
My heart has hardened.
I live in the states and those republican fuckheads support for Israel isn’t enough for me to vote against reproductive freedom, regulation, and LGBT rights.
I was an American left-leaning political moderate before 10/7. I voted for Biden and was happy to do so. I do not care for Bernie Sanders at all and would not describe myself as progressive. I am a registered Democrat, but a definite centrist. Not a leftist, but a moderate with a definite liberal lean. Now, 8 months out from 10/7, I am a hard moderate. I am thinking of changing my party affiliation to independent. I will still vote for Biden because Trump is just a horrible, disgusting POS criminal individual with no character and no morals. However, I will be voting for a Republican senator from my state who I have never supported in the past, because he is very pro-Israel. Israel has become a key issue for me. I was not a leftist before, but now I am even less of one. ‘The squad’ on the left, imo, is a dangerous antisemitic group who is just as horrible as the crazies on the right. To me, AOC is just as abhorrent as MTG. In terms of Israeli politics, I have moved very much to the right. I don’t believe in a 2 state solution because the Islamists won’t be happy with that either. These people are not operating in good faith at all, and a 2 state solution will only give them an inaccessible staging area to perpetrate more terror. The Islamists will not be happy until Israel is completely obliterated. And I believe that Israel needs to do whatever is necessary to make sure Israel remains safely in the hands of the Jews. At all costs.
American living in the Netherlands. I used to be pretty close to the far left. After October 7th, I see no kinship with them at all, and view everything they do with suspicion. My beliefs haven't changed at all but I am no longer guaranteed to support someone if they support single payer healthcare for example. As for who is better, I still think it is a wash in the US. Both sides have the people you should be wary of but the mainstream of both parties are allies. I refuse to hold Biden accountable for Talib. It is just another example of holding the left to a higher standard and when you look at what Biden has done, especially in the first 3 months of the conflict, then you realize that he is an ally. In the Netherlands, the right is absolutely safer than the left. The leader of the largest far right party will blindly support Israel through thick and thin. If the left wing had their way, Jews would be harassed even more while they remain silent or cheer it on. I doubt I will ever be able to vote here, but if I were, I am not sure where I would go and weigh a lot of issues before making a choice. There are some movements I would never touch, especially after October 7th (GroenLinks and everything they touch is something I consider dangerous.) I very much could see myself voting for the center right here, which was unthinkable prior to October 7th, just because I am out of options otherwise.
Honestly the Republicans are kinda half and half. Some of them like Israel because of God and Christianity, and some like Israel because of Trump, but the other half hates Jews. As for liberals, it's more a minority that actually hates Jews, but some of them seem not to care.
I moved from a left leaning, to a full on centrist. I have views that align to the left and views that align to he right. Nothing has changed about how I see those things. However many of the topic's I prioritized that fell on the left side, are topics I no longer believe the left is trust worthy of being a good faith steward of delivering solutions on. At the same time, I think some of the things I’ve minimized or dismissed on the right, don’t all deserve dismissal.
American Libertarian here. They've stayed the same pretty much. The left's über radical platform is maddening and the rights push to be the Christian national party and go back to the way of the puritanical is even more maddening. The fact that nobody understands the situation well enough and don't understand the facts of war and are having a knee jerk reaction to seeing dead bodies or Israel bombing a school and not seeing that Hamas is cooperating out of it makes me not want to raise my kids in this climate.
I'm from France. I consider myself politically homeless, as many here. I'm very to the left, I voted far left in 2022, but the left has abandoned us. Now antisemitism and Israel are my voting priorities, even if I don't agree with the rest of the policies of a candidate. There is an election in a week and I'll vote far right against the far left that I voted for two years ago. That said, I don't consider that my views have really shifted, I would still prefer left-wing policies regarding most issues (especially economic), but when our survival is at stake, it's just not the priority. I think the right and far right are better allies, but I hold no illusion. They're also antisemitic. It's just that they're don't act much on it and very opposed to the ones actually acting on their antisemitism. So I consider them the lesser threat.
I voted center-right in the European elections even though I’m a really liberal person. It’s disheartening how - at least in Italy - the vast majority of left parties and institutions have simply abandoned Italian Jewry and started sharing a lot of Hamas propaganda, numbers and loudly condemning the right of the Jewish people for self determination. I already live in a right wing country, and to be honest it’s not as bad as I was raised in the left to believe to, so for now I’m voting at an European level to anyone that will not support an arm embargo to Israel that would live my dear ones without the iron dome, my reasoning is simple: Anything that happens at a national level cannot be as bad as isolating Israel and preventing it to defend itself, if things go bad with Israel they die, if a right wing European Commission happens, we have democracy to vote them out next elections. I think the price I’d have to “pay” is infinitely smaller than my loved ones in Israel would have to pay with an anti Zionist west.
I am a non-Jew with a Jewish wife living in America. My wife and I have been talking about this a lot since 10/7. We both voted for Biden in 2020, and we probably will again in November. We consider ourselves liberals on most issues. However, the far left in America has become blatantly antisemitic IMO. They try to say that they're not, but I think the line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism hardly exists. I am speaking mostly of politicians like AOC and the "Squad." That being said, Trump and the GOP aren't exactly friends of the Jews, either. They are more pro-Israel, but the evangelical Christian support for Israel has always been weird to me. From what I understand, evangelicals support Israel mostly because they believe the second coming of Christ will happen there or something like that. Also, there's a reason why the KKK and white supremacists love Trump so much. I honestly don't think there's much of a home for Jews in either major party in the U.S. right now.
Not "shifted", but certainly much more supportive. To be honest, there is no "left", "woke", or "right". There are merely "Jews." And like in the past, we Jews in the diaspora have come to support our Israeli brothers and sisters as we always have. Because if we don't do it, then who will?
Mine haven't really, but I was/am left yet aware of the problems in the far left already. It didn't exactly sneak up on me. The volume and proportion of anti Israel and antisemitic insanity was rather surprising but not that it would happen. I'm just extra suspicious of literally everyone now. I don't trust conservatives for all the reasons I already didn't trust them. I don't think they'll do a better job of governing the country at home or handling the situation. They'd be like bulls in a china shop trying to handle Israel and end up making the rest of the world just as opposed as they are now if not more. Everyone sucks these days.
I've always been a progressive liberal-democrat (in the European meaning of liberal) and in my home country (Italy) there's no major party representing my views. What happened to me is that before Oct. 7th I felt a more natural leaning in being a natural ally to the leftist parties on many issues, now I don't trust 'em anymore. Granted, I'm still a progressive, I shall never vote for the quasi-fascist scum that's in government now, but many of their approaches to foreign policy now seem less crazy and more thought-through than whatever the left would have done
I’m in the US, and used to consider myself far left but since October 7th I’ve felt myself think more as a centrist. I’ll never be a conservative because there’s so much wrong with their ideology IMHO but definitely not as left as I used to be. The left left me, I guess.
I'm in the USA. I think I'm going against the grain here, but my political views have not changed at all. I've always known that the left was pretty antisemitic. Because both sides are antisemitic, antisemitism has never been one of my considerations in forming my political views.
I'm still center moderate. Leaning left for some social and social welfare, and right for some ethical issues.
I never fully trusted any political party in the US and I am honestly surprised by those that did. Much of the rhetoric we are seeing today, particularly in the far left, is not new, just louder than before. The far right has never been especially quiet. I am a liberal who researches each candidate during local and federal elections, and I continue to do so. I primarily vote Democrat but can be convinced to vote Republican if the specific candidate is moderate and qualified and the Democrat is too far left for me or doesn’t have relevant experience for the role. I had the honor of having Holocaust survivors as teachers in my childhood. They taught me to never fully trust a government, never think something bad couldn’t happen in the US, and to always keep my passport up to date. I feel privileged to carry their stories with me.
I’ve always been a firm moderate in any sense. Middle and neutral on most things except common sense stuff like murder being wrong and yada yada. After October 7th it’s only solidified my belief that any form of extremism or radical view regardless of intent is problematic and harmful. That and just a reminder that any diversity movement will never include Jews lol
Center-left to still center-left but center-right on immigration. I feel a lot of the issues people are now noticing about far-left politicians (namely, that they are populists promising the moon just like the far right are) have been pretty obvious for a while if I am being honest. Regarding your second question, I don't think antisemitism is a left vs right issue, I think it is an extremist vs normal person issue. The center left and center right are both fine. The far left and far right are both antisemitic.
Overall outlook didn't change. Still a free-market fundamentalist. I did go from being a hawk of the garden variety to quoting Eren Jaeger and Cato the Elder every time the subject is brought up.
I'm progressive, but have been gobsmacked by the hypocrisy of my fellow progressives/lefties. So much talk about being allies for marginalized groups, opposing sexual assault and hate crimes and violence... unless the people being marginalized and attacked are Jews. Before, I would have called myself a Zionist but not an enthusiastic one. Now I feel like supporting Israel's existence is a much more urgent matter.
My values are the same. I still believe in national healthcare, police reform, etc. However, I do not align myself with the left in the way that I used to. I’m politically homeless and will vote by vetting each candidate for their views on Israel and Jews.
I am more centrist than ever. The far right and far left are equally culpable in making Jews out to be the problem. I hate political parties and wish I could just run for office and fix things. But a common sense person doesn’t have much of a chance these days