I am writing in response to a letter written by a rabbi. The author spoke about horrific, recent, acts committed against Jewish people in the United States. The rabbi described himself as feeling like a “canary in a coal mine” and called to “clamp down on violent inciting speech before it leads to actual violence.” This call to limit the speech of protesters is the true canary in the coal mine.
The attacks that have happened to Jewish people are unforgivable, but so is the equivocation of acts of violence committed by disturbed individuals with a movement trying to stop the mass murdering in Gaza. Many groups, including the United Nations and Amnesty International have accused the Israeli government of committing genocide. An estimated 55,000 people have died in Gaza since October 7; this is beyond unacceptable.
To not protest is not an option for many people in the United States. We provide an enormous amount of military aid to Israel and so we have a moral obligation to raise our voices.
It is true that these recent attacks were unforgivable, but it is also true that there is no perfect protest. There will always be detractors and sick individuals attached to any movement who can be pointed to to try and halt a just cause. The real canary in the coal mine is saying we should focus on policing the speech of those fighting for an end to genocide instead of focusing on stopping the genocide itself.
