Schraub’s observation about the power of anti-Semitism is a crucial one, and a reminder that the anti-Israel movement in the West is much more about the channeling of hatred than humanitarian sympathy for the suffering of Palestinians—regardless of what individual members think about Jews in general. Hatred, rather than a desire for results, explains the actions of the anti-Israel protesters who yesterday blocked the Holland Tunnel and three New York City bridges during rush hour.
Much like interfering with the Thanksgiving parade or a Christmas-tree lighting, obstructing traffic for thousands of commuters is unlikely to win the demonstrators any allies. Nor is it likely to save any Palestinians lives. But, Noah Rothman argues, making friends or achieving political goals isn’t the point:
There is satisfaction in making yourself into a recalcitrant, maximalist proponent of revolutionary social change—if only for the romance of it. These movements attract figures who reject compromise, which imposes a ceiling on their numbers. . . . That is especially true for movements organized around the notion that all of polite society is arrayed corruptly against you. If it is possible to make inroads with a broader, skeptical public, the movement’s central conceit is a lie.
The behavior that has typified the most aggressive anti-Israel protests doesn’t make much sense unless it is seen as an effort not to convince the uncommitted but to repel them. In that way, the movement can avoid the compromises associated with the conduct of politics. . . . By preserving its exclusivity, it can remain pure. Of course, that says a lot more about the protesters than their cause.
More about: Anti-Semitism, U.S. Politics