I read this NY Times article On Israel, Progressive Jews Feel Abandoned by Their Left-Wing Allies (Jewish leaders and voters said they were taken aback to discover that many of their ideological allies saw them as oppressors who deserved blame following the Israel attacks.)

The article begins as follows:

Progressive Jews who have spent years supporting racial equity, gay and transgender rights, abortion rights and other causes on the American left — including opposing Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank — are suddenly feeling abandoned by those who they long thought of as allies. This wartime shift represents a fundamental break within a liberal coalition that has long powered the Democratic Party.

In Los Angeles, Rabbi Sharon Brous, a well-known progressive activist who regularly criticizes the Israeli government, described from the pulpit her horror and feelings of “existential loneliness,” her voice breaking. “The clear message from many in the world, especially from our world — those who claim to care the most about justice and human dignity — is that these Israeli victims somehow deserved this terrible fate.”

NY Times

Being a fan of comedian and progressive acvtivist Sarah Silverman I clicked on the link to her name in this paragraph:

From email listservs of progressive Jewish groups to protests on university campuses to social-media campaigns by prominent liberal Jewish celebrities like Sarah Silverman, the war is bringing to a head more than a decade of tensions about Israel on the American left.

NY Times

The link took me to her Instagram page where she has 2 million followers.

There she responded to this Instagram post from the Democratic Socialists of America (their website):

I was not able to find pages two and three of the above post.

This is her response to that post from a week ago and from (at this writing) 8 hours ago:

A simple change in the wording of the first sentence in this post might not have provoked the level of outrage Silverman expressed in her response. All the Democratic Socialists had to do was state that they were steadfast in expressing solidarity with the innocent people of Palestine. They might have added some nuance to saying the attacks were a direct result of Israel’s apartheid regime. This is an oversimplification. There is no direct line between the legitimate grievances of Palestinians and the evolution of Hamas into a savage group of atrocity committing terrorists. How and why this happened the way it happened is not readily explained as a “direct result” of the cruel draconian anti-Palestinian policies of the Israeli government. Not all oppressed people who revolt against their oppressors do so with what appear to have been a delibrately planned unleashing of the most brutal, sadistic, and barbaric behavior imaginable. In most wars such atrocities tend to be isolated incidents.

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez in her response to a pro-Palestinian rally in New York expressed what Silverman did but without resorting to profanity (my emphasis):

“The bigotry and callousness expressed in Times Square on Sunday were unacceptable and harmful in this devastating moment. It also did not speak for the thousands of New Yorkers who are capable of rejecting both Hamas’ horrifying attacks against innocent civilians as well as the grave injustices and violence Palestinians face under occupation.” 

Politico: AOC knocks ‘bigotry and callousness’ of Times Square rally for Palestinians

Had Silverman, the only well-known person quoted in The NY Times article (and you may never have heard of her) had a response free of profanity she might have been quoted since she basically said what Eric Spiegelman is quoted as saying in the same article:

Eric Spiegelman, a lawyer and podcast producer in Los Angeles who has serves on municipal boards, was enraged by the protest in New York City promoted by the Democratic Socialists of Americaafter the attack. He sent hundreds of letters to Los Angeles city officials urging them to denounce the organization and label it a “hate group.” The D.S.A. has since backed away from the protest and apologized “for not making our values explicit.”

“It’s like, I belong to this political organization that believes in three things: affordable housing, raising the minimum wage, and the wholesale murder of Jews,” said Mr. Spiegelman, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he condemned local leaders who are affiliated with the group. “Two out of three ain’t bad!”

NY Times article

As noted above the DSA clarified their position on Oct. 10th in a press release.

NYC-DSA believes in peace, equality, and freedom for all Palestinians and Israelis. We deeply mourn the loss of life in the region and unequivocally condemn all hatred and the killing of all civilians. Our sympathy and condolences go out to those who have lost loved ones or have loved ones in harm’s way. On Saturday, in anticipation of escalatory violence to come, we tweeted a promotion of a rally in solidarity with the people of Palestine. We understand why many, including our allies, were shocked by the timing and the tone of this message in a moment of profound fear and grief. We are sorry for the confusion our post caused and for not making our values explicit.

We are also concerned that some have chosen to focus on a rally while ignoring the root causes of violence in the region, the far-right Netanyahu government’s escalating human rights violations and explicitly genocidal rhetoric, and the dehumanization of the Palestinian people. Gaza is now under a “complete siege.” The Israeli Defense Ministry announced that it will cut off electricity, food, and water to over two million people, half of whom are children. The death toll is rising rapidly. No amount of violence, deprivation, or collective punishment will make everyday Palestinians and Israelis safe. We call for an immediate cease-fire to stop the senseless murder. We call for the end of the 75-year Nakba that includes the occupation of the West Bank, the end of the 16-year siege on the open-air prison that is the Gaza Strip, and the end of U.S. military aid for occupation and apartheid. That is the only pathway to safety and peace for all in the region.

DSA statement

However, the following is from the website of the DSA as of this morning. It was posted here yesterday after it appears to have been determined that the hospital attack in Gaza was not due to an Israeli attack.

From the National Political Committee — Weekend of Action

This week, an Israeli airstrike massacred over 500 Palestinians and wounded countless more in an attack that directly targeted a hospital in Gaza. Bombing a hospital is an unspeakable atrocity. This is the latest escalation in an ongoing genocide, from the beginning of the Nakba 75 years ago to today.

DSA website as of Oct. 20

I posted the screenshot since by the time you read this they might have made a correction. We have come to expect such ineptitude from Donald Trump who just posted something on Truth Social which could have resulted in being santioned by the judge handling his New York trial and when this was noted in the media it was deleted but it remained on his campaign website (see article).

This is not the time for inflamatory rhetoric and for the dissemination of incorrect information. It is time for dispassionate analysis of a complex situation which has been decades in the making. While emotions on various sides is high and this may be a challenge for some, those who ought to know better should take a deep breath, count slowly to 10, and think before they express their opnions.