Antisemitismo sui Social: lettera aperta a Igor Sadikov

Di seguito la lettera aperta scritta dalla World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS), ombrello per le unioni giovanili ebraiche nazionali, come l’Ugei, a Igor Sadikov, autore di tweet esplicitamente antisemiti su Twitter.

16/02/2017

Open Letter to Igor Sadikov from international Jewish student leaders

Dear Igor,

As Jewish student leaders and activists around the world, we have seen and taken note of your extremely concerning rhetoric. Your comments implying that Jews are not “a legitimate ethnic group” and your encouragement via Twitter that your followers should “punch a Zionist” are both offensive and distressing. You have ignored calls for your resignation, reaffirming you show no remorse for your comments whatsoever.

Legitimate criticism of Israel is perfectly acceptable, but your rhetoric is not. Many activists in recent years, in an effort to avoid appearing antisemitic, have taken to making a distinction between Jewish people and Israeli actions, by targeting their comments at “Zionists,” not Jews, and “Zionism,” not Judaism or Jewish culture. This is not a workable shortcut.

Tweets such as yours put you in line with antisemitic movements that use the same verbiage, but for the opposite purpose: they spread anti-Jewish oppression under a white nationalist label. In 2005, well known former-KKK leader, David Duke, co-chaired an international conference titled “Zionism as the Biggest Threat to Modern Civilization.” For most associated with these antisemitic groups, “Zionists” are the demonic Jews controlling the world, in the style of the debunked Protocols of the Elders of Zion; and “Zionism” is the ideology of evildoing by Jews. Secondly, using the term “Zionists” does not protect Jews. It just makes people who bomb Jewish institutions, synagogues and schools, etc., call the people they are killing Zionists.

Zionism is not an insult. It is not a catch phrase, a code word for racism or imperialism, or the name for unpleasant things done by Jews. It stands for a huge range of beliefs and believers. The Jewish people is a three thousand year old ethno-religious group with shared cultural, religious and ethnic memory. While Zionism and Judaism are not the same thing, for the vast majority of Jews, a connection to the land, state and/or people of Israel forms an important part of their Jewish identity. Zionism is an ideology that, at its core, simply affirms the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in our ancestral homeland. If you would not deny any other national groups right to self-determination, but you maintain your denial of Jewish people to do the same, we have no choice but to label you an antisemite.

This letter has been written by activists of the World Union of Jewish Students, an international umbrella movement supporting Jewish student associations all over the world. We believe strongly that our movement must be intersectional and join the fight against all forms of oppression as true emancipation can only come from collective struggle. Too long has antisemitism been ignored by activists such as yourself and too long has our oppression been ignored by the wider student movement. Taking care to resist antisemitism is not about walking on eggshells or acquiescing to pressure. It is about making a greater commitment to refusing to take part in all forms of oppression.

As Jewish student leaders ourselves we stand unequivocally in solidarity with the Jewish students at McGill University who have felt personally attacked by you and join the chorus of those calling for you to step down from your position.

Yours sincerely,

1. Yosef Tarshish, Chairperson, World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS)
2. Samantha Miretzky, Board Chair, World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS)
3. Daniel Cohen, Board Treasurer, World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS)
4. Rachel Dingman, Board Member, World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS)
5. Dan Smith, Board Member, World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS)
6. Yoni Mann, Board Member, World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS)
7. Hallel Silverman, Communications Director, World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS)
8. Benny Fischer, President, European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS) & Jewish Student Union in Germany (JSUD)
9. Talia Bidussa, Board Member, European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS)
10. Noam Yossef, Board Member, European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS)
11. Ofer Rosenblat, Board Member, European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS)
12. Mike Delberg, Board Member, Jewish Student Union in Germany (JSUD)
13. Lionel Reisch, Board Member, Jewish Student Union in Germany (JSUD)
14. Dalia Grinfeld, Board Member, Jewish Student Union in Germany (JSUD)
15. Arthur Bondarev, Board Member, Jewish Student Union in Germany (JSUD); Co-President, ELES Student Board
16. Liana Kotliar, Co-President, ELES Student Board
17. Josh Seitler, President, Union of Jewish Students of the UK & Ireland (UJS)
18. Josh Nagli, Campaigns Director, Union of Jewish Students of the UK & Ireland (UJS)
19. Liron Velleman, Campaigns Officer, Union of Jewish Students of the UK & Ireland (UJS)
20. Sacha Ghozlan, President, Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF)
21. Jorge Testa, President, Federación de Estudiantes Judíos de Chile (FEJ)
22. Salvador Reiss, Vice-President, Federación de Estudiantes Judíos de Chile (FEJ)
23. Arièl Nacamulli, President, Jewish Youth Union of Italy (UGEI)
24. Belle Polgar, National Chair, Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS)
25. Ariel Zohar, National Political Affairs Director, Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS)
26. Benjamin Hess, Co-Chair, Austrian Union of Jewish Students (JÖH)
27. Benjamin Guttman, Co-Chair, Austrian Union of Jewish Students (JÖH)
28. Emanuel Hess, Technical Director, Austrian Union of Jewish Students (JÖH)
29. David Pinchasov, Treasurer, Austrian Union of Jewish Students (JÖH)
30. Samy Schrott, Board Member, Austrian Union of Jewish Students (JÖH)
31. Nadja Herscovici, Board member, Austrian Union of Jewish Students (JÖH)
32. Julia Kerbel, President, Dutch of Jewish Students (IJAR-NL)
33. Shoshanna Mogendorff, Secretary, Dutch of Jewish Students (IJAR-NL)
34. Sarai Mock, Treasurer, Dutch of Jewish Students (IJAR-NL)
35. David Csilik, President, Youth Council of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Hungary
36. Judit Koszegi, Vice-President, Youth Council of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Hungary
37. Jonas Dessauer, Chairman, Danish Jewish Youth Organization (DJUS)
38. Victoria Godik, Chair, Ukrainian Union of Jewish Students (UUJS)
39. Anna Vyshniakova, Diplomacy Committee Member, Ukrainian Union of Jewish Students (UUJS)
40. Eden Djanashvili, Vice-President, Union of Jewish Students of Barcelona (UEJB)
41. Gabriel Zollmann, National Chairperson, South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS)
42. Cayla Urdang, National Director, South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS)
43. Yair Katz, National Treasurer, South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS)
44. Sarit Shull, National Women’s Officer, South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS)
45. Dean Weil, Chairperson, SAUJS at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa)
46. Eden Goldenberg, Chairperson, SAUJS at the University of Pretoria (South Africa)
47. Mayer Stein, President, NETWORK: The American Union of Jewish Students
48. Ezra Weinberger, Executive Vice-President, NETWORK: The American Union of Jewish Students
49. Ross Beroff, Director of Partnerships and Outreach, NETWORK: The American Union of Jewish Students
50. Misha Vilenchuk, National Campaigns Officer & New England Chair, NETWORK: The American Union of Jewish Students
51. Nina Tojzner, President, Jewish Youth Union of Sweden (JUS)
52. Yael Mosesson, Vice-President. Jewish Youth Union of Sweden (JUS)
53. Navah Edelstein, Head of  Foreign Relations, The National Union of Israeli Students (NUIS)
54. Gabriel Nissan, President, Mexican Federation of Jewish Youth (FeMeJJ)
55. Adela Smeke, Secretary, Mexican Federation of Jewish Youth (FeMeJJ)
56. Angela Penkar, President, Jewish Youth Pioneers of Mumbai (JYP-India)
57. Gemma Adams, President, Birmingham Jewish Students Society (UK)
58. Eliav Cohen Benchabo, Co-President, Manchester Jewish Students Society (UK)
59. Leoni Benabu Morales, Co-President, Manchester Jewish Students Society (UK)
60. Elliot Rose, Vice-President, Manchester Jewish Students Society (UK)
61. Frankie Simons, Campaigns Officer, Manchester Jewish Students Society (UK)
62. Jess Baskind, Interfaith Officer, Manchester Jewish Students Society (UK)
63. Lily Glaskie, President, Bristol University Jewish Society (UK)
64. Zoe Daniels, President, Liverpool Jewish Students Society (UK)
65. Elena Odier, President, University of Warwick Jewish Israeli Students Society (UK)
66. Luz Toff, Co-President, Brighton and Sussex Jewish Students Society (UK)
67. Benjamin Freed, Co-President, Brighton and Sussex Jewish Students Society (UK)
68. Leo Brosh, Founder, Hong Kong Jewish Students Society (China)
69. Raphael Hassan, President, Bocconi Jewish Student Association (Italy)
70. Andi Gergely, Former Chairperson (2014-15), World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS)
71. Chaya Pomeranz, Former Chairperson (2013), World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS)
72. Tamar Shchory, Former Chairperson (2007-08), World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS)
73. Dean Sherr, Former National Chair (2015), Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS)
74. Micky Fisher, Former National Chair (2016), Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS)
75. Ariela Carno, Former National Chair (2013-2014), South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS)
76. Dani Hovsha, Former National Chair (2016), South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS)
77. Jack E. Civre, Founding Member, Turkish Union of Jewish Students; Member, WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps
78. Eden Adler, President, Hebrew University of Jerusalem – AEPi Chapter
79. Noah Ohringer, Founding Father, University of St Andrews – AEPi Chapter
80. Jordan S. Mizrahi, Founding Father, University of Bristol – AEPi Chapter.
81. Benjamin Ezzes, President, Sydney Metro – AEPi Chapter

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UGEI

L’Unione Giovani Ebrei d’Italia (UGEI) è un’organizzazione ebraica italiana. Essa rappresenta tutti gli ebrei italiani di età compresa tra i 18 e i 35 anni. L’organo ufficiale di stampa UGEI è HaTikwa: un giornale aperto al confronto di idee.