Double Standards vs. Equity – Introduction : From Blog Posts to Book
The purpose of “Double Standards vs. Equity – Introduction” and these blog posts is to combine them into a published book entitled Safe Schools for Jewish Students: An Educator’s Guide to Preventing Antisemitism and Strengthening Belonging.
Go here for the full Table of Contents.
Chapter 4 – Double Standards vs. Equity: Introduction
Double Standards vs. Equity: Introduction
“Israel is the world’s only Jewish state. To apply to the state of the Jews a double standard that you apply to none other… is to engage in a gross act of discrimination.”
—Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, January 9, 2014
“Applying double standards by requiring of Israel a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation—that is antisemitism.”
—Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s remarks about UN bias, February 18, 2024
“Where is the outrage over antisemitism in sports and in Hollywood?”
—Kareem Abdul-Jabber on antisemitic remarks in sports, Hollywood Reporter, July 14, 2020
“Imagine if the equivalent massacre happened to another people—and days later people were calling for more massacres. That’s what it feels like as a Jew”
—Mayim Balik after the October 7th massacre
“There is no difference whatever between anti-Semitism and the denial of Israel’s statehood… The common principle in the two cases is discrimination.”
—Abba Eban
This chapter covers:
- Definition of Double Standards
- Human Rights
- Treatment of Palestinians
- Citizenship
- War Fatalities
- Addressing Double Standards with a Colleague
- How to Respond in the Classroom
Double Standard: A rule or principle which is unfairly applied in different ways to different people or groups.
Israel is the only country told it must be perfect in order to be allowed to exist—a standard usually reserved for imaginary friends.
Much of this book addresses the anti-Israel issues brought up in the classroom. Since Israel is the only Jewish state, to criticize Israel—specifically Israel’s right to exist—is to criticize the right for Jews to have a homeland. When criticizing Israel, it’s important to place the criticism from a global perspective, comparing it to other countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. After all, to make claims of Israel committing genocide as an excuse for the annihilation of Israel is absurd when considering that no one demanded the annihilation of Germany after World War II.
However, to point out a double-standard can be challenging.
There is a thin line between citing double standards and reciting “What about”isms. For example, if someone points out that there have been too many deaths of innocent women and children in Gaza, and a person replies, “What about the half million Muslims who were killed in Syria? What about the genocide in Darfur, Sudan? What about the hundreds of thousands of Yemeni civilians killed in their civil war?” Saying “what about” statements does nothing to legitimize the deaths of innocent Gazans.
The way to properly point out a double standard is not by saying what else is happening in the world, but by clarifying the problem with the response to those other issues in the world.
It is absolutely legitimate to be outraged at the deaths of innocent Gazans. Peaceful protests and rallies are good to amplify awareness… as long as there are sufficient peaceful protests and rallies to bring awareness to other calamities in the world.
It’s important to ask oneself, “Why do I protest against the tragedy in Gaza, but I am silent about the deaths of the Muslims in Syria, the genocide against the Christians in Nigeria, the genocide in the Congo, and the slaughter of innocents in Yemen? Why do I only put my attention to what Israel is doing?”
As a woman in the Congo accused the Western world in a video, “Your outrage is selective.”
So that is the question. “Why is your outrage selective?”
Comment Below
Please comment below with edits or suggestions on what should be changed in this post.
Please keep your comments civil. Comments are moderated.
If you spot any comment out of line, let me know.
Join My Safe Schools for Jewish Students Newsletter
If you’re new here, subscribe to stay updated on new blog post excerpts of Safe Schools for Jewish Students: An Educator’s Guide to Preventing Antisemitism and Strengthening Belonging.
Sign up for my newsletter here.
Author Biography of Safe Schools for Jewish Students
Ezra Barany, son of a Bronx father and a Dutch mother from Nazi-occupied Netherlands, loves riveting readers with Jewish thrillers. His first two books in The Torah Codes series were award-winning international bestsellers. In his free time, he has eye-opening discussions on the art of writing novels with his wife and book coach Beth Barany. A high school physics teacher, Ezra lives in Oakland with his beloved wife and two cats working on the next book. Ezra, not the cats.
0 comments