Schrödinger's "Whiteness"
Why I urge people perceive the framing the Hamas/Israel conflict strictly in terms of "Zionist Colonialist Oppression" to examine their own unconscious biases.
From 2019 to 2021, while researching my last YA novel Some Kind of Hate, I spent way more time than I would have liked exploring white supremacist/nationalist/and NeoNazi spaces online.
As anyone who has inhabited these spaces for any length of time knows, it is not great for one’s mental health.
One of the primary tenets of these groups is that Jews, no matter where they come from, be they Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Maghrebi, or Mizrahi are NOT WHITE. Here’s a screenshot I took a few years ago from a Neo Nazi group website. I’ve masked every instance of that group’s name, because I don’t want to help their recruiting. (If you really want to know which one it is, email me for the non-masked version. )
After spending so much time in that mindset, I pause every time I’m asked to check off a demographic box on a form. I check white, but in my head, I’m giving a bitter chuckle and saying: “Depends on who you ask.”
That’s why it’s been so gutting to hear people I respect, particularly in my kidlit community, react to the news of the murder of 1200 Jews by Hamas with phrases like “Zionist Colonialist Oppressors” and “From the River to the Sea” and posting things that make clear that they believe the brutal murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent Jewish civilians, including children, was the act of “freedom fighters;” implying that those victims brought it upon themselves by living peacefully in their kibbutzim.
It is 100% possible to abhor the actions of the Netanyahu government, of settlers in the West Bank, and the intensive bombing of civilians in Gaza without seeking to wipe Israel off the map. But that’s not what I’m seeing, for the most part.
Instead, I see people framing this conflict in a “one-size fits all” narrative of colonialism and oppression, of “white-skinned” Jews against brown-skinned Palestinians.
This not only erases the diversity of the Jewish people, it has the much more sinister effect of feeding what I hope is merely unconscious bias rather than antisemitism, although as time goes on and the rhetoric becomes even more charged, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to give the benefit of that doubt.
A recent study divided respondents into three equally-sized groups. Each group was shown this picture, but given different information about the man pictured. They were then asked if he is white.
Here’s what happened:
…The first group was told the person pictured above was a Jewish singer from Israel, the second group was told the person pictured was an Arab singer from Iraq, and the third group was told that the person pictured was a singer from the United States.. All respondents were then asked if they would consider the person white.
This experiment revealed that being considered Jewish has a ‘whitening effect.’ Respondents who were told that the photo was of a Jewish singer from Israel were much more likely to consider the person white than respondents who were told the person was an Arab singer from Iraq or a singer from the United States.
Why is that? A subject for further research.
But it’s another example of why we so often feel like Schrödinger's Jews; we’re both superhuman, controlling everything including the banks, the media and political policy, or we’re subhuman, our deaths being a cause for celebration and pride. None of us are white, but at the same time all of us are white, even if, like Duda Tassa, an Israeli singer of Iraqi/Iranian descent.
Examining our unconscious biases is essential if we are to find a way to lasting peace and equity for all; in the Middle East, and here in America.
I’m always working on mine; making sure that I’m getting news from all over the world to see the differences in framing and what is being shown; following people whose posts might make me uncomfortable, but who help me understand where they’re coming from.
Please stop and ask yourself: are you working on yours?
B’Shalom,
Sarah
Sorry to take over your substack comments, but I’m also so intrigued that people perceive the singer as nonwhite if he is identified as Iranian. I knew many Iranian dissidents growing up and they were often very pale with blue eyes but still perceived as not white and it would be fascinating to trace how that narrative is constructed as well. And also how that form of bias is driving the current cease fire narrative on the left. (And I’m down with the ceasefire, just not the simplicity of the narrative)
Love this piece. I do think socially constructed perceptions of race are part of what is shaping the dialogue on the conflict in the US and Europe. A few years ago I was serving as an advisor for an undergraduate humanities journal and the student editors selected this really amazing bit of undergraduate scholarship for publication on how Israeli cinema from the mid 20th century often reflected bias against Mizrahim Jews and the centrality of European culture as embodied Ashkanazi Jews as superior. I had no idea, but then I thought about colorism in my own ancestral background (Caribbean) and was like “of course.” No one is immune it seems from the residue of the colonial project. https://www.apollonejournal.org/apollon-journal/the-real-jews-defining-israeli-identity-in-politics-and-cinema