Growing up as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, an intergenerational weight of trauma is my birthright. Empathy and affinity toward oppressed groups run deep in my blood, and I’ve often railed against utilizing a bifurcated human rights approach: You either affirm the dignity and rights of all oppressed groups, or you don’t. It’s that simple.
We are all susceptible to aligning ourselves with particular causes while remaining silent when others most require solidarity. Yet unless we internalize the lessons of history and commit to standing collectively against all forms of hatred and intolerance, our prospects for confronting them remain bleak. Regrettably, when antisemitism is concerned, those prospects are even bleaker.
Many self-described human rights activists assert that they are not antisemitic but merely anti-Zionist. However, it is well established among scholars, and among thinkers far more rigorous than campus provocateurs and performative virtue-signalers, that antisemitism and anti-Zionism are inseparable. Holding Israel to standards not applied to any other nation is inherently antisemitic. Declaring that the world’s approximately 16 million Jews have no right to their sole homeland, a minute territory surrounded by numerous Arab nations, extends well beyond political critique. Replacing the words “Jews” or “Zionists” in contemporary protests and slogans with the name of any other group would be universally condemned as racist. Explicit calls for violence are largely unacceptable, but many human rights activists have carved out an exception for Hamas, which they’ve rebranded as “freedom fighters,” employing supposedly justifiable means.
For years, I have questioned why human rights activists have not mobilized to demand the liberation of the Uyghurs, a Muslim minority in China. Where is the global outrage over the Chinese government’s forcible detention of more than one million Uyghurs in so-called “re-education camps,” where torture and starvation are routine? Why have women’s organizations failed to protest the widespread sexual violence inflicted upon Uyghur women in Chinese prisons? These are often the same groups that deny the sexual violence perpetrated against women (and men) on October 7. Why are self-proclaimed “humanitarians” not marching in the streets, masked and waving flags to advocate for civilians in Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia, Sudan, Nigeria, Ukraine and Pakistan, among numerous other regions where thousands of innocent lives have been lost? Where were these activists then, and where are they now, as countless marginalized communities continue to suffer?
I have relentlessly criticized the conspicuous absence of humanitarian outrage when Hamas targeted, murdered, mutilated and raped innocent women, children, infants, men and elderly individuals. And I’ve relentlessly lamented the deafening silence that Jews are unable to unhear.
This leads me to Iran.
For 47 years, Iranians have endured profound atrocities under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a regime that has systematically suffocated centuries of cultural, scientific, artistic, poetic, culinary and intellectual heritage. The regime’s so-called morality police enforce strict adherence to Sharia law through intimidation, physical violence and death, policing dress and social conduct with brutal efficiency. Simultaneously, economic devastation, marked by rampant inflation, has rendered daily life unbearable for most of the population. While recent protests may have originated as expressions of economic despair, they have evolved into a comprehensive uprising. Unlike earlier episodes of dissent, this movement is distinguished by the active participation of the middle class, effectively uniting all segments of society against their oppressors. Hundreds, and by some estimates, thousands of Iranians have been killed as the population pays an extraordinary price for the most fundamental human rights and freedoms.
So where, then, are the human rights activists? Why are social media platforms not saturated with images of bodies accumulating in Iranian streets or of families desperately seeking to recover their dead loved ones? Why have profile pictures not been replaced with the prerevolutionary Iranian flag or another symbol of solidarity with the millions who have suffered under this regime? Where are the campus protests? Where are the demonstrations in British cities and universities, where pro-Palestinian rallies routinely draw hundreds of thousands? Ironically, just last week, the United Arab Emirates withdrew funding for students attending British universities to shield their youth from Islamic radicalization on U.K. campuses. Even more striking, and perhaps reassuring, is the fact that the UAE continues to support its students’ enrollment at Israeli universities.
Where is the social justice bandwagon in support of the Iranian people? Where is the condemnation of the Ayatollah’s murderous regime? Has the veil been lifted off performative activism and exposed for what is – nothing more than an excuse to rally against Jews? And, yes, that’s anti-Semitism.
An Israeli news outlet reported that Khomeini has already escaped Tehran and is hiding in a bunker in Tabas. There are reports that IRGC bases have been overtaken and commanders are abandoning the regime. With limited access, it is hard to assess what is accurate and whether a successful outcome is likely.
May the Iranian people see a swift end to their suffering and live to reap the rewards of their bravery. And may the world open its eyes to the hypocrisy of virtue signaling and performative agendas, which will enable a less bifurcated approach towards human rights. That can only be a win-win for us all.
Erris is an attorney and certified professional coach and consultant, with a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology. She is a blogger for The Times of Israel, and her articles have been featured in various publications including Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, House Beautiful, Town & Country, Elle Decor, Country Living, Woman’s Day, Redbook, Esquire, Yahoo News, Beyond Your Blog, YourTango, The Jewish Chronicle, Algemeiner, SheSavvy, Kveller, Parent Co, The Mighty, Grown and Flown, Mogul, Beliefnet, All4Women, the Journal of Educational Gerontology, Her View From Home, The Good Men Project and Scary Mommy.