Sitting on a fence eventually becomes far too painful

 Why We Stand With Jewish Women: Part 3 –

"This is the third post in our series about why non‑Jewish feminists are choosing to speak out against antisemitism. Here, Jean Hatchet describes how she moved from discomfort to direct action in her home town to confront rising Jew‑hatred in Britain. For the earlier posts in this series, see Part One and Part Two."

"Watching the feminist fallout after Hamas raped, murdered and kidnapped Jews on 7th October, 2023, it was much easier to say nothing. Or do a ‘both sides’ dance of evasion occasionally. Two groups of women I’d previously supported, ‘Southall Black Sisters’ and ‘Woman’s Place UK’ put out tardy statements on the terror attack which were far too cagily worded to effectively condemn Hamas violence, even that committed against women dragged bleeding into the back of trucks in front of the world’s media. Cracks amongst feminist lines began to form, and they didn’t stop.

"When female friends became vehemently pro-Palestine and grabbed flags to join vast marches against Jews, where songs calling for Jewish eradication from Israel were sung, and calls to ‘Globalise the Intifada’ spread rapidly, it was easier to shrug and say, ‘Well, Netanyahu is brutal’. Simpler to pretend to yourself and others that Hamas had not waged war in the most hideous of ways, in a time of relative peace. Or, as I did, to couch all comments in the context of male violence against women, suggesting women and children would be the main casualties and thus avoiding discussing the Hamas aggressors who committed a massacre. This was a cowardly avoidance on my part to openly show my support for Jews at one of the worst of times.

"I was at that time linked to many feminist women who had become pro-Palestine zealots. They joined the hate marches, and they snubbed those of us who did not. Staying quiet was not enough to save me in those groups, and my relative silence was eventually used to smear me as “Zionist”, the term intended to make all around shudder and ostracise the accused woman.

"By contrast, the Jewish women I know simply remained my friends. They applied no pressure to do the right thing and speak out to condemn Hamas, but my silence, and the silence of other feminists, must have seemed like a very painful betrayal." . . . More...