For years Jews have complained about being excluded from the ally camp. Laws passed in California left Jews out of the curriculum and non stop assault on Jews that misrepresent them as “colonial settlers” when in effect, Jews have fought colonialism and were indigenous people reclaiming their land. The attacks on Jews were working but the Jewish people and organizations fought these misrepresentations and for a seat at the minority table. I believed they had a chance, and then the Queen died, and Jewish people around the world failed.
As soon as the Queen died, the Jews immediately went into overdrive to prove to the British and the white Queenophiles that they loved here too. Why? Well she wasn’t terrible towards the Kate and she had done some good things for Jews. However, when someone does something good for you it doesn’t make them a good person. You can appreciate a good action but still condemn the evil.
Fact is that the for all her progress, Queen had been a classist and a racist. While she was against the empire, she certainly was keen on holding on to it as long as possible, as is noted in the many wars fought during her reign to keep it.
As a result, the internet blew up with an equal dose of glee for her passing and hate for what she stood for as it did with sorrow and sadness.
Jewish organizations and individuals from ADL to Eve Barlow could have been sensitive to this double history and legacy of Queen Elizabeth. They could have noted the good luck and good relations they had with her while acknowledging that there had been much evil committed by her and what she represented. Instead she and many others (and even me for a little bit) chose to defend her. She wasn’t all bad, look at the good she did. We fell into the moral relativism trap. Just because someone is good to you doesn’t mean they are good. Putin might be great to his kids but that doesn’t make him nice. A killer may have helped a man or two but that doesn’t make him any less evil for killing someone. We weigh the good a person does at sentencing, but we still convict them of a crime.
By not convicting her of the crimes for which she stood for and was an accomplice to as a representative and symbol of the state for the past 70 years, Jewish community has lost a lot of credibility.
We cannot pander to the power and win favor with the poor. Jewish communities have often tried to appease both sides in order to gain advantage to survive. This strategy never worked. We either live by our values or we live by values of another. We should live by ours, acknowledge the good done to us but not look away when evil is done to others. We expect no less from everyone else so we should expect the same from ourselves.