The year 2018 will be remembered as the year in which we were confronted with a new wave of anti-Semitism in the west that has become a fact. Seventy-three years after we were freed from concentration camps and 70 years after the Jewish state was established, is Israel officially willing to accept countries making remarks or conducting themselves in a manner that reeks of anti-Semitism if it appears that doing so will benefit the state in other ways?
On the Left, given the dramatic developments in Britain's Labour Party, we are forced to examine the question of whether the anti-Israeli sentiment in the party, which until a few years ago was one of our best friends, is identical to anti-Semitism.
On the Right, are we willing to accept the memory of the Holocaust being worn away, as we saw with Poland's new Holocaust law, or even the harsh statements by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in exchange for what is characterized as "friendship" toward Israel? It appears that the Israeli Right is letting the European Right slide on things it would never let pass if they came from the Left.
I recently attended a conference of the Labour Party in the U.K. Despite the correct decision of Labor party leader Avi Gabbay to cut ties with his British counterpart Jeremy Corbyn, Israel still maintains strong ties with key British MPs who are fighting anti-Semitism and paying a personal price for doing so.
I went to the conference for their sake. Unfortunately, it is currently difficult to distinguish between legitimate criticism of us, such as over the stalled peace process or the nation-state law, and the blatant demonstrations of anti-Semitism from important members of the Labour Party. I found it appropriate to take on that anti-Semitism. I went to Liverpool to have a difficult talk with Corbyn, who has allowed hatred of Jews in his party to raise its head and thereby contributed to attempts to question the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's updated definition of anti-Semitism.
The Israeli government and my friends on the Right must take similar action toward leaders with a right-wing, nationalist bent. It's clear that Israel's close ties with certain countries are making diplomatic relations more difficult. But open expressions of anti-Semitism from officials do not qualify as "complicated"; there will be a heavy price to pay for that.
The Polish law appears to represent a new zenith of institutionalized anti-Semitism and forced us into a tough diplomatic confrontation. Our obligation to the past has ramifications for the future: We must not chase after forced friendship that has yet to prove itself in any international battle Israel has waged.
On the Right, there is no way of addressing anti-Semitism inside certain counties other than making a show of supporting Israel. On the Left, anti-Israel sentiment and attempts to undermine the existence of Israel are the modern version of anti-Semitism. The Israeli Left has proven that it knows how to battle these demons when it arrives to visit its sister parties. It's a shame that the Right prefers to desecrate the foundations of our existence in the name of interests that won't necessarily prove themselves at the zero hour.
