Why the Left's Condemnation of the Term "Shylock" Enrages Me

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     When I opened Facebook a few days ago I saw that my leftist friends were condemning something apparently anti-Semitic Trump said.  My first thoughts were, "Oh boy, what did Trump say to cause this reaction? What did he say that was so anti-Semitic?" 

      It wasn't that I disbelieved that Trump was anti-Semitic. Heaven knows he's been on the record saying loads of anti-Semitic, racist and misogynistic statements. It's his brand. 

    What piqued my curiosity was why all the leftists on my timeline that had been gaslighting me about the horrifying spike in anti-Semitism, Jew-hatred and violence against Jews over the past two years were suddenly being very loudly indignant over an allegedly anti-Semitic remark  made by Trump. 

      Was it just that someone politically convenient had let slip an "oopsy" right now when the far left is desperate for a distraction from all the leftist-driven hate crimes against Jews that has been plaguing this country since 2023?

      Deep in my heart, I know the answer to that is "yes." Leftists don't really care about the word "Shylock." They are just looking for cover. I cannot believe that people who have posted and praised Mahmoud Khalil, an activist who represented violent pro-Hamas protesters, are truly tearing their hair over Trump mumbling the word "Shylock" during one of his rambling speeches. I simply do not buy that those who slobber over candidates like NYC Mayoral Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani (who refused to condemn the phrase "Globalize the Intifada") are filled with a fierce rage over Trump evoking an obscure Shakespearian term for a predatory loan officer. 

         For a brief refresher, Khalil represented a group of students who took over Hamilton Hall at Columbia University back in 2024. These students took several people hostage and distributed flyers praising "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood," the name given by Hamas for the mass-murder of Jews on October 7th, 2023. Historically October 7th was the largest killing of Jews since the Holocaust. Casualties were over a thousand and hundreds more Jews were taken hostage by Hamas. This was the event the Khalil and his fellow protesters praised effusively. 

           The students at Hamilton Hall, organized and supported by Khalil, also took a janitor named Mariano Torres hostage. They abused Torres and another janitor named Wilson. They called Torres a "Jew-lover" and "Zionist. "   

              When Khalil was arrested and threatened with having his greencard revoked after his alleged participation in these crimes, Khalil immediately became the cause du jour among leftists. The official Senate Democrats posted a glamour shot of Khalil. The New Yorker threw a simpering pity party for Khalil's wife. Long sad descriptions were given of Noor Abdalla forced to be a single mother because her husband chose to harass Jewish students rather than take care of his pregnant wife. 

           Mahmoud Khalil was the darling of the leftists and the Democrats. When my friends posted his picture and glowing descriptions of his "protest against genocide," I implored them to not idolize Khalil. Trump had deported so many good people who didn't deserve it, including a child with brain cancer who was a US citizen. Khalil, an anti-Semite and law-breaker, should not be the case Democrats used to fight Trump. 

       The answers I got were insulting. One friend deleted my comment, and then later said that he didn't agree with Khalil's words but was only promoting Khalil out of respect for Khalil's First Amendment rights. It was the same excuse Free Speech absolutists used for the Ku Klux Klan.... but I had never seen AOC's eyes glow with love for a Grand Dragon the way she did for Khalil. 

            
            AOC's smile showed that she wasn't just defending Khalil out of some abstract Voltaire-type philosophy of "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." No..... AOC clearly loved and adored Khalil's message of praising the murder of Jews and terrorizing immigrant janitors in the name of Intifada. 

               And this is why I boil with rage when I see people who have spent the past few months effusively praising Mahmoud Khalil react with performative indignation over Trump's use of the word "Shylock." Karen Diamond, the Holocaust survivor who was burned alive in Boulder Colorado was not killed by someone yelling "Shylock!" She was killed by someone yelling "Free Palestine." Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were not shot by an activist proclaiming "Shylocks!" They were shot by an activist proclaiming "Free Palestine." People saying "Shylock" are not the primary danger towards Jews these days. It is the leftists who platform Mahmoud Khalil that are fanning the flames of hatred for people like me 

            As a Jewish woman, I know the leftists condemning Trump's use of the word "Shylock" are not showing advocacy or allyship. They are just covering their ass so they can continue to platform actually dangerous anti-Jewish rhetoric like that boosted by Mahmoud Khalil and Zohran Mamdani. While centrist Democrats remain firm allies of the Jews (I was deeply touched when Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, wearing a yellow pro-Jewish "Bring Them Home" pin, broke Strom Thurmond's record for longest filibuster) both the far left and the far right are united in making this country more dangerous for Jews. We must fight to make sure the left does not take over the Democrats or we will see more Karen Diamonds burn in the streets whilst AOC literally embraces those who cheer on our murders.