Ari Brown: Even liberals are being attacked for supporting Israel

Most Long Islanders believe antisemitism is somebody else’s problem. We watch what’s happening in New York City and tell ourselves it can’t happen here.

We watch Democratic Socialists take control of the conversation. We watch politicians refuse to condemn chants like “Globalize the intifada!” We see Jewish students harassed on college campuses. We watch anti-Israel mobs shut down streets, disrupt public events and intimidate anyone who dares support the Jewish state. We watch elected officials excuse it, justify it or pretend not to see it.

And we tell ourselves, that’s Manhattan. That’s Brooklyn. That’s somebody else’s problem. It isn’t.

And if you’re not Jewish, you may be tempted to think this has nothing to do with you. It does.

Because history teaches us the same lesson over and over again: It always starts with the Jews, but it never ends with the Jews. As the son of a Holocaust survivor and as a Long Islander of Italian descent, I understand that lesson all too well.

A couple of weeks ago, New Yorkers witnessed another warning sign. A liberal Jewish Democratic congressman walked into a coffee shop in Brooklyn with his 7-year-old daughter. Not a Republican. Not a conservative. Not someone from the political right. It was Rep. Dan Goldman, one of the most liberal members of Congress.

The coffee shop publicly posted surveillance photos of Goldman online, labeled him a “genocide enabler,” refunded his money and told him he was no longer welcome. Days later, his congressional office was vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti.

Think about that. Goldman didn’t become a Republican. He didn’t move to the right. He didn’t abandon progressive causes. Yet even someone as liberal as Goldman wasn’t liberal enough. That’s the point.

For years, many Jewish Democrats persuaded themselves that their politics would protect them. They believed that because they supported progressive causes, those same movements would stand with them.

They were wrong. Goldman isn’t a conservative who wandered into the wrong crowd. He’s one of the most liberal members of Congress. Yet he was publicly humiliated, ostracized and targeted anyway.

And he’s not alone. The political left keeps moving further and further left. Yesterday’s progressives become today’s moderates. Today’s moderates become tomorrow’s enemies.

Imagine spending your entire political career supporting progressive causes only to discover that supporting Israel is enough to get you cast out. Imagine being one of the most liberal members of Congress and still being treated as the enemy. That’s where we are today.

Some people will say that there are extremists on both sides. No. There are bad people everywhere, but let’s stop pretending that the Democratic Party doesn’t have a serious problem. This is the party that once fought to preserve slavery. The party of segregation. The party of the Dixiecrats.

We recently celebrated Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery in America. The historical reality is that Republicans fought to end slavery while Democrats fought to preserve it. History matters. Political parties can lose their way. And today’s Democratic Party has increasingly become a home for people who excuse, rationalize and remain silent in the face of antisemitism.

My message isn’t just to Jews. My message is to everyone. Stop voting for people who are helping normalize this. Stop pretending that antisemitism is acceptable as long as it comes wrapped in the language of activism. Stop believing that political labels matter more than reality.

And to my fellow Jews who continue supporting politicians and movements that tolerate anti-Israel extremism, I ask you to honestly look at what is happening. The people who targeted Dan Goldman don’t care how he voted. They don’t care how progressive he is. They don’t care how loyal he has been. All they see is a Jew who supports Israel.

The warning signs are no longer subtle. And Long Island should be paying attention. Many people still believe this hatred stops at the city line. It doesn’t. Ideas travel. Movements spread. What begins in Brooklyn today can arrive in Nassau County tomorrow.

Every generation asks how ordinary people failed to recognize the warning signs. The answer is always the same. They convinced themselves it couldn’t happen where they lived.

Long Island shouldn’t make the same mistake. Even liberal Dan Goldman wasn’t liberal enough. Long Island should pay attention.

Ari Brown represents the 20th Assembly District.