By Robyn Stevens Brody
Documentary photography is my niche. Over the past five years, I’ve chronicled more than 130 protests and rallies from across the country. (I actually counted them up recently on a train ride home from Washington, D.C.)
My images don’t necessarily reflect my own personal beliefs or political views, butI strive for objectivity and try to see things from other perspectives. My camera affords me the opportunity to meet people from different walks of life and schools of thought, and to observe activism from afar.
There have been scores of protests and rallies since President Trump took office last January. I’ve chronicled protests regarding the actions undertaken by the Department of Government Efficiency and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, among others. Many of the causes are issues that I personally support and care about.
But then came the covered faces, Palestinian flags and keffiyeh-wearing protesters who strive to make a political statement about the Israel-Gaza war.
I’ve been attending protests for as long as I can remember. But something has changed.
Today’s protests seem to be an invitation for anti-Israel factions and antisemites to rally in partnership under the banner of social justice. The progressive left takes any opportunity to stand up against the policies of the Trump administration, even if it means alienating or condemning Israel and the Jewish people.
These protests tend to always reserve space for the so-called “Free Gaza” movement. The publicized cause doesn’t matter.
A generation is fighting against Israel, not Hamas. Meanwhile, the message of “Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism” is believed by those with virtually no understanding about Israel, the Middle East conflict, past peace accord opportunities and failed agreements.
We certainly have a right to criticize Israel’s policies. But we do not have a right to ignore facts or justify kidnappings, rapes, torture and the murder of people because they are Jewish.
At these protests, there is usually a speaker representing an organization who blames Israel and Zionists for the war in Gaza. These remarks have nothing to do with the larger protest at hand. For example, the Teachers Union of Baltimore County recently endorsed a Palestine “feeder march” held in Baltimore City.
Let’s stop making excuses. It’s not about peace in the Middle East. It’s about normalizing Jew-hatred.
Since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, I’ve seen many unforgettable sights at demonstrations, such as an Israeli flag set on fire and spat on at a rally. (I picked up that flag and brought it home for a proper burial.)
I’ve seen my kids’ former school administrator holding up “Free Palestine” signs. Every time I drive past the downtown Holocaust Memorial, I slow down to make sure it hasn’t been desecrated.
I’m sad, frustrated and angry.
The Jewish community is losing the public relations war in this crisis. Our messaging has gone horribly wrong. How can anyone with a heart justify the atrocities of Oct. 7th?
War is ugly. People die. But antisemites spew lies about Jews and Israel at anti-Trump rallies around the world. The Israel hate-messaging is diluting other issues that deserve our full attention, such as health care, the environment, education, the economy, jobs, the future of American democracy, etc.
We can’t attend demonstrations for human rights and freedoms and simply say, “Well, we approve of 90% of the day’s messages here so we need to overlook the anti-Israel stuff.”
It’s not about Palestinians or the potential creation of a Palestinian state. It’s not about Netanyahu or the current Israeli government. It’s not about radical Islamic regimes infiltrating a generation with the goal of taking over the world.
We must stop the in-fighting between liberal and conservative Jews. There aren’t enough Jews to allow a chaotic America to incite hate among our own.
The far left has commingled shared space with antisemitism, and sadly many of our “friends” protest without understanding the full truth or worse don’t say anything. Their silence is deafening.
Jew-hatred will not promote agendas against the Trump administration. We still have hostages to bring home. Am Yisrael Chai.
Robyn Stevens Brody is a Baltimore-based freelance photographer and a contributing photographer to Jmore.
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