Stand-up comedian Iliza Shlesinger is speaking out against the rise of anti-Jewish rhetoric amid the Israeli-Hamas War.
She wrote a piece for the Hollywood Reporter expressing sympathy for both Palestinian civilians and the Jewish people.
She wrote, “They have been born into a deeply complex region and society, and it is not right to treat their lives as expendable, or as a solution to a problem. I can’t say it’s right to treat them the way we, the Jews, have been treated over and over.”
Shlesinger then detailed how just mentioning Israel onstage caused people to gasp. She noted that she does not lump Palestinians in with the Hamas terrorist group, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7, sparking the new war.
She pointed out the normalization of antisemitism and how race politics leaves the Jewish people out because they are not just a racial minority but a religious one as well. In addition, she correlated Jew hate with ignorance and called out pro-Palestinian groups for openly decrying the Jewish people.
She said, “Why are people cheering for Jewish death? Why are they, specifically, singing, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free?’”
Shlesinger went on, “They will swear it isn’t about a dislike of Jews — just Palestinian people’s rights. But let’s be honest, I don’t see the average member of the liberal left getting as indignant, when it’s, say, Hindus murdering Muslims in India or Russia invading Ukraine.”
She noted that in recent years, minorities have been calling for change, except when it comes to the maltreatment of the Jewish people. She explained, “Somehow, Jews have been left off the agenda. Despite being only 0.2 percent of the world’s population, we are a consistent target for ever-rising hate crimes.”
“It’s a global, historical and national pastime to hate Jews as a way to temper your own economic failures. There has never not been a period of history where Jews weren’t being threatened,” she added.
Then she described how this has affected the Jewish people, “Our history is not about fighting to spread our religion: It is about fighting to stay alive.”
She described the outrage that followed the Oct. 7 attacks but also noted, “Now the news spin cycle has washed away the animalistic slaughter of Israelis and replaced it with outrage over the retaliation by the IDF.”
Shlesinger noted how Jewish people are being targeted by pro-Palestine activists. This has led her to believe that, “The truth being revealed here is that, for many, the agenda has never been to live peacefully with Israel or Jewish people.”
While many pray for peace, she noted, “I know that if Israel put down their guns, no one else would, and there would be no more Israel.”