What About Whataboutism?

Why we need to consider not only what we say, but how we say it

Performing a Nazi salute and calling for a ‘final solution’ in Montreal

I’ve been following, with concern, the increasingly large number of anti-Jewish incidents taking place around the world, and earlier this week, I posted the following on social media:

“Nothing says 'I don't hate Jews, I'm just against the actions of the State of Israel' like performing Nazi salutes, calling for a 'final solution' and calling Jews 'a cancer'.

Regardless of your views on Israel, it appears that countries across the West might have a small problem that they may not be dealing with or prepared to fully recognize..”

My post was a reference to the shocking anti-Jewish violence seen in Amsterdam and calls for a final solution (to a Jewish problem) in Montreal.

One of the responses that I received to the post was as follows:

“No excuses for such wicked behavior but neither can the behavior of Maccabi Tel Aviv (fans) be excused as they went through the streets of Amsterdam the day before with their violence and hate speech.”

For those that may not be aware, the poster’s response is a reference to racist and offensive chants by a small section of Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans prior to a game against Ajax of Amsterdam.

I agree with the responder that there is no excuse for the behavior of that portion of the Israeli fans who sang racist chants.

However, if, as the poster asserts, there is no justification for anti-Jewish racism (and there isn’t), then why is there a need to add a sentence that aims to create a moral correlation between antisemitic, violent events in Amsterdam and elsewhere, and the terrible behavior of certain Israeli fans?

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