Israel Gobbling Up Africa? This Meme’s Anti-Semitic.

Contributing Columnist Jay Michaelson November 26, 2015

As I recently wrote in these pages, American Jews often cry wolf when it comes to anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment. However, even by a generous standard, this meme of Israel, Britain and France prepared to feast on Africa (which I’ve seen a few times circulated among my left-leaning friends on Facebook) is anti-Semitic.

Three-quarters of it is a biting indictment of how Western powers have devoured Africa’s resources, exploiting both land and labor. The image of greedy imperialistic powers ready to literally carve up Africa is powerful.

But there is no justification for Israel being in this picture.

Belgium, China, Spain, Portugal, Russia and others have had far, far worse imperialistic adventures in Africa than anything Israel could imagine, committing genocide and ecocide, and creating the slave trade. What about Israel?

Let’s grant, for the sake of argument, the most critical-of-Israel perspective. Even if we were to label Israel an apartheid state and accuse it of war crimes, these (a) pale in comparison to the middle passage and/or imperialism, and (b) have nothing to do with Africa.

In fact, Israel has a pretty neutral record on Africa, although it did maintain a relationship with the South African government during apartheid. Hardly analogous to carving up the African “steak” like major colonial (or neo-colonial) powers. So, this image makes no factual sense.

That leaves non-factual motivations. Here again, while we don’t know the motives of whoever made this meme, on the face of it, it contains an outrageous exaggeration of Israel’s and/or Jews’ place in the neoliberal/imperialist order, which is anti-Semitic.

Perhaps it’s suggesting that Jews ran the slave trade, which is anti-Semitic. In any case, by proposing that Israel and/or Jews played as evil a role in Africa as the great colonial powers past and present, this meme so exaggerates Israeli/Jewish power as to be anti-Semitic.

And that’s granting, for the sake of argument, a stinging anti-Zionist critique of Israel as a state. Whatever the merits of that critique, it cannot factually justify Israel’s place in this meme, and thus the non-factual, the fantastic and the false are the only remaining possibilities.

Rabbi Jay Michaelson is a contributing columnist for the Forward and for Rolling Stone. He is the author of 10 books, and won the 2023 New York Society for Professional Journalists award for opinion writing.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email [email protected].

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO