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Letter to the Nashville Tennessean 

B’nai B’rith International Center for Community Action chairperson and Maimonides Lodge #46 past president Wayne J. Meisels sent the following letter to the Nashville Tennessean: 

Saritha Prabhu’s recent column on the Middle East parrots brazen anti-Semitism that is outrageous and dangerous. Complaining about a powerful Jewish lobby is one of the classic anti-Semitic tropes used by those who seek to do ill to the Jewish people. It feeds into the frenzied fantasies of those who have believed that the Jews somehow exercise nefarious control over governments throughout the world. This theme has been around since long before the Jewish people’s re-emergence as a sovereign nation-state in our ancestral homeland — Israel. Moreover, this anti-Semitic motif has often been a precursor to violence against the Jewish people throughout our long history. That it is being employed to attack Israel shows that it is not, in fact, “legitimate criticism of Israel” but actually just age-old anti-Semitism re-packaged to attack Israel or supporters of Israel. I was profoundly disappointed to see such language make its way into a column in a respected newspaper.
 
Millions of Americans – Jews and non-Jews – are proud to stand with Israel in its struggle against regimes and terrorist groups that seek the Jewish state’s destruction.  Prabhu claims not to condone terrorism, but she clearly rationalizes it as it targets Israelis. We stand with Israel because it is a stalwart ally of the United States in a hostile region, but just as importantly, because our two countries share the same fundamental moral values as vibrant, tolerant, liberal democracies – values that Israel’s enemies reject.
 
Wayne J. Meisels
Nashville, TN