I was arrested at Jared Golden’s office back in November. I was there to protest his support for Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza.

I’m just one of many Jews worldwide who are standing up for Palestine. 

Now Golden has voted “yes” on H.R. 894, a bill whose purported aim to is to condemn antisemitism. All decent people can agree that hating or hurting people based solely on their religion or ethnicity is wrong. Think of the six year-old Palestinian-American boy recently stabbed to death in Illinois, and the three young Palestinian men shot in Vermont. But H.R. 894 fails to condemn attacks on Arabs. 

The real crux of the bill, promoted by the American-Israel lobby (AIPAC), is the statement that “anti-Zionism is antisemitism.” AIPAC is Golden’s top campaign contributor. 

I do not hate anyone for their religion, ethnicity or nationality. 

What I hate is the premise of Zionism, used to justify the violent expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians in 1948, and the Zionist premise that created an exclusively Jewish apartheid state, where Palestinians are denied basic rights, and this genocidal war on Gaza that is clearly intended as a Final Solution to eradicate the Palestinians.

Now H.R. 6578 calls for the creation of a commission with subpoena power to “study acts of antisemitism.” Where will this all end? Will I be dragged before the commission and asked, “Do you now or have you ever criticized Israel or supported Palestinian rights?” McCarthyism again?

Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism.

Jamila Levasseur lives in Waldo