From: garym@mcgath.com   
      
   On 11/8/25 9:07 AM, s|b wrote:   
   > On Thu, 6 Nov 2025 09:41:50 -0500, Gary McGath wrote:   
   >   
   >> Clear lines are important. It isn’t antisemitism to criticize Israel’s   
   >> conduct in Gaza or even to think establishing the modern nation of   
   >> Israel was a bad idea. But it is to ban people for being Israeli or   
   >> supporting Israel’s existence, especially when that’s the only category   
   >> that’s banned.   
   >   
   >   
   > Don't know why your bring this here, but...   
   >   
   > People aren't banned for being Israeli or supporting Israel's existence.   
   > They are banned because they refuse to take a stance against Israel's   
   > actions concerning the genocide in Gaza and/or because they support the   
   > IDF that is committing these war crimes.   
      
   This person tried to put the same words into a comment on my blog post.   
   I don't allow lies there.   
      
   Neither of the two organizations I cited claimed refusal to make a   
   statement or support for the IDF as the reason for the exclusion. The   
   Vancouver Comics Arts Festival gave two different stories. First they   
   claimed that Libicki was banned for having been in the Israeli military   
   (which is obligatory for citizens) long before the current conflict.   
   Later they changed their statement to claim it was because of "public   
   safety concerns."   
      
   The CRIT Awards banned anyone who supported Zionism, which means   
   supporting the existence of Israel.   
      
   But let's suppose they did ban people for the absence of making a   
   statement. I've never heard of non-Jews being required to express their   
   opinion on the Gaza war as a condition of being considered for an award   
   or admitted to an event. We'd be talking about a special requirement   
   imposed on Jews. And maybe you'd want a yellow star, just to be safe?>   
   > BTW the word 'antisemitic' has lost all of its meaning nowadays due to   
   > people like Netanyahu who cry 'antisemitic' every time someone takes a   
   > position against Israel (not the Jews in particular, but Israel as a   
   > _state_). People who dare doing this are either wrongfully labeled as   
   > 'antisemitic' or 'pro Hamas'. Usually even both in the same sentence.   
   > This is only to distract of is really going on: a genocide and the   
   > creation of a 'Greater Israel', something that Netanyahu, wanted by the   
   > ICC for war crimes, supports.   
   >   
   The bans I cited weren't directed against any state, but against people   
   who are from that state or favor its existence. The word "antisemitic"   
   continues to have a clear meaning, and it applies to you for all your   
   verbal gymnastics.   
      
   Don't ever try to dump your dirt on my blog again.   
   --   
   Gary McGath    http://www.mcgath.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)