Paris Demetriades
A provocative comment by AKEL Secretary-General Stefanos Stefanou during the party’s recent 24th congress has ignited public debate in Cyprus around antisemitism, or more precisely, the way the term is being politically weaponized. Because let’s be honest: antisemitism is far too historically loaded to be used so casually, and anyone not trapped in ideological rigidity can easily see why it’s suddenly being pulled out like a scarecrow.
At the time of writing, the real crisis we should all be focused on, if we still consider ourselves human, is what’s happening in Gaza. That narrow strip of land, the largest open-air prison on Earth, has for over a year now become a massive graveyard. And now that the once-alarming threat of war expansion or nuclear escalation has been dialed down (a convenient distraction from the daily slaughter of Palestinians), it’s time for leaders, citizens, and public figures to shift their attention back to the real emergency: how to stop desperate, starving civilians from dying every day.
Yes, people raise the “what about Sudan,” “what about Syria,” and “what about Yemen” arguments. I hear them. But they’re not an excuse to let what’s happening to Palestinians continue, unchallenged and unchecked.
Let’s be clear: antisemitism is despicable, wherever it comes from, just like any form of racism that targets people based on ethnicity, religion, or race. But today’s dehumanization isn’t happening to Jews, who absolutely do face isolated, condemnable racist attacks. It’s happening, systematically, brutally, to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians: killed, tortured, displaced, starved, and reduced to utter despair in conditions that echo some of the darkest chapters of modern history.
And that’s precisely why anyone who genuinely condemns the Holocaust, the greatest shame of the so-called civilized West, should now be equally outraged at the unimaginable suffering being inflicted on Palestinians. Human decency isn’t à la carte.
As for the painful irony that victims of World War II are now acting as merciless oppressors, well, the commentary practically writes itself. Yes, there are reasons for this reversal, but right now, what matters most is this: relieve the suffering of Gaza’s civilians. That’s the priority. That’s the big picture.
Back in Cyprus, the backlash to Stefanou’s remarks says more about his critics than the Left itself. Those suddenly eager to analyze the Left’s “fixations” are likely exposing their own. Yes, the Left has long suffered from ideological blind spots—its response to the war in Ukraine proved that dramatically. But timing matters. What we choose to speak about, when we speak, and how we respond in real time to global events all say a lot about our judgment.
If, for instance, you're obsessed with dissecting Hamas’s atrocities on October 7, 2023, which were indeed horrific, but say almost nothing about the Israeli military's daily, exponentially greater brutality since then, something is very wrong. With your moral compass. And maybe your news sources, too.
Sure, it might have been wiser for Stefanou, as a left-wing leader, not to reference a specific people and to focus instead on Cyprus’ broader sellout to foreign capital, which, according to his ideology, has no homeland. But let’s not lose sight of what really matters right now.
The big picture, at this moment, is not antisemitism. It’s not the Left. It’s Gaza.
*This op-ed was translated from its Greek original
