It is Our Fight
New York Times columnist Bari Weiss has
written an important book about the resurgence of anti-Semitism in America and
Europe. After finishing her book yesterday I attended a meeting at my synagogue
to discuss security preparations for the upcoming High Holy Day services. Yes,
this is the messed up world we live in.
Weiss distinguishes between the anti-Semitism
of the Right from the anti-Semitism of the Left. To me the alt-Right doesn’t
want me to live in America and the progressive Left doesn’t want me to live in
Israel. So where am I to live? I also would make the distinction between low
frequency-high severity incidents like the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue
in Pittsburgh where Weiss became a Bat Mitzvah and the high frequency-low
severity attacks on Orthodox Jews in New York City and Europe. The former are
performed by right win extremists while the latter are performed largely by
African Americans in America and Islamists in Europe. Because they are not done
by stereotypical right wingers, these high frequency attacks make the Jews who
worship at the altar of secular liberalism very uncomfortable. Weiss notes that
half the reported hate crimes in America are against Jews or Jewish facilities.
Before I get criticized for using the
term “Islamist” I would note the experience of the former Somali refugee and
Dutch Parliamentarian, Ayaan Hirsi Ali. I had the privilege of meeting her
several years ago. She grew up in Somalia and Kenya and from the get go she was
taught to hate Israel and the Jews. It took a number of years in the West to
learn the error of thinking. Thus it is no surprise that recent immigrants to
Europe are involved in anti-Semitic attacks.
Perhaps most insidious is the rise of institutional
anti-Semitism in academia and in the precincts of the progressive Left. Unlike
the extreme Right that has been given new life under Trump, the anti-Semitic
left is closer to power in the Democratic Party and it has taken over the
Labour Party in the U.K.. In their world
Jews are part of the white power structure and the view demonizes Israel as
oppressors of the Palestinians. So great is their hatred of democratic Israel
is that they view worldwide Jewry as their enemy. To be sure one can have and
does have political differences with Israel, but that is a far cry from calling
for the destruction of the Jewish State as BDS does.
Weiss’ solution in a nutshell is not so
much to argue with the anti-Semites of the world, but rather to live our lives
as proud Jews and stand strong in support of the State of Israel. Note I used
the word state, not government; on that point we can disagree. Remember we are
no longer the cowering Jews of 1930s Europe and 1880s Russia.
My criticism of Weiss’ book is that it
seemed very rushed and in many respects had the aspects of a long magazine
article. Further footnotes and a bibliography would have helped. I am a geek
for sources. Nevertheless Weiss’ book should be read by Jew and non-Jew alike because
as she notes anti-Semitism is a symptom of a very real disease in our
democracy.
The full Amazon URL appears at: https://www.amazon.com/review/R3TQ65B69CJTE6/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv
Unfortunately across the world Jews are the universal Western scapegoats for stressful economic times and excited autocratic demagogary and recent liberal civilizational advances have not erased that problem - much as it did not in 1490s Spain or pre-war (I or II) Austria. Contemporary happy assimilation by Jews in the USA likely is just ignoring history and we are just as vulnerable.
ReplyDeleteMostly your comments about anti-Semitism from the left, in my opinion, are off base. Although you allude to the problem by distinguishing between the state of Israel and the government of Israel, this distinction is Talmudic (to coin a phrase) and not relevant in daily life. Even perceptive observers have great trouble distinguishing between individuals of Jewish faith and supporters of Israel (state or government) and can easily conflate them negatively. Humanistic liberalism morally supports self determination and autonomy for all sects and cultures - Arabs (Palestinians) among them. Israel has unconscionably aggressively violated this ethic. Israel like the USA was founded with the original sin of ignoring, displacing or exterminating the land's indigenous inhabitants. For at least half (if not all) of its existence Israel has treated Arabs and Palestinians in an unquestionably horrible fashion, in an autocratic, discriminatory, apartheid, arbitrary, arrogant fashion. Even admitting that under Arafat the Palestinians posed an aggressive and existential threat to the State of Israel, the treatment of Arabs and Palestinians under the State's aegis has been un-Jewish and beyond all ethical and moral bounds. Unfortunately these domestic policies have been supported by many Americans from Abelson to Gingrich to Trump. It and they demand harsh critical feedback. These facts on the ground easily slide into anti-Semitism from the left. The policies and behavior of Israel created this problem. Righteous people need to endeavor to untangle these factors. Anti-Semitism from the left can thus hopefully be dealt with in a civil fashion. Anti-Semitism from the right is pure, blind hatred.
Just to note anti-Semitism from Lenin and Stalin wasn't all that civil.
DeleteAs I noted above, I do not worship at the altar of secular liberalism.
ReplyDelete
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Writing as an anti Trump democrat.
Slowly with this R accusation...
The racists that cry "racism" (the phenomenon after exposing some of Bari Weiss' former colleages at New York Times).
We do not all know these former colleague personally. Yet, it is about the phenomenon in and of itself.
Let's take specifically Bari Weiss' accusation. Excerpt:
'My own forays into Wrongthink have made me the subject of constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views. They have called me a Nazi and a racist; I have learned to brush off comments about how I’m “writing about the Jews again.” Several colleagues perceived to be friendly with me were badgered by coworkers. My work and my character are openly demeaned on company-wide Slack channels where masthead editors regularly weigh in. There, some coworkers insist I need to be rooted out if this company is to be a truly “inclusive” one, while others post ax emojis next to my name. Still other New York Times employees publicly smear me as a liar and a bigot on Twitter with no fear that harassing me will be met with appropriate action. They never are...
But there is still none appended to Cheryl Strayed’s fawning interview with the writer Alice Walker, a proud anti-Semite who believes in lizard Illuminati.'
_____
It reminds how Racists cry "racism". [ https://www.wnd.com/2001/09/10776/ ] .
It goes back to the first on record true hater who began this slippery slope of using this as epithet only to hurt while being THE racist.
It was Issa Nakhleh who made sure to throw it in the face of survivors of the Holocaust in the US in his first of a kind June 17, 1949 "worst than nazis" memo.
This cruel human being couldn't hold himself back in November 14, 1972 [ https://books.google.com/books?id=wk0oAQAAMAAJ&q=issa+nakhleh+hitler ] to expose himself as he uttered that Hitler never killed Jews and denied the Holocaust ever happened. All the millions are alive... He said that it was all invented By J... He repeated it 6 years later to disturb the peace of Camp David between Sadat and Begin Historic peace summit. [ https://books.google.com/books?id=dUz4AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA120 ]
Imagine the maliciousness of only less than 3 decades after WW2, stating this as those who lost so many and went through so much, revictimized all over again.
This non-white brown Arab linked with most true neo nazis "aryans," since the 1960's [ https://books.google.com/books?id=zdc3AQAAIAAJ&q=issa+nakhleh+hitler ], published "articles," for them, spoke at holocaust denial convention representing Muslim Congress [ https://books.google.com/books?id=hPUSAQAAMAAJ&q=nakhleh+hitler ], and defended holocaust-denier Ditlieb [ https://books.google.com/books?id=2PCQBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT339 ].
Again, turning back the clock, remember his accusation of Nazism in 1949?
(Unrelated to this. Though we could go on for days to show the raw racism in how Arab militants' violence linked to Gaza government or "moderate" Ramallah government or helped by Arabs inside Israel target specifically only Jews (I refer to civilians) and not Arabs. Or Racist dehumanization in Palestine [ https://www.google.com/search?q=pa+apes+pigs ] .
... annexation would be a mistake. Yet, slowly with this R accusation , that became but a knife so often).