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Should U.S. Jews Push Back Harder Against Anti-Semitism?
Recently I viewed a video discussion among four highly-respected Jewish educators and leaders: Ruth Wisse, professor at Harvard; Liel Leibovitz, journalist; Dara Horn, author of People Love Dead Jews; and Elliot Kaufman, editor at the Wall Street Journal. The discussion was moderated by Jonathan Silver, editor of Tikvah and Mosaic. They talked about the effects of the past year on the Jewish community, and they surprised me with their demands of the US Jewish community: Jews need to be more aggressive in pushing back on their anti-Semitic enemies.
Ruth Wisse made a fascinating observation about the Nazis: the Germans tried as much as possible to hide their activities against the Jews. It wasn’t until late in the war that the rest of the world realized the devastation of their actions.
Today, however, the anti-Semites in this country openly celebrate their hatred of Jews in widespread protests, on college campuses and in the streets, as well as their support of Hamas. (Some people would say that hiding their faces behind keffiyehs defies their passion.)
In response, Jews are making passive statements regarding the return of hostages, for instance. The hashtag, #bring them home now—who are they asking to take this step?—is being promoted, instead of demands for killing the enemies who are holding the hostages. Jews need to make aggressive, uncompromising statements, especially in the U.S. Where are the demands against the university leaders? Against the faculty? Against the non-students who invade the campuses? Why isn’t law enforcement more involved?
Instead, some would say that the Jews want to play it safe. That approach has been typical of Jews who have lived in foreign countries. They wanted to fit in, not only to be accepted, but to protect themselves. In the 19th century, Theodore Herzl predicted that if the Jews left Europe and went to Israel, anti-Semitism would end.
So much for that theory.
A couple of other thoughtful points were made in the video discussion. One was that anti-Semitism is the oldest and most successful ideology over time; its resilience is impressive. What can we learn from that? The other point is that the campuses are dominated by pagans; instead of an enlightened Christian view of the Jews, the Jews are seen as outsiders and threats.
One last point I’d like to make about the federal government. The next time the Jews are attacked, the Jews and their supporters in Congress need to make a formal demand, not only against discrimination in general but an explicit condemnation of anti-Semitism. And this demand must be loud and clear.
The current danger is that protests and attacks in the U.S. are no longer on the front page. That situation may lead people to believe that all is well. But be assured, that is not the case, as I’ve summarized below:
ADL has identified six key trends that should set off alarm bells for college and university leaders: escalation of violent tactics; public embrace of terrorist organizations and Iran interference; evading accountability (use of masks); attacking Jewish organizations on campus; faculty and staff supporting extreme positions; BDS targeting university endowments.
Still, there are encouraging signs:
But while these numbers and trends paint a bleak picture, there are reasons for cautious optimism. Courts and the Department of Education have held universities accountable for allowing intimidation, exclusion, and abuse of Jewish students, opening the door to immediate reforms. Over the past year, and particularly during the summer months, many colleges and universities have taken proactive steps to address this crisis. New policies governing campus protests have been put in place, along with clear communications about codes of conduct and disciplinary processes. However, policies are only as effective as their enforcement. The real test will be whether universities have the resolve to hold violators accountable. Campus administrators must act decisively against hate and support their Jewish communities.
For now, the universities are the main focal point for these anti-Semitic activities. I worry that these actions will spread into the larger community. Thus, my ongoing banging of the drum.
Published in Culture
I meant to add that all the panelists encourage Jews to pursue coalition-building with other communities; education is one area where this can happen. The paradox is that we want to fit into the larger community, but we must not let our desire “to belong” to compromise our role in society: to freely bring light into the world.
The Jewish people face a Catch-22: No matter how badly Jewish people are treated, any level of political or material success deprives them of victim status; any level of successful pushback confirms the fevered dreams that Jewish people are pulling the levers of power and “justly” labeled as oppressors.
And yet too often the Jews try to wear the mantle of the victim. With the latest woke agenda, we’re now part of “white America.” It is definitely a conundrum.
I think we should all push back harder against anti-Semitism, and against bigotry in general. That includes the bigotry inherent in DEI initiatives and so-called Critical Race Theory. It’s all of a piece, and defeating it requires calling out and condemning identity politics wherever we encounter it, and most particularly in our educational systems at all levels.
I agree, Hank. It’s just that it helps to be specific about what we are calling out in each situation, so that we don’t end up with a muddled mess of ideas.
Harvard donations plunge 15% as alumni cut ties over weak response to campus antisemitism
Somebody is doing something, and I’ll guarantee that 15% is more than enough to get attention.
As far as off-campus nonsense goes, I haven’t seen it – yet.
Yep. Hurt ’em in the pocketbook is almost always effective, Percival. Remember we had protests on roads to airports previously, but I haven’t seen anything of late.
Most of the Ivy League schools endowments are so large that they don’t need donations. They can survive wealthy,powerful, independent and isolated forever without an additional dime. No accountability whatsoever.
Should U.S. Jews Push Back Harder Against Anti-Semitism?
Harder? Sometimes yes. (Never, ever be wimps about it.)
Consistently? Absolutely! (Unless you are ashamed of your Jewish heritage, that is.)
As I was given to understand it, they pay current expenses out of donations. If donations fall off, they may need to dig into those endowments for cash, and there is significant costs incurred when they do that.
Will that be enough to effect some change? I don’t know. Let’s try it and see!
I do recognize that anti-Semitism has a distinctive quality compared to other bigotries: the sweatshirt I’m wearing right now reads “I Stand with Israel,” after all, and not “I oppose DEI” or something like that. Anti-Semitism has a unique history, both qualitatively and quantitatively: the Holocaust stands alone, and the ubiquity and antiquity of anti-Semitism is also unlike any other ethnic prejudice.
But I want to toss out a thought related to anti-Semitism in America specifically, because, outside of a few heavily Muslim-influenced communities, I think it’s unlike anti-Semitism as it exists in most other places.
I believe that there is not a deep well of anti-Jewish sentiment in the United States. Rather, there is a relatively recent pathology of victimhood-celebration, fueled by race hustlers who find it advantageous to divide the population into ever smaller and more exploitable pockets of anger and resentment against a universal villain and scapegoat. I think this is rooted, fundamentally, in an intellectually bankrupt but nonetheless fashionable contempt for Western Civilization.
While it’s my understanding that anti-Semitism has long been in style in the salons of Europe, I think its recent eruption in American universities (and that does seem to be the locus of the infection here) is mostly a product of this contempt for the west, a contempt that justifies itself with a manufactured myth of oppression and victimization.
When I read condemnations of Israel I usually interpret them as veiled anti-Semitism. I think that’s very often the case. But I wonder if there might be a different dynamic at work in America. It is hard to imagine a more glaring clash of western enlightenment and anti-western barbarism than we see in the conflict between Israel and the toxic anti-western ideology of Islam. This is for me a principal motivator of my love and respect for Israel. For young people steeped in anti-western propaganda — and that’s probably most college students today — the conflict may be more western-civilization-versus-[whatever idealized fantasy they’ve been fed] than it is Jew versus Muslim.
In short: I think anti-Israel sentiment globally tends to spring from anti-Semitic motivations, but I suspect anti-Semitic behavior in America is the reverse, more a secondary consequence of anti-Israel sentiment driven by the (correct) perception that Israel is a beautiful representation of something — Western Civilization — that these foolish young people have been taught to hate.
That’s what prompts me to suggest, as I did above, that the issue in America is perhaps something more fundamental than anti-Semitism.
Yes, they have a buffer, but the path to career advancement for the members of a university administration is through more incoming money, not less.
Darn, I lost my comment. I’ll try again.
Darn, I lost my comment. Anyway, I wanted to say first that I deeply appreciate your commitment to the Jews and Israel, especially since you aren’t religious. It means a lot. Then I wanted to make some points comparing European and U.S. anti-Semitism. The picture, I think, has gotten more complicated. Europe has a long history of anti-Semitism, and I think with the infusion of Muslim migrants, it includes their viewpoints. I don’t know if there is an anti-Western aspect to it, but it likely intensified Jew-hatred.
In the U.S., however, we have been proud of having few signs of anti-Semitism. But then the universities brought in Marxism. Unfortunately, Karl Marx was “radically anti-Semitic. ” I know he hated religion and heard him described as a self-hating Jew, but I’d not known much about the depth of his disdain. So I now wonder if it’s even possible to separate anti-Western/pro Marxism from one another? Would Marx’s teachings about hating the West have included to a great extent his anti-Semitism? The reason that makes a difference is whether anti-Western beliefs and anti-Semitism are intermeshed. Now that is something to contemplate!
“Ruth Wisse made a fascinating observation about the Nazis: the Germans tried as much as possible to hide their activities against the Jews” They did try to hide the genocide, but Krystallnacht was pretty visible, as was the anti-Jewish legislation. I don’t see how any aware person by, say, 1939 could have been aware that the German regime was anti-Semitic.
Indeed, this Nazi pamphlet from 1929 specifies anti-Semitism as one of the four cardinal principals of Naziism.
Thanks, David. I think you meant, could not have been aware. And I think Wisse was talking about the genocide, such a huge project, and how they did it. I don’t think that Hitler cared whether people thought the Germans were anti-Semitic, but he didn’t want to promote their diabolical plans. Just wearing the yellow Star of David patch, kicking them out of their professions, out of school, destroying their small businesses, seemed to suffice.
I wonder why he tried to keep the genocide quiet? Maybe he thought it would bring more forces against him.
I have a young relative who had some peculiar notions about when Nazi antisemitism became manifest. I gave him a copy of Erik Larson’s In the Garden of Beasts to help straighten out his thinking somewhat.
Was that the one about our ambassador in Germany? If so, great book .
I don’t think pushing back harder is the issue so much as pushing back effectively. How to do it most effectively is a good question, though. I doubt there is one single answer that works everywhere.
Yes. William Dodd and his family. Dodd made reports back to the State Department about the street violence targeting Jews and asking that notice be taken.
Even on Ricochet. Wise words.
I think the bigger Catch-22 is that most Jews are on the left, and all the leftist positions are at odds with supporting Israel. They have to somehow rectify these contradictions in their heads. Of course many leftist Jews are against the State of Israel to begin with, such as Sigmund Freud, Isaac Asimov, Noam Chomsky, George Soros, Bernie Sanders, and to some extent, Chuck Shumer and Anthony Blinken.
Nearly all those Jews opposed to the state of Israel are non-religious. Practicing religious Jews are nearly the complete opposite.
I think you nailed a very important distinction!
My instinct is that opinions of the Raj could act as a proxy wrt support for Palestine or Israel. One group, based on carefully curated ‘facts’, think the Raj was an entirely Good Thing – ditto re Israel. The other group, based on equally curated ‘facts’ would say the Raj was completely awful with no redeeming features at all.
Re pushing back against antisemitism – yes, obviously, push back against all bigotry. (Just don’t do it in a bigoted way.)
I think that it would be great if US Jews continued to persecute those who disagree with them through a campaign against “anti-Semitism.”
I can think of nothing that would bring more Americans around to opposition to the odious, murderous state of Israel. Persecute away. You’ll make more and more enemies. Persecuting people who disagree with you, by the way, provides a good reason for others to dislike you.
I want to address a glaring historical error in the OP, which is so typical when discussing these issues:
I think that this is completely wrong. The Germans made no secret of their policies against the Jews in the 1930s, and even collaborated with the Zionist leadership to get German Jews to move to Palestine.
Much of the Holocaust narrative looks like a fabrication to me, but even if it’s true, it didn’t even supposedly kick off until the Wannsee conference in early 1942. That’s quite late, you know. There was nothing that any other country could have done about it, at that point, which wasn’t already being done. The Germans were deep inside Russian territory, and we were already at war with Germany.
You seem to be doing an awesome job of doing this yourself.
Why am I not surprised by your insight?
You Zionists are so ridiculous. I have no power to persecute anyone.
This is a post by an American Jew about a group openly talking about organizing to persecute people who disagree with them. Whatever you want to call this loose group — the Jewish lobby or the Israel lobby — they succeeded this year in driving three Ivy League college presidents out of office, for failure to adequately suppress speech on campus.
This type of argument, too, is typical of Jews and their allies, accusing others of doing what they do themselves. There is an acronym for it, DARVO. Deny, attack, reverse victim and oppressor.
Your comments never cease to amuse me, Jerry. Where in the world did you get “persecute” from “pushing back”?
If you read the OP, Jerry, I said that they tried to hide their mass genocide and extinguishing of Jews. They were perfectly willing to tell people about their Jew-hatred, stereotypes and lies. But they made huge efforts to hide the slaughter.
You declared years ago that anyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ is your personal enemy and the enemy of God. If that is not persecuting many of your fellow members on Ricochet, then I don’t know what is. Your hate for Jews and the Jewish State keeps ratcheting up more and more with each passing comment. I expect that soon you will be declaring them to be worse than Hitler and Nazi Germany.
Interesting that you twist the meaning of the word “persecute” to mean “fighting back against those who wish for you to be destroyed or killed.” The proper term would be “standing up for one’s self and one’s people.” You are probably completely unaware that changing the meanings of words is a tactic used indiscriminately by people on the Left.