by Steve Kramer
“The term anti-Semitism was coined in 1879 by the German agitator [and Jew hater] Wilhelm Marr to designate the anti-Jewish campaigns under way in central Europe at that time. Although the term now has wide currency, it is a misnomer, since it implies a discrimination against all Semites. Arabs and other peoples are also Semites, and yet they are not the targets of anti-Semitism as it is usually understood.” britannica.com
There’s anti-Semitism, antisemitism, and Jew hatred – whatever you call it, it’s increasing every day and is now taken for granted by many. I’m beginning to use the expression “Jew hatred” for a few reasons, including its more crude but descriptive flavor.
During the latter half of the 20th century, there was an anomaly concerning Jews, an interruption in the millennia-old hatred of the Jewish faith and people. This was probably the result of the Holocaust, which influenced a whole generation and its children, the baby boomers. For the majority of people, hating Jews after WW2 was something to be avoided, especially with the Holocaust so fresh in people’s memory.
After WW2, quotas or bans against Jews in colleges, restricted neighborhoods, upper ranks of big business, etc., faded away, part of a reduction in blatant prejudice against Jews. Now, in the 21st century, four distinct types of Jew haters have emerged: Jewish “useful idiots” whose intolerant criticism of Israel leads them to turn against themselves and their fellow Jews; extreme right nationalist/white supremacists; extreme left progressives; and most numerous, Muslims, who are taught to hate Jews from an early age.
Jewish “useful idiots”: Just six months after the slaughter of Jews at worship in Pittsburgh, a white supremacist Jew hater attacked a synagogue near San Diego, with one fatality and several injured. The previous day, towards the end of the Passover holiday, the International New York Times ran a political cartoon worthy of Der Sturmer, (featuring a blind, “Jewish,” President Trump – the US – being led by a dog with PM Netanya’s face – Israel) the infamous Nazi rag which helped elevate Jew hatred to a national obsession with its disgusting articles and caricatures, such as dogs, hook-nosed bankers, insects, vermin, etc.
The racist Times cartoon was circulated by a publisher who supposedly promotes anti-racism and minority rights, and is a platform for any and all liberal or progressive causes, with the exception of hatred against Christianity and Judaism. The Times belatedly tweeted a weak, so-called apology, stating that publishing the “offensive” cartoon was “an error of judgment.” There was no direct apology to the American president or the Israeli prime minister who were maligned by, and disgusted with, the cartoon. Doubling down just several days later, the Times published another derogatory cartoon depicting Netanyahu.
Inciting hatred against the two leaders and their governments is nothing new from the Times publisher, whose downplaying of wrongs against Jews goes back to its roots in the latter part of the 19th century. Its German-Jewish founders, whose descendants still control the publishing company, were wary of appearing to favor Jews in any way. Thus began the paper’s policy of burying bad news concerning Jews and later, taking a harsh stance against the actions of the Israeli government.
“[In 1935, son of the founder] Arthur Hays Sulzberger took over the reins at The Times. Sulzberger, a Reform Jew, was an outspoken anti-Zionist at a time when the Reform movement was still debating the issue. …The [paper’s] owners drew criticism for the way the paper covered Jewish affairs, particularly the Holocaust. Critics said the newspaper failed to give adequate coverage to Nazi atrocities committed against Jews, a charge that The Times later owned up to. Arthur Hays Sulzberger had experienced anti-Semitism, and he was worried about his paper being perceived as too Jewish, Laurel Leff wrote in her 2005 book ‘Buried by the Times: The Holocaust and America’s Most Important Newspaper.’”
Extreme right: The terrorists who perpetrated the two synagogue terrorist attacks, the “Jews won’t replace us” marchers in Charlottesville, the KKK, alt-right, and other, assorted white nationalists are all rabid Jew haters, but they are a big problem for all Americans, not only Jews. They are ultra-violent, even deadly, having perpetrated a number of massacres throughout the US. However, they are not capable of creating a societal shift to influence the majority of US citizens, because the mass media uniformly excoriate them. The Wall Street Journal reports that violent attacks committed by “white extremists” are not on the rise. In fact, the frequency of these violent hate crimes has remained relatively steady for the past 50 years. (WSJ.com 4/19)
Extreme left “progressives”: In my opinion, far left progressives are a bigger problem, because they are capable of shifting society in their direction. How? Because of the sympathy of the mass media towards their positions. A perfect example is newly minted Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of the freshman class of Democratic lawmakers who appear willing to split the Democratic Party, by her constant criticism of the Israeli government. I.e. She’s on record condemning the killing of Palestinians on the Gaza border as a “massacre,” ignoring the extreme violence on Israel’s border every Friday caused by Gazans. Even before Ocasio-Cortez’s victory in the Bronx and Queens, the media fawned all over her, awarding her the nickname “AOC,” an honor previously bestowed on personages such as FDR, JFK, and LBJ, presidents all.
Ocasio-Cortez is a big buddy of two other freshmen Representatives, both bona fide Muslim Jew haters: Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib. This triumvirate takes up all the air in the room as far as the media is concerned. Because of their tremendous, supportive press and non-stop publicity, these three congresswomen could be the leaders pushing Jew-hating progressivism into the main stream. Omar and Tlaib enjoy the protection of “Islamophobia” to give cover to all their racist comments, because Muslims, unlike Christians and Jews, must never be maligned or disrespected, according to the fashionable but intolerant “liberalism” running amuck today.
These three exemplify the insidious, undermining, transformative campaign to change the US. All three support BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, which poisons the minds of impressionable college students against Israel (and Jews) with programs and spectacles like the infamous campus “Apartheid week,” which flood scores of college campuses with Israel-hating propaganda. On a regular basis, proponents of campus BDS, disrupt or manage to prohibit “controversial” pro-Israel speakers, using the excuse of so-called free speech. Unfortunately, cowardly college administrators fail to stop this, and even worse, some promote this intolerance.
“Israeli Apartheid Week activities are often sponsored by university groups and academic departments, sending a message that the anti-Semitic aspects are completely acceptable.”
Muslims: I’ve left the most numerous and dangerous Jew haters for last. No, all Muslims don’t hate Jews, just 49%, according to reputable figures from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In the Middle East, Jew hatred ranges from a “low” of 75% to a maximum of 93%: Judea-Samaria/Gaza 93%; Iraq 92%; Yemen 88%; Algeria 87%; Libya 87%; Tunisia 86%; Kuwait 82%; Bahrain 81%; Jordan 81%; Morocco 80%; Qatar 80%; United Arab Emirates 80%; Lebanon 78%; Oman 76%; Egypt 75%; Saudi Arabia 75%. (For an exhaustive explanation of the dangers to Jews and Israel by Islam, read Dr. Andrew Bostom’s recent article at israelnationalnews.com. Bostom is the author of the definitive book on Jihad: “The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims.”)
Muslim Jew haters aren’t just in North Africa and the Middle East; they are migrating to Europe, where they have a great opportunity to replace the effete white Europeans, the majority of whom won’t fight to preserve their culture because they don’t think they have one worth saving. It’s debatable, but Europe may become a majority Muslim continent during this century. This problem is less acute in N. America, but cannot be ignored.
Jew hatred has gone mainstream. If Europe goes Muslim and the US becomes increasingly fractured between right and left, the future looks bleak for all Americans and therefore for Israelis too.
I am writing this article on Israel’s memorial day for Holocaust victims: Yom Ha’Shoah. In one week, Israel will celebrate the 71st anniversary of its Declaration of Independence. In these 71 years, Israel has developed into a thriving democracy, a State of the Jews which is capable of stopping any future Holocaust while providing a society that most citizens rank very highly. With that in mind and as an eternal optimist and student of history, I’m betting on the survival and prosperity of Jews and our nation, Israel.
pics: breitbart.com; holocaustresear
Adam this is a very important corrective to the usual line which is put out by many. You must understand first of all that the political line on the left as expressed and fought for by Marx was NOT antisemitic. He may have had his moments but overall was definitely not. Philip Larkin also was called a racist and was not, his main hero being Louis Armstrong , Sydney Biset etc.
The main danger is what you describe above.
There are deep reasons why capitalism tends towards Jew Hatred. The system itself is challenged organically by capitalist crisis. Then it is so easy to make the switch, and by a thousand different means.
Ah the left. Again there is a struggle as there was in the time of Marx. There is my tendency read http://www.trotskyist,org created at the turn of this year, THAT EXISTS. Nor is it written to curry favour and support. It is NOT a single issue political tendency at all.
There is also the “Palestinian” Narrative. It really IS a Narrative. Any of us on the left has had to fight our way out of that horrific spiel and I know many on the left who did so and who became totally opposed to it. You probably know that in the Irish case the Arabs with much money played on our emigration problems. To give a graphic example only for this purpose of making people understand, 6 out of 7 some very young left of my very own family were forced to abandon Ireland 1845 to 1847, to board the “coffin” ships to America. That in itself is a powerful narrative, and many films exist to play on that theme, so imagine that in the hands of clever liars. I have always thought that young people who are idealistic about the world could be won to support for the Jewish people, but for that is needed a party, which is why I exist.
At the same time this can be overstated. There is also a strong tradition in America of religious tolerance. This is inbuilt into the Constitution.
The American Revolution and the Constitution could not possibly be clearer. Make religion a private affair as far as the state is concerned. Then everybody is free to follow their thought processes religious or not in private life outside of the state machinery of government.
Marx in his much lied about On The Jewish Question took exactly this example and said that Jews in Prussia must have the same political rights in the Prussian state. Just read it! Parts of that essay are as opaque as tar but the overall is dead clear, he is fighting for Jews, and Jews today should make the essay their own.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262777. Numerous new assaults on Jews, some of them physical, as reported by Arutz Sheva and JTA. NYPD reports dramatic increase in antisemitic assaults in New York in 2019 over the last two years.
I agree with nearly everything Steve says. He is one of the world’s leading analysts of Islamist terrorism. But I think he and nearly everyone else underestimates the danger to us Jews from the neo-Nazi right.
While Steve is correct that the media and the cultural establishment are dominated by the “Left” in the uNited States, the country has a large population of white men who despise the media and the cultural elite, and reject everything they say. Many of these men are poor and have only a minimal education. They are bitter, and rightly so, about many things: many have lost relatively high-paying industrial jobs as business have moved their plants abroad to countries where they can hire cheap labor. Illegal immigrants have taken many of the jobs that remain, and have driven wages down, forcing native American workers to compete with them. Deprived of their traditional role as family bread-winner and provider, their wives often leave them and they have trouble even getting visiting rights. Many of them are military veterans who risked everything for thir country, and suffered severe PTSD as well as physical injuries. This makes it all the more galling to them when they return to civilian life and can’t find decent jobs, and are treated with contempt by many who never served.
In Germany after World War I, many returning veterans had similar bad experiences, and ended up filling the ranks of the Nazi storm troopers as a result. We may be seeing the same phenomena here in the United States. Embittered, relatively uneducated white men are ripe for recruitment by the neo-Nazi far right, and the neo-Nazi groups are taking full advantage of the situation. The social media and the internet give them a great new recruitment tool. The claim that “the Jews are responsible” offers a simple explanation of why these men are suffering, and one that appeals to people who don’t have the education and sophistication to understand the actual reasons for their problems. Angry and frustrated, these struggling and impoverished men may also be prone to violence. Their military background makes many of them experienced in using weapons, and perhaps used to killing people.
Jews should be scared, and not underestimate the neo-Nazi threat.
Nazis are not “right wingers”. They are big government socialists like their communist brethren, and like all socialists they are Jew haters. Liberals contrive a left-right distinction between the wings of the socialist movement, but all government-centric philosophies are inherently left wing. A right wing extremist would be an anarchist who advocates zero government. And of all the Jew-hating socialists, no one hates Jews nearly as much as left wing Jews. The kapos at The New York Times are quintessential self-hating pseudo-Hebrews,