“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, 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 cartoon in the Times featured a blind, “Jewish,” President Trump – the US – being led by a dog with PM Netanyahu’s face, eg, Israel.
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. (timesofisrael.com)
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 arecapable 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. She 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. 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.
Republished from San Diego Jewish World