Anti-Semitism: One Jew's perspective about recent events (long read) [View all]

[Behind the Aegis]

Given the press conferences from the "president", and the odious Holocaust remembrance statement from the White House, I figured I would strike while the iron was hot, meaning people actually seem to care about this topic. So, what is anti-Semitism? Well, the best way to start is to provide the dictionary definition, so, here it is:

hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group (Merriam-Webster)

Seems pretty straightforward, but unfortunately, it is not. It goes way beyond just calling Jews names like kike, Heeb, or yid. It is much more than spray-painting a swastika on a synagogue. I am hoping to shine a light on what this bigotry really is. There are those who refer to it as "the oldest hatred"; personally, I think that title goes to misogyny, but that is for another thread. Anti-Semitism has a long history, though. It has spread throughout the world in various forms and there are very common themes. In my opinion, one of the most odious of anti-Semitic stereotypes is Jews are a devious people who spread lies, disease, fear, and misinformation in order to better our own lives. This particular stereotype has taken on many forms over the millennia. We were accused of spreading the Black Plague. We were/are accused of starting and maintaining the slave trade. We are accused for destabilizing a host of countries (Germany, Russia, England, Spain, Greece, Japan, and, yes, even the US). We are accused of inciting racial tensions by "manipulating" the Civil Rights movement of the 60's. We are/have been accused of poisoning wells, food, and livestock. The list goes on and on. Just with just one stereotype, it is easy to see how it is morphed into a variety of hatreds.

DU'er, TygrBright wrote a piece entitled: Hate Jews, Love Israel: The Logic of American Anti-Semitism and as I explained in a comment, it would have been more aptly named, "Right-Wing American Anti-Semitism." However, some very good points were made:

In the (Christian) Millenialist view, "Israel" doesn't actually have much to do with Jews except insofar as it provides the catalyst for them, as Christ-killing sinners, to get What's Coming To Them when Payback Jesus finally shows up.

The "eggs/basket/drop" strategy is at the heart of the broader American neo-nazi racist version of anti-semitism. If Israel is the Jews' rightful homeland, then it's perfectly logical to convince them to get the hell out of America, and go there. Where, presumably, they and those other non-Aryan non-Christian people will annihilate each other, problem solved.

Finally, there's the more nuanced and sophisticated approach of the old WASP elite. The "gentleman's agreement" they've reached with Israel is, essentially, to be their proxy bulwark maintaining the established order in the Middle East. Their anti-Semitism is the most genteel and subtle of the lot.

This is an excellent breakdown of the right-wing's anti-Semitism. The entire piece is well worth a read, so do so, please. This piece is more about motivations, as opposed to actual examples, but they abound throughout the web, and I am sure most are familiar with a least a few examples from the above descriptions.

But, it is only part of the problem. While no where near as epic as right-wing anti-Semitism, there is anti-Semitism on the left. It, too, must be addressed, not ignored, and it must also be eradicated. A few weeks ago, a British MP claimed anti-Semitism was the fault of the Jews. This type of "blaming the victim" for their own attacks is commonly seen in the "what was she wearing" type of defense we get from those who try to blame the victim of rape for the actual rape. While it happens to all groups, the Jews seem to get the lion's share of the blame when it comes to anti-Semitism; as if somehow we brought it upon ourselves, thus one can see why scores of countries have routinely purged Jews from their borders over the past 2 millennia. And this belief leads directly to another stereotype which is shared by the right and the left, Jews are not loyal citizens. Long after Israel ceased to exist and long before it existed again, Jews have routinely been accused of having loyalties which were not to their leaders, crown, or country. The most obvious was during the lead up to the Second World War, when Jews of Germany were accused of bolshevism and supporting Russia, while Jews in Bolshevist Russia were accused of capitalism and supporting the US, and Jews of the United States were accused of supporting socialism and bringing down the US government.

This constant "Jews are not loyal" to their country is even more pronounced now that Israel exists. Any Jew who doesn't sufficiently or "properly" criticize Israel is considered suspect. The left delights in labeling Jewish legislators Mr. So-and-so (D-Tel Aviv) in order to indicate the lawmaker isn't really loyal to the US, but to Israel. Jews who aren't "on board" with things deemed "the correct answer" are automatically considered treasonous and not loyal to the US. The irony is the left is the group usually considered to be anti American and not loyal to the United States by the right and often complain, bitterly, about it. The right, especially the far-right, are notorious for publishing lists of Jews who are in the government (sometimes they aren't even Jews) in an effort to demonstrate two things, that Jews aren't loyal to the US and their is a not-so-secret Jewish cabal to control the US. Both sides, usually the fringes, share the idea that most, if not all, wars are fought for Israel or at her behest, and therefore, the Jews in power, a larger number compared to our very small overall percentage, is the proof Jews are not loyal to this country and control it through their ranks and the "Jew(ish) Lobby" (AIPAC).

Scads of examples exist about anti-Semitism. Using "Jew" to mean "Jewish" is one example.

• Behind the Aegis is a Jew. Behind the Aegis is Jewish. Both are correct and neither is offensive.
  
• Behind the Aegis is a Jew poster at DU. Behind the Aegis is a Jewish poster at DU. The latter is correct, while the former is a slur.

There are phrases one should avoid with the target of scorn or objection is Jewish, such as "I guess he got his 30 pieces of silver", which is a reference to Judas, and has a long history of implying Jews will sell out anyone for the right price. "She got her pound of flesh.", while this phrase seems to be an innocuous insult about exacting revenge, in truth it from the Shakespeare play, "The Merchant of Venice" and it is how the Jew, Shylock, was accused of wanting the flesh as payback. While not literal, it harkens back to the idea of Jews' love of so deep anything will be accepted as payment, and it touches on the ancient myth of the Blood libel. While I am talking about good ol' Bill, calling a Jew, 'shylock", is a big no-no. "Shyster" is OK, but the other is not, and again for historical reasons going back to the aforementioned play. All of these tie into the anti-Semitic theme about the love Jews have for money, to the point of willingness to betray and even take body parts as payment. Jews are portrayed as cheap and stingy. We hear it in the phrase "He Jewed me.", meaning the person was cheated. Of course, one can also demonstrate the Jews' craftiness with getting a good deal unfairly, but claiming, "Go to this auto dealer, you can Jew them on the price."

The Jewish "affair" with money harkens back to the pre-Middle Ages, when usury laws were "illegal", that is to say, it was illegal for Christians, but the Church wanted it's money, so it had the Jews handle the money; and a stereotype was born. One of the more egregious remarks came from the current "president" not along ago, when he said:

“Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are little short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.”

So when the "leader" of the free world says shit like this, there is a problem. Is it because he is afraid of his supporters as opined in this article posted at DU, Trump too afraid of his own base to denounce antisemitism posted by McCamy Taylor? Or is it he, like so many, doesn't really understand anti-Semitism, as recent searches increased after this two day ignore-fest of anti-Semitism completed, as shown in an article titled: Anti-Semitism searches surge after Trump press conference? But then again, given the past few interviews where he has refused to answer about the rise in anti-Semitism (one occasion bragging about his election win and his "some of his best friends are..." defense by invoking his daughter, the other where he actually told a Jew to shut up and sit down), it really begs the question: Does he really care about anti-Semitism? We know some of his supporters are loving it (Anti-Semites thrilled that Trump refused to denounce Anti-Semitism at presser posted by DetlefK). This, in my opinion leads to a larger question of, "Does anyone care?" That question is asked in an article I posted the other day: Is anti-Semitism on the rise? Does anyone care?.

Like any form of bigotry, anti-Semitism can be murky sometimes and there are quite a few myths (Five myths about anti-Semitism). It can depend on circumstance. It can depend on the speaker or audience. However, sometimes, it is in-your-face-straight-up bigotry!

• Do not accuse Jews of being more loyal to another country, including Israel, when your only proof is the person is a Jew! BIGOTRY!
  
• Do not accuse the "Jew(ish) Lobby" of getting us into war or controlling Congress. BIGOTRY!
  
• Do not accuse Jews of controlling the media. BIGOTRY!
  
• Do not accuse Jews of being responsible for anti-Semitism enacted against us! BIGOTRY!
  
• Do not excuse or otherwise downplay anti-Semitism by bringing up the sins of Israel! BIGOTRY!
  
• Do not claim anti-Semitism is not a "real" bigotry like racism, sexism, or homophobia! BIGOTRY!
  
• Do not "redefine" anti-Semitism to include others who aren't Jews, or to purposely water it down in order to exclude Jews. BIGOTRY!
  
• Do not call a Jewish person a "kapo". This is even dicey in the Jewish community, but if you aren't Jewish, do not compare a Jew to a Nazi sellout, or worse, a Nazi. BIGOTRY!

To show people just how real anti-Semitism is, one only needs to read FBI stats for the past several years, and it is easy to see, that Jews always top the list for anti-Religious crimes...ALWAYS! Even recently, Jews toped the list with this report from ThinkProgress, Hate incidents since Trump was elected. We are only about 2.3% of the US population, yet we make up an incredible amount of the victims of hate crimes, especially per capita. Anti-Semitism is real. Anti-Semitism is not going away. Anti-Semitism is a bigotry with no political boundaries. Anti-Semitism should always be reviled and confronted.

As a final note, if you are not Jewish, do not "'splain'" to us about anti-Semitism and tell us we don't understand it or know what we are talking about. No minority likes to be talked down to someone who is a privileged majority, and that includes Jews. It is always possible for people to be mistaken. It is always possible for Jews to be oversensitive to anti-Semitism, real or imagined. It is OK to disagree with Jews. It is OK to disagree with Jews about the anti-Semitism (or not) of a situation. However, how one does it makes all the difference. If you want to stop all forms of bigotry, be willing to stop anti-Semitism when you see it, too.