“Antisemitism is a variant of racism…. that is, stereotyping and discrimination leading to intimidation, threats, harm, and marginalization or exclusion of individuals because they belong or are supposed to belong to certain ethnic or associated religious group, in this case Jewish ethnicity or religion.”
ANTISEMITISM IS A difficult subject for me to discuss because I have never felt it directed against me personally. I see it and deplore it but have never felt it as a threat, and my one set of Jewish great grandparents, who emigrated from Germany in 1871, were not religious.
What recent conversations and emails have reminded me is that events carry an emotional burden that is very different from, and often overrides, other considerations. In personal as in political life, people tend to prioritize what they feel; and others must grasp that. Who could argue with the strong and heartfelt public statement about antisemitism by Mayim Bialik on Facebook?
The current crisis in Palestine and Israel has gone on for 75-plus years, but antisemitism is not history for those who suffer its consequences; in fact, knowledge of its past, going back to the Roman Empire, makes its current upsurge even more present and ominous.
One of my readers mentioned several incidents that made her feel offended and uncomfortable; and now that the subject has entered the headlines, we see antisemitism all around us in the news, including at so-called elite educational institutions. Yes, there are all too many “isms” in our society, but I am focusing on just one of them here.
What is antisemitism? You’d think we’d all know but it is surprisingly hard to find a clear, concise and widely accepted definition. The Anti-Defamation League’s notes are helpful but I’m not sure I’d make this distinction: “rhetoric that is not antisemitic but which can have the effect of making many Jews feel ostracized or excluded” (I’d say that making people “feel ostracized or excluded” is part of antisemitism). Irwin Cutler’s analysis of the “new antisemitism is also helpful but gets us into anti-Zionism, which will be for another day.
To me (not to everyone), antisemitism is a variant of racism (or, if you prefer, racial antisemitism or ethnic-based fear and loathing), that is, stereotyping and discrimination leading to intimidation, threats, harm, and marginalization or exclusion of individuals because they belong or are supposed to belong to certain ethnic or associated religious group, in this case Jewish ethnicity or religion. For specifically antisemitic hate groups today, see SPLC (of course, there are far more hate groups overall).
SOME MIGHT SAY you recognize antisemitism when you see it. When Elon Musk’s father wrote a 1960 treatise that “blamed the two World Wars on the machinations of Jewish financiers” (per the historian Jill Lepore in the 9/11/23 New Yorker; and similarly on Sept. 19), it is hard not to see it. But the perpetrators are not always so direct and often try to disguise it under generalizations or pseudo-factual statements.
The Anti-Defamation League has a selected list of incidents showing how “Around the world, Jews and Jewish institutions have been targeted with antisemitic violence, vandalism and harassment.” Such incidents as shots fired at Jewish schools or spray-painted slogans praising Hitler and Nazis are obviously antisemitic. That is the sort of racist attack that FBI Christopher Wray must have had in mind when he testified on Oct. 31 that “for a group that represents only about 2.4% of the American public, they account for something like 60% of all religious-based hate crimes.”
Most hate offenses are less public and don’t rise to the level of crimes that would interest the FBI. But Jews around the world — everyone around the world — should not be subjected to hate, discrimination or humiliation because of who they are.
One can argue about who discriminates the most against whom, who dropped what bomb, whose speech is the more offensive, who has been more victimized over the centuries. But my point is that people must be listened to, their feelings and self-image must be acknowledged and respected before we retreat into our quest for facts. We all know that (and political leaders would benefit from reflecting more about it), but it’s hard to do.
Who would have predicted that the color line of the 19th and 20th centuries would persist as the race and religion line of the 21st century?
Nathaniel Smith is a retired professor in international studies and languages. He lives in West Chester, PA where he is active in environmental activities and the Chester County Democrats. This post first appeared as an email and is used with permission. Sharing with credit is permitted.