By Marc Jampole
The current wave of anti-Semitism in Western Europe is much
more complicated than traditional European hatred of Jews, but it is also much
less virulent and much less widespread.
Thanks to the efforts of virtually all governments and the European
equivalent of the mainstream media, anti-Semitic feelings are marginalized in
all of the states of the European Common Market with the possible exception of
Hungary.
The complications derive from the split of the population of
anti-Semites into two parts, one of which also distrusts and looks down upon
the other. I’m talking of course about the growing Islamic minorities and the
very small fringe of right-wing anti-Semites who continue the secular
anti-Semitic traditions that dominated the 19th and first part of the 20th
centuries in Europe. The traditional
anti-Semites dislike Muslims as much as or more than they hate Jews.
A further complication is the political situation in the
Middle East. Whether inclined to support the countries which supply Europe with
oil or disturbed at the growing list of Israeli atrocities against
Palestinians, a pool of fellow travelers stands ready to join the small fringe
of Jew haters at any particular time or to respond to any specific issue
involving Jews.
Of course, anti-Semites have always been able to find
reasons to hate Jews—first for their supposed role in the death of their god,
then for being usurers and the agents of exploitation (e.g., for the Hanseatic
League in the Polish wheat fields), and then as the quintessential “other”
during the early modern era when racist philosophies dominated so much western
thought. Now it’s possible to hate Jews because they support Israel and are
equated with Israelis and Israeli policies.
The conflation of Jews with Israel is a mistake made by both
Islamic and Christian anti-Semites. Progressive Jews such as me are
disappointed when we see disappointment in Israel mentioned as a reason for the
rise in anti-Semitic activity. We want the mass media to make a distinction
between anti-Israeli opinion, which is often based in fact, and purely
irrational Jew-hating.
Unfortunately, no such distinction is made among Jews either,
at least in the United States. A major part of the education of Jewish youth in
both after-school and day school programs revolves around connecting the Jewish
religion and Jewish people with not just the land of Israel, but with the state
of Israel as well. There are many programs that bring teens and young adults to
the mother land—called “birthright” trips. The indoctrination doesn’t end with
adulthood, as synagogues and Jewish federations all over the United States
sponsor frequent tours and missions to Israel, all of which contain several
appeals for funds to support the Israeli state. The mainstream American Jewish
media questions Israeli actions in the occupied lands about as much as the U.S.
mainstream media questions the assertion that the Ukrainian situation is all
Russia’s fault. In virtually every Jewish setting, Jews are constantly barraged
with twin ideological premises: 1) There can be no Judaism without Israel; 2)
Israel can do no wrong.
How can we expect those susceptible to the siren song of
anti-Semitism not to use every transgression by Israel as a reason to turn
against the Jews when they see the Jewish establishment everywhere knee-jerk
approval of every Israeli action, no matter how cruel or bellicose? And how can we blame the anti-Semites for
hiding behind Middle East politics as their excuse for Jew-hating when we see so
many frequent anti-Islamic comments made in the news media by ultra-right and
religious Jews?
The easiest way to reduce anti-Semitism in Europe and
elsewhere is for the American and European Jewish establishments to start
criticizing Israel when it is wrong and to put real pressure on Israel to
settle their differences at the negotiating table, not with armed conflict that
sacrifices innocent victims and policies that deny people basic human and civil
rights. Splitting anti-Israel sentiment
from anti-Semitic sentiment will reduce anti-Semitism as many begin to realize
that it’s not inherent for Jewish culture and the Jewish religion to create and
enforce apartheid-like conditions or to care little about harming civilians in
an armed conflict. Rather it’s the actions of a governing elite hounded by
special interest groups and in power for too long that has led Israel to its
current predicament. Sounds like what happens all the time in the good old U.
S. of A.!
People around the world don’t hate Christians because of
American actions in Viet Nam, Central America and Iraq, but many people do hate
Muslims because of the actions of a few terrorists and rogue governments such
as Syria. That’s wrong, and it’s equally as wrong to hate Jews because of the
actions of Israel. But if Jews want this wellspring of anti-Semitism to dry up,
their actions must support their belief that Israel does not equal Judaism. And that means
criticizing Israel when its bombs indiscriminately, kills masses of children or
begins building a new round of settlements in the occupied lands.
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