The Re-emergence of American Anti-Semitism

As regards Trump,what Gillum said about DeSantis in the Florida governors race, “You may not be a racist but the racists think you’re a racist.”

I'm 28 years old. I was never taught that anti-semitism was over. My parents made sure I knew to be aware as did my grandmother who, though lived in America through WWII, experienced American anti-semitism. When I was in 11th grade my history teacher told my class to make sure they knew that other states (I lived on Long Island at the time) were not as accepting as Jews and that we should be careful if it were to come up, while we were in DC on a trip for a government competition. Yes, there has been a rise since the start of the election and especially since Trump's election, but to say that it had been a thing of the past is just wrong.

Anyone who is surprised by this supposed re-emergence of American anti-Semitism is simply an ostrich, the ostrich with its head in the sand if not elsewhere. This anti-Semitism is here and will never go away. But, remember, in decent society it is not given purchase, it is not allowed to rise to the surface, and knowledgeable racists know well enough not to bring their pet beliefs out into the open unless they are among those of like mind and opinion. Civilization keeps it under wraps, depending on the tenor of the times of course...DT has legitimized the search for blame that harks back to an earlier age, a debate such as that which took place between Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony where they argued the relative merits of women's and African American civil rights is simply unimaginable today. There is not enough common ground of decency for this to take place in a constructive manner. Anti-Semitism is here, was here and will remain here until the disappearance of the last Jew - and beyond - because Jews represent the other, the other not only to the 'majority' who is not the other but to any ignorant and ill intentioned human who needs an explanation for his fears originating elsewhere than in the space between his two ears....good interview "On Saturday when a gunman opened fire in a synagogue in Pittsburgh I was not surprised..." Absolutely...

please stop inserting dramatic news into the daily podcast. You are reporting news and should not be manipulating the experience. it is inappropriate and also distracting.

So, how do the rest of us bell the rats? If neo-nazi's are harassing people, we should be pushing back!

The sentiment here seems to be popping up in different formats and different articles in the Times online and in print. Shocking anti-semitism? New antisemitism? A rude awakening to Jews? I don't know a single Jew of any current generation who has not been and is not now painfully aware of rampant Jew-hatred in every conceivable form: in conversation, in classrooms, on social media, EVERYWHERE. I'm 48 years old, born raised and now living in Brooklyn, and not a single week has gone by, my entire conscious life, when I'm not confronted either casually, indirectly, or pointedly and personally, to some form of hatred for Jews. I know I'm not alone in this experience. And I am in no way exaggerating. The Times on this point is either irresponsibly anecdotal, or just utterly out of touch. SO not helpful, NY Times.

I don't understand why Mr. Weisman would say he's unsure if Trump is actually a racist & antisemite. If someone panders to racists and antisemites for votes, or any for reason, they too are a racist and antisemite. Those are the rules. Not debatable.

I am in a state of shock. I am not ignorant to the fact that many Americans (Trump Americans, in my experience) harbor anti-Semitic thoughts and feelings. At my last job, which should have had a liberal base as it was school with a large Latino population, as well as many recent immigrants, the teachers rallied behind Trump for his immigration policies, among other things. Some of the teachers with whom I had close relations would often make anti-Semitic remarks that bordered on this alt right conspiracy propaganda discussed in this podcast. I was repulsed. I am not Jewish, but because most of my friends are. I didn't understand the suspicion and the hate, as I considered Jewish people to be well integrated into the fabric of American life. So, why am I in shock? To listen to J. Weisman describe how he was targeted, one among many, and have him point out how the alt right is currently thinking, shakes me to the core. I keep writing about it, we are unraveling as a country. When we allow this kind of hate to fester - when the President cannot denounce White Supremacists - we are a country in desperate need. We need leadership which we do not have. We need a President with a vision that is multicultural, empathetic to human plight, and embracing of the morals and values of tolerance and acceptance. At the end of the podcast, we are told 5200 soldiers will meet the group of people seeking asylum. Is that how we treat people in need?

I had an interesting experience in my work for a government agency in California during the 1980s and onward. As the supervisor for eight rehabilitation counselors, all college educated, some with degrees like me, I was incorrectly assumed to be Jewish although the only thing the staff knew about me was that I was from Ohio. I decided to let the staff think that I was Jewish to see what else they would project on me. One Jewish counselor decided to share his racism for African Americans, an unusual admission in a government agency that employed many black people on all levels. He was from New York and assumed that I would share his prejudice. Other counselors would address me referring to my people in a conversation. The counselors shared their belief that I was Jewish with the clients who would also refer to my people when speaking to me. My supervisor who was from Minnesota, assumed that I was a communist and that this was the reason I visited Russia while on vacation. He brought this up in conversation by saying that he didn’t care if I was a communist, meaning of course that he did care. I retired without ever indicating that I was not Jewish. I came to the conclusion that this incipient prejudice was endemic to many Americans since my staff were from all over America.

I enjoyed and agreed with most of the conclusions discussed about American anti-Semitism. I also agree with a number of the other responses in the comments that have been published regarding the prevalence of anti-Semitism throughout American history. However, the statements regarding Israel and the relationship to American Jews is very troubling and primarily false. Most of us can applaud much if not all of Trump's pro-Israel policies and detest him as our president. The vast majority of Jews in America are, and have for decades been Jewish, among the highest of group of people voting Democratic. The same is probably true regarding support for the State of Israel. Of course not everyone supports any particular Israeli leader and Netanyahu has plenty of detractors. The image of Israel as some sort of alt-right dream state is very disturbing and misplaced. Israeli law and practice provides many protections for all of its citizens contrary to the brow beating it receives from much of the press. Non-Jews are in many of the highest positions within the government and are well represented in the Knesset. Israel would be a very hostile place for the alt-right to use as a model. Furthermore, you provided no context to the recent Israeli Jewish State legislation. Had you done so, you would have seen how false these statements were.

Who is the past demagogue barking when they are discussing the 1930s? Father Coughlin, someone else? Perhaps you could provide notes for the sources for historical audio?

Although there is much I agree with as discussed in today's podcast, the opening statement I find problematic. I am almost 50 and lived my entire life in San Diego. Anti-Semitism has been far from left behind in Europe. From bomb threats and violence to skinheads/neo-nazis/white supremacists and swastikas spray painted on Synagogues, it has been quite present my entire life. Nor was my education from my Parents, Grandparents or Great Grandparents ever deceptive or in denial of the continued hatred against Jews. I was told to be vigilant and never forget the atrocities that happened in Europe of the 40s. I was told it could happen again. I just wanted to express that I do not agree with the wide generalization that Jews may be in denial of continued hatred and violence against Jews.

This is specifically to Jonathan Weissman and the Daily in general. Thank you for today's podcast. I'm an orthodox mom of 10. I have a son who served in the Israeli military. Many of my closest friends have attached themselves to the current president because of his actions toward the state of Israel. Those were gifts that came along with a deal with the devil. Jews nor Israel have become stronger as a result of his actions. One can argue they have been placed in greater danger by this dog whistling president. I have already voted. I hope everyone votes in mind to placing a check on our dog Whistler and chief.

The dramatic rise in visible anti-Semitism has been with us for a decade now. It began with the increase in heated criticism of Israel's treatment of The Palestinian people. It's not just a product of the Trump administration's silence in the face of white supremacy empowering right wing bigots to crawl out of hiding. I fault Trump mightily for failing to renounce and condemn white supremacists and for refusing to directly refuse their endorsements. No question there. I've witnessed, and spoken out against anti-semitism for decades. It's never ceased to amaze me how, from time to time, an otherwise seemingly decent person will say something biased to me about "the Jews," assuming it's okay because I'm not Jewish. And I can only say that it's been more frequent during the past ten years after going in to decline in the seventies. But I also acknowledge that the half-truths, propaganda and inflammatory memes produced by groups such as OccupyDemocrats in support of the Palestinians has flamed anti-Israel sentiment and as a result, antisemitism by the ignorant who can't separate - or don't want to separate - the policies of the Israeli government from Jewish identity, either cultural or religious. It's time for everyone to take responsibility for

Thanks for the reference to Ralph McGill's 1958 column, his response to the bombing of the Temple in Atlanta. It is a powerful statement and very applicable to what we've seen in the rise of domestic terrorism these past 10 years. I think that The New York Times should request permission to reprint McGill's column in its entirety. I found the column at this website: https://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/thisday/ownwords/10/13/ralph-mcgill-responde-to-temple-bombing I taught at the university level for over 20 years, and I can attest that many Americans do not know their own history beyond some basic factoids (if that much). McGill's column would provide much needed knowledge and insight into the long history of racism and antisemitism in the USA.

This isn't new. A dramatic rise in publicly expressed anti-Semitism has been with us for about a decade now. Instead of keeping their thoughts private, the increase in heated criticism of Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people seems to have given anti-Semites a rationalization for speaking their bigotry out loud. The rise in anti-Semitism is not just a product of the Trump administration's silence in the face of white supremacy that has empowered right wing bigots to crawl out of hiding. I fault Trump mightily for failing to renounce and condemn white supremacists, and for refusing to directly refuse their endorsements. No question there. But I also acknowledge that the left has played a part in this. I've witnessed, and spoken out against anti-semitism for decades. It's never ceased to amaze me when an otherwise seemingly decent person feels free to say something biased to me about "the Jews," assuming it's okay because I'm not Jewish. And I can only say that these remarks have been much more frequent during the past ten years, after going in to decline since the seventies. I also recognize that the half-truths, propaganda and inflammatory memes produced in "support" of the Palestinians by groups such as OccupyDemocrats has also ignited anti-Israel sentiment and as a result, antisemitism by the ignorant who can't separate - or don't want to separate - the policies of the Israeli government from Jewish identity, either cultural or religious. It's not just "them."

“Welcome to the Desert of the Real.” The State of Israel is supported by the United States because of its strategic, military value. The Ancient Romans did similar, except their port-of-entry was Caesaria, and they called the region ‘Palestine’.

This narrative describes America as not having a history of antisemitism with most Jewish citizens thinking they left that behind in Europe. What about Henry Ford and his tome on the international Jew? This as a rabbit attack on Jews by a major industrialist. What about father Coughlin and his anti Semitic radio programs? He was the first to use radio for such a cause. America has a long history of antisemitism which actually is as American as apple pie.