Calling for humane treatment of Palestinians, calling for decent treatment of other human beings, is NOT anti-semitic.
15
Hopefully as a people we have learned the lessons the Holocaust taught us. That when attacked we must fight back. There is no shame in self defense. Life and liberty are the most fundamental rights we have in this country. Anyone who would deprive our people of those rights must be dealt with swiftly, decisively and dispassionately. We need to use all tools available to us. Legal action, legislative action, civil action and physical defense need to occupy the appropriate place in our strategies. We can not be passive. The scourge of hate must be eradicated like the sick disease it is.
14
If you embrace White Nationalism Alt-right; all new names for the KKK, then Anti-Semitic attacks comes with this hateful territory. Soon the lie Trump tells of being 'the best thing to ever happen for the Jew' while welcoming White Supremacists into the Republican Party and employs one in Stephen Miller as his senior advisor for policy will up in his face.
10
Not noted, but very important is that we now have President who: (a) likes seeing people get roughed up; (b) encourages the right wing fanatics to take to the streets with guns if he loses the election; and, (c) thinks the people chanting "The Jews will not replace us (whatever that means)" were very fine people. Antisemitism is kept at bay by leadership starting at the top and strict adherence to the law. When that framework loosens, then the inherent antisemitism that is always around seeps in like water and makes itself manifest. When "political correctness", which is just a form of behavior modelling is decried (sometimes for good reason) this is a natural consequence.
11
Do we need to get past the delusion that all antisemitic/anti-Jewish violence comes from right-wing white people or, worse, that that’s the only kind of antisemitism worth condemning? Absolutely.
Let’s also remember that white supremacist lies still played a role in the recent violence in Monsey on the second-to-last night of Hanukkah: the machete-wielding attacker had drawn swastikas and shown positive interest in Nazism and Hitler. White supremacist lies can apparently draw in bigots who are people of color (like Grafton Thomas) much as white supremacist lies can draw in Jewish bigots (like Stephen Miller).
There’s also clear evidence that the Monsey attacker subscribed to a form of black supremacist ideology that denies Jewish heritage and Jewish dignity and that has been strongly linked to recent antisemitic violence in the New York/New Jersey area. As with its ideological relative white supremacy, the distortions, lies, and misuse of evidence that undergird this kind of thinking—and the sociological and political factors that encourage it—must be recognized for what they are.
Crucially, to accurately identify and counter the factors that are encouraging antisemitism and to effectively combat acts of antisemitic violence, we need to be clear-eyed and unimpeded by the kind of distorted thinking around ethnicity/religion that give rise to such bigotry in the first place.
10
This is happening because the base of the current president's support is at least in part antisemitic. And he's taken over the party with their 90% lockstep support.
Sure, they lie to themselves (maybe) and to us (for sure) about it. They try to launder and wedge their antisemitism into the conversation, including by using a NYT op-ed platform to try to flatter Ashkenazic Jews into accepting white-nationalist garbage race "science." They try all kinds of stuff -- on purpose or just because they're set on re-bleat. Or think they're being clever. Or, who cares, really?
Maybe it has something to do with weaponizing wolf-crying charges of "antisemitism" by rightwingers who want to provide covering fire for whatever Israel feels like doing to the Palestinians? Ya think? Maybe it might have a tad to do with literally inventing a Major Problem with Jew Hatred in the Labour Party in the UK, turning a minor pimple into Mt Everest for tactical political gain? Ya think, maybe?
Maybe it has something to do with spending trillions on rich people, corporations and war while letting half the country have less than $400 in the bank for an emergency? Ya think that might lead to an old standard explanation for Why Things Are Terrible? With a Democratic Party, cheered on by this paper, turning its back on the nonprofessionals for most of my 50 year life?
Ya think, maybe? Nah. None of that could have anything to do with it.
2
A dozen states require that students be taught about the holocaust. This needs to include all fifty. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2019/07/15/as-hate-incidents-rise-states-require-teaching-the-holocaust
10
In fairness to the young people, my father was a WW2 bombardier who flew 36 missions over Germanry from 1943-45.
He never spoke about the war and when I graduated high school I knew as much as the young people you talk about, meaning I was totally ignorant. I didn't learn about it in my high school, either.
One cannot teach oneself what one doesn't know.
I have had to educate myself, as we all must if we really wish to learn about something they don't teach you in school.
That said, I have a 26-year-old friend who doesn't know what country Adolf Hitler ruled over. Why would she? She also can't name any of the four Beatles. Why would she? She lives in the literal basement of her mother's home, pays no rent, spends 100% of her time either watching TV or surfing the net or playing idiotic video games. All needs taken care of, outside world doesn't exist except what you see on a screen.
Multiply this by a few million, and there you have our 20-somethings. I was in a restaurant the other day and saw a toddler walk by holding a phone.
Neither good nor bad - just a sign of the times. I'll be gone soon and you guys can do as you please. I don't recognize the country my father (A Jew) risked his life for, and I bet he wouldn't either. (RIP 2006)
8
There's a really good reason for Israel--the fact that for millennia, Jewish people have been attached, driven out of their homes and countries, forced to renounce their religion, blamed for everything, been restricted in housing, education, and employment, and rounded up and murdered.
What's happening now is the tip of an old and very dangerous iceberg.
We need to act now--to recognize anti-Semitism for what it is, and accept no excuses for it.
13
Why has there not been complete coverage in the NY Times of attacks on Jews in the NY City area?
In the past 2 weeks, there have been at least 10 attacks. Not only the shooting in Jersey City, but attacks in Brooklyn, Manhattan and other boroughs.
Only a fraction were reported in the NY Times or on PBS and NPR.
There are recordings of bystanders to the attack in Jersey City who are voicing support or justification for the attack on Jewish people there. Again, why does the NY Times and other media not report that?
18
Have more people been killed for religious or for nationalistic reasons?
2
In my experience, educated youngsters are more or less familiar with the Holocaust. On the other hand, the rest of them are no more ignorant about Jews and the Holocaust than about anything else.
4
I do not know the root of Anti-Semitism, but I suspect there are different reasons for mental illness, of which Anti-Semitism is only one manifestation. The historical Anti-Semitism in Europe was a combination of political exploitation and mob histeria, plus a large number of potential murderers on hand, and other violent prone personality types. Europe was a very violent place to live for many many many many centuries. Narcissism and violence seems to be a necessary ingredient in the deviant psychology of an Anti-Semite. Contempt breeds contempt and the internet is the great enabler and force multiplier, like propaganda movies were for the Nazis in the 1930's-40's. It is time though for professional forensic psychologists to take a look at each case, in Europe too, especially this case in NYC and the recent one in Leipzig, since they appear atypical. And then let the professionals come up with an action plan and publicize it so the public can get informed.
My heartfelt sympathy goes out to the victims.
2
So strange that this article does not point to the fact that antisemitism has risen sharply since Trump took over. You do not need a Ph.D in History to realize that when THE leader pits everyone against everyone else, the Jews pay the price. Always have. Please don't spare the fascist on top!
11
A lot of these comments share a deep desire to blame the President for resurgent anti-semitism in America. It is true that there is Jew hatred on the right. It is also equally true that there is Jew hatred on the left. Ignoring left-wing anti-semitism is a very dangerous approach to a very dangerous problem.
12
Without falling into the trap of talking about hate crimes against individual religious groups, let us for a moment address why this phenomenon of hatred seems to keep growing.
After all, African Americans are exposed to such horrors everyday. Over the past dozen years, numerous Hindu groups or individuals have been targeted by violent thugs. Muslims have been at the receiving end of the violence as have Christians. America is, unfortunately, a very violent place.
Our media encourages it, our leaders espouse it or at best ignore it, and even the op-ed commentary at the NY Times is often filled with misinformed opinions regarding the superiority of Jews, inferiority of Muslims, culpability of Hindus, demagoguery of the Christians etc. All these things simply encourage a cauldron of hate to be built up and when it spills over, the victims can come from anywhere and belong to any group.
For example, a few days ago, Mr. Bret Stephens wrote a reprehensible op-ed commentary in the NY Times about the superior intellect of Ashkenazi Jews. Other than the implicit denigration it brings to bear on every other group of people, such a commentary is only a stones throw away from also engaging in anti-Semitic commentary. And how exactly did the NY Times react to such an op-ed ? With stone cold silence.
So, suffice it to say that the culpability in building an environment of hate is to be borne by all of us. Let us stop stigmatizing each other into a corner please.
6
There is an old joke about Sammy Davis Jr. A group of bad guys are chasing him on horseback in an old western. The leader of the posse screams out “get him he is two of them”.
Today’s Hassidim and other Haredi Orthodox Jews face a similar issue. They are both Jews and religious people. Seculars can sympathize with Hassidim when they - as Jews - come under clearly anti-Semitic attack. On the other hand, Seculars condemn their religious lifestyle and cannot abide living next to them. The New York Times Editorial Board is a prime example of the dislike Hassidic religiosity engenders. Today’s letters to the editor contains an anti-Jewish and anti-Haredi screed written by Jacob Mendlovic of Toronto. In March 1969, Mr. Mendlovic was arrested and charged with phoning in a fake bomb threat to McGill University to disrupt a pro francophone rally there. Why did the Times include the letter of such an unstable person? I believe it is because the Editorial Board shares the disdain the author has towards Haredi Orthodox Jews.
The attacks against Hassidic Jews has been going on for at least two years. Not one editorial about the subject or a kind word about Haredi Jews. Yet, last week just one day after a report discussing standards at 28 yeshivas was released, the Editorial Board published a ¾ page editorial lambasting all yeshivas and employing standard anti-Semitic tropes about Hassidim exercising undue and secretive power over city officials.
8
Remember having to do those standardized reading passages where you pick out the main point? Shame on the NYT publishing a paper/tabloid that hocks for cash. The main point of a sane article about what happened in Monsey ought to have been something like ...a man suffering with documented mental illness got a knife and attacked people celebrating a holiday. Five people were taken to a nearby hospital. Four were treated and released. The fifth remained hospitalized. Governor Cuomo immediately held a media conference to declare deep concern and solidarity for the victims, regret that his state health system failed a sick man and praise to God that the sick man didn’t use a GUN!!! Holy Moses! The main point is the sick guy didn’t have a gun. Nobody died because he didn’t have a GUN! The people in Monsey were so much luckier than those poor dead people at the church who were shot dead by a guy with a GUN. That’s how it ought to have been reported. Shame on NYT. Shame on Cuomo. Shame on all of us for lapping up this sensationalized tabloid spew. As for the “what about” antisemitism and the role it played in the attack. That is a big unknown right? Isn’t the assailant sick and suffering from untreated illness? Maybe now that he is in custody he will get treated for his disease. Might find out that like many mentally ill people he is paranoid and ruminates about things associated with religion/religious people. Leave that to the doctors now that he has one.
2
I lay the upsurge of the anti-semitic attacks in American on Donald Trump. First he has created a divisive America where hate rules. Second, by his Charlottesville comments that there are many fine people in the KKK and the American Nazi party, he was giving hate filled people the OK to attack those people they hate, especially the jews. Third, Trump daily spews hatred of everyone and every thing that he doesn't to agree with.
Don't expect anything but lip service from Trump and the Republicans over the new wave of anti-jewish attacks.
6
You ask “Why now?” but don’t mention the Anti-Semite-in-Chief in the White House? He’s leading the charge. Oh, right: he moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem, so all is forgiven, it’s just mentally unstable people who happen to be acting all on their own. Oh boy, are we in trouble if this level of blindness what leads us. Shame on you.
5
Personally, I think it is a mistake to blame this recent wave of anti-Semitism solely on Trump. So-called progressives really need to wake up to this problem, rather than offload it on their opponents, who they end up mirroring.
We live in uncertain, turbulent times. Conspiracy theories abound; fake news pervades the screens and the brains of people on both ends of the spectrum. During the mass death from plague in the Middle Ages, villagers accused Jews of poisoning their well water, herding them into their synagogues and burning them to death. These days, the dissemination of "chemtrails" and other fake news phenomenon play the same role. Bypassing science, they formulate some shadowy "they" that is poisoning the air. Many chemtrails sites blame the Rothschild family--always handy for anti-Jewish propaganda-- for this and other sinister acts. When paranoia and the means to amplify it are rife; our climate and immediate environment are out of control; hatred is normalized; income is greatly unequal; and explanations that help us manage a chaotic reality are tempting, then anti-Semitism is sure to follow.
5
Why has Trump said not a word about this recent violence toward Jewish people? He is silent so as not to offend his base. Base truly has two meanings here. Pandering to the deep hatred of the vast majority of his supporters is the ABC's of his campaign strategy.
7
Hmm...opinions/comments all over the place. Agree "epidemic" inappropriate metaphor here. Also find the opinion piece seriously lacking in analyzing the cause of increasing anti-Semitism. To totally omit the role and yes, the partnership between Trump and Netanyahu, misses a primary variable in considering causation. NYT's literati surely follows Trump's consuming pro-Israeli actions, many of which has only served to increase world-wide anger. The United States is not an objective actor in the middle east and ultimately we will pay an enormous price for it. Pockets of domestic anti-Semitism need to be understood in this context. Ant-Semitic violence clearly must be addressed but cannot be until we examine it a far wider and reaching look at global events.
Americans often paint Arabs as being anti-Israel while many Americans deny their own anti-semitism that has been perpetuated over 2,000 years in the West, including the Church. This anti-semitism is not new. We have just entered period of increased hatred as advanced by the Trump Administration with the complicity of the GOP. Ironically, the GOP who claims to be supportive of Israel. Usually, that is how the devil works—He says he supports you while he remains quiet and offers no help while others bring harm to you. This episode of anti-semitism should be no surprise to America as anti-semitism is not new. It has come in waves with us now experiencing the next wave. America is a culture grounded in hatred of minority groups with the majority of Americas often quiet when this hatred occurs. Yesterday, it was immigrants from south of the border. Today, its the Jews. Tomorrow, it will be the Muslims. Another day, it will be your group if we continue to be complicit with such hatred. We must root out this hatred. No Jew should have to hide their identity which is honorable as no person should have to hide their religion, race, or national ethnicity. Let’s stop talking about eradicating this hatred and put some energy to this in 2020 by voting Trump, an instrument of hate, out of office. We need a President that understands that hate has no place in our White House. Hate in the White House cannot claim moral authority to remove the hatred in so many communities in the USA.
5
Let’s all wake up to the fact that Trumpism gives fuel to anti-Semitism. His relation to the Netanyahu and the Kushners does nothing to protect Jewish-Americans.
12
...legitimized and exacerbated by Trumps attitude to previous racist attacks. Facilitators bear responsibility, not only perpetrators.
6
Re: The Right Response to the Anti-Semitic Attack in Monsey, N.Y.
Quote: "more needs to be done — including enhanced information-gathering," End Quote
This sentiment is 'very' concerning. Calling for increased surveillance, particularly of 'Electronic/Online' communications, even in the name of a good cause, is a 'dangerous' slippery slope. This danger to personal privacy, and the desire to keep government surveillance of the private sector to a minimum, literally can not be overstated.
2
Why does the auteur not ask WHO is behind this anti semitism?
1
@anne gerin
I’d be interested to know why the citizens of Aalst persist in allowing such grotesque Antisemitic imagery in their annual carnival. As a resident of Belgium, perhaps you could enlighten us.
5
Despite having a daughter who converted to Judaism and a close relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump has repeatedly trafficked in anti-Semitic tropes such as the dual loyalty of Jews to the US and Israel which means that they should support him and not the Democrats and that Jews are ruthless businessmen which he regards as high praise. He also (mysteriously) called the white nationalists who chanted in Charlottesville "Jews will not replace us!" some of the "fine people on both sides". Such nodding and winking at extreme rightwing groups and endorsement of their anti-Semitic vitriol has given permission to weak and easily influenced people to act out hatred toward minorities among whom the Jews will always be the most prominent target.
15
The epidemic started when the President of the United States said good people march with Nazis. Perhaps a President that did not make the hatred of immigrants the centerpiece of his administration would wash over other minorities, like Jews, as well.
A fish rots from the head.
12
"This is unacceptable. It is not our America."
Sadly, it is our America.
5
When America's "leaders" - and as little as they deserve that title, Trump and Giuliani are among them, even if the latter more for historical reasons - travel in the perennial tropes that have haunted Jews forever - using Soros as a whipping boy or not - what do we expect? Leaders have followers. When they tell us that Jews are secretly controlling events, ranging from immigrant caravans to impeachment, and controlling our FBI, ambassadors, etc. - with no pushback from any of their political allies or media shills - why shouldn't people who respect those leaders and their views be outraged? Inevitably, some among those people will be volatile, or disturbed, and easily pushed to extremes including violence. And the larger number who aren't volatile but are completely OK with their leaders plying those tropes? They are our "good Americans," just like their "good German" WWII-era counterparts, at best tolerant of their leaders' noxious views, at worst happy to see them expressed ("telling it like it is") and not in the least upset to see some in their communities taking action.
5
It's all too easy to assume that apparently random acts of anti-Semitism and other hate crimes stem from mental illness. But it's clear that this knife attack was not caused by mental illness, though the attacker had a mental illness. Schizophrenia symptoms include disorganization and disordered thinking. The fact that this attacker was able to research anti-Semitism, plan an attack and carry it out in a very specific way show that he was capable of organized thinking. Blaming mental illness is just an easy way to avoid taking a good look at the growing approval for hate speech and acts of hatred in our country.
As the authors here assert, this is an epidemic and it won't stop until we as a society make it clear that hate crimes are unacceptable, as is hate speech.
53
You're wrong. This latest episode of anti-Semitism is NOT an epidemic. It IS an up-tick in the usual number of anti-Semitic acts that have been an on-going fact of history for the past two millennia.
Anti-Semitism has been a Western Church/State policy staple for 2000 years. Every regime/religion/majority needs its scapegoats, usually the weakest segment of society, the least able to defend itself and the least likely to respond defensively. From blood libels to pogroms to Hitler, Jews have been the West's scapegoat of choice.
Western thought generally does NOT see anti-Semitism as evil, depraved or corrupt.
At best Western thought sees anti-Semitism as a mild embarrassment not to be discussed in proper company but not grounds for chastisement or punishment either.
Two millennia of European Church and State support and sponsorship of anti-Semitism are hard to ignore. Anti-Semitism has been used by both Church and State as needed, officially and sub-rosa as required for Church/State policies.
Beginning with the Gospel of John Western thought has canonized anti-Semitism making it acceptable at all levels of society, indeed, trite, commonplace.
Why should anything change? Religion and politics haven't.
193
@HapinOregon bravo!
8
@HapinOregon
So now we are cherry picking scripture to pit one religion against another? The underlying truth of the ignorance of humanity is clearly evident both in the writing here and the events that sparked them.
4
@HapinOregon
I totally agree, and it's something major Jewish organizations tend to ignore. anti-Judaism morphed into Anti-Semitism. It's more than ironic that Christianity was started by the Jews to spread the universal aspirations of Judaism out to the world. Christians and also Jews are largely ignorant of this. Last week the birthday of a Jewish rabbi, born to Jewish parents in a Jewish country was celebrated throughout the Christian world. Um yes, Jesus.
Anti-Semitism is at the very least a total denial of Christianity's Jewish origins.
20
There are two columns for all of us humans on earth. We can choose hate (same as fear) or we can choose love no matter who or what is presented to us. Peace.
2
One thing noticeably absent from this well-done essay is Donald Trump. I'm ashamed to admit it, but the anti-Semitic America Ms. Lowey writes about, while not "our" America," most definitely is Trump's America.
8
For my small wedding with friends and family, we had an armed guard provided by our synagogue protecting us during the ceremony. For Shabbat, we have an armed guard or two. For the High Holidays, we had multiple police officers and armed guards.
Anti-semitism is real and scary. Its effects on our community are real and scary. To pretend otherwise leads to the potential to repeat history.
41
@KD Racism is real and scary - why do you say nothing about that?
@KD
KD, I am sorry you have to do that, of all places in the USA, but why, what have you experienced that necessitated armed guards for your family events?
Whether or not you intended your comment to be anti-Semitic, it is profoundly so. This is no different from telling African-Americans that all lives matter. Thanks for your comment, it's a good illustration of unconscious bias.
3
Anti-semitism IS abhorrent and unacceptable. But no response will be effective if there's unwillingness to be honest about the problem.
The NYC area attacks are not about white nationalism, mental illness or tiki torches. They reflect long simmering, complex and long tolerated issues in some minority communities. When a black city official in Washington DC made a series of blatantly anti-semitic remarks, he dared other elected officials to censure him, saying that his community would stand behind him, including at the voting booth. He was right. And the criticism was immediately muted.
BTW, the NY Post reports that some of the Brooklyn attackers have been released on their own recognizance, right back into the community. That certainly doesn't seem to be the right response.
https://nypost.com/2019/12/28/suspects-released-without-bail-after-shocking-attacks-on-jews/
14
Although not much of an effort and not an original idea, I bought a Menorah yesterday and put it in my front window. And yeah. It's gonna be there next year.
45
@ggallo I thank you. It means a lot to me.
14
Thank you. Truly. This brings tears to my eyes to not feel alone.
11
This opinion piece fails to mention Trump's leadership and rhetoric that has lead to a strengthening of white supremacists across the country. That is the #1 cause. Maybe the authors left this point out because many of the orthodox are also fervent supporters of Trump due to his pro-pro Israel rhetoric.
6
Here is how the article is being presented to the public in the N.Y. Times: "How to Respond to the Anti-Semitic Attack in Monsey, N.Y. We need to recognize the problem for what it is: an epidemic." Furthermore from article: "It is important to remember that anti-Semitism has been called the world’s oldest social disease." Furthermore from article: "First, we need to recognize the problem for what it is: an epidemic. We are no longer talking about isolated, occasional actions — bad enough as those are — but a regular phenomenon. Like an epidemic, it must be treated comprehensively, addressing root causes."
It's fairly common knowledge that in early part of 20th century Jewish people were considered analogous to a disease, something which must be addressed as a disease, now here we have in the N.Y. Times anti-semitism (and we have yet to get a clear and unmistakable definition of that on the table) characterized as a disease, so we have alive and well the ready use of medical terminology to characterize the people we don't like around us, and medical terminology in the crudest sense.
The most frightening thing of all is how much our medical descriptions of each other are accurate, if we are diseases to an extent to each other, that we afflict each other with our individual mental and physical and social illnesses. That we have to be inoculated against each other as much as we do any disease.
What a life.
1
My sole criticism of this piece is not its complaint or its goal or its tactics, but rather the metaphors the authors choose: antisemitism is not a "disease," and its rise is not an "epidemic." I think we need to speak plainly: the assaults against Jews are only a subset of growing violence against certain identities. Attacks in the last few years have also targeted Muslims, Black Protestants, and even (potentially) a pizza parlor that was supposed to be a liberal sex trafficking ring. What all these acts of violence have in common is being the "other" to an increasingly violent movement of white Christian supremacists. This ideology--and that is the more accurate way to describe it--is fundamentally a political movement now at the center of the GOP, that the president of the United States has stoked and apologized for since the campaign trail in 2015. "Disease" and "epidemic" naturalize something that is, at its core, a deliberate political tactic fanned by Fox News and a wide array of social media and Internet actors, and instantiated in government by the White House and one party in Congress.
5
The authors ignore basic data stated elsewhere in today's NYT. "almost two-thirds of the attacks in New York City are committed by juveniles who are local residents" and the remainder are committed by those with mental problems. And now NYC judges immediately release those accused of attacks on Jews (no bail is the new policy) without any penalty. Until these facts are addressed, antisemitic attacks will continue and expand!
6
The attack in Monsey was carried out by a man with severe mental illness. He doesn’t even understand what he did much less anti-Semitic acts. It’s important to get this right. Is there a rise in anti-semitism? Yes. This isn’t it.
4
I agree. And the attack in Jersey City was similar.
And more importantly, in both cases they were not white males.
3
@Doug - His computer showed extensive research regarding antisemitism, not the act of a "nut".
4
I am not Jewish. I do have Jewish family members and close friends.
This afternoon I'm placing a Star of David decal in my front window. Later this week, I will go shopping for a Star of David necklace and I will wear it.
We must all stand in solidarity against this sickening, noxious wave of anti-Semitism. It has never gone away. Those with hate in their souls feel emboldened by the public officials who speak in ugly code, and it is rising to the surface.
Never again.
14
How convenient to blame Trump for everything. I doubt recent attacks, by African Americans, were influenced by Trump.
It's very convenient for Left to say - see - it's those "others" who are antisemitic, our good congresswoman blood libel tweets, jokes I share with my friends are different. Well, they are not.
In fact, un-opposed and un-acknowledged antisemitism of the left is worse. Exactly because its un-opposed and un-acknowledged.
Black Israelites in NJ attack didn't care about Trump. And blaming Schizophrenia - well, person has to be surrounded in antisemitic thought for his illness to manifest this way.
14
@Maria
Donald Trump isn't being blamed for "everything." He's being blamed for precisely what he's done, or has not done, i.e. unequivocally disavowed and rejected the support of the anti-Semites in his base. Whether his rhetoric or scapegoating caused this particular attack is immaterial.
And no, anti-Semitism on the left is a problem but is NOT worse, at least in terms of the body count, the vast majority of which is the responsibility of the political right, according to American law enforcement and Anti-Defamation League data. And anti-Semitism on the left IS acknowledged and opposed, which the Dems proved in their response to Rep. Omar's statements--for which she apologized. Did Trump ever apologize for defending his neo-Nazi supporters after they rioted, marched on a synagogue with AR-15s and murdered a woman in Charlottesville?
2
Unfortunately, the hundreds of people in Charlottesville marching and chanting the old Nazi slogan “Jews will not replace us” were not Black people. Their anti-Semitic chants were seen and heard by millions of people in America and around the world. It is no surprise that others, yes even Black teenagers, would heed that message. The more hate and anti-Semitism is mainstreamed, the more of these “incidents” we will see. Hate speech is not without consequences.
2
What if our country had a position in its leadership structure that represented everyone in the country, whose job it was to use the bully pulpit to address underlying low grade disparagement of groups of citizens? For example, the person in this position could use her power to turn down the temperature of hateful rhetoric spewing from dominant right wing media sources and reps, and from a few left wing back benchers. This person would call out hateful rhetoric at make it shameful and put it back under the rocks from which it crawled.
Now, imagine if the person occupying this role were Trump. He's doing the opposite, and wants power so much he's willing to double down on this.
The type of attacks against the Jewish community are coming from the right wing, which sees Trump as permission to act, and from blacks, who may vote Democratic but are following no mainstream Democratic leader or position or plank. The attacks on Jews by blacks are not political; there is no group with any power that is encouraging those actions. The attacks on Jews by the right are political; the perpetrators think right wing politicians have given them permission to act.
1
The closest social strategy, with which to address not only anti-semitism, but all types of bias towards all religious-tribalism, can be found in the song: “Imagine no religion, it’s easy if you try; no more heavens above us; below us only sky.”
Tribalism, braced primarily on religious superstitions, is the problem, hence not part of the solution.
"As if attacks on Americans because of their religious or ethnic identities are now an expected part of our everyday lives. No, they are not."
Perhaps the authors might be interested in meeting with some Lakota friends of mine, or some black folks I know from the Deep South, or those whom I met when I worked at a Muslim burial ground.
These people I know will tell the authors that they have felt like they've had targets on their backs for their entire lives because of their ethnicity, race, and/or religion.
The attacks in Monsey were terrible. But the authors must understand that others have been suffering such attacks, and nearly nothing has been done about it, mostly due to the skin colour of the victims.
In order to stop such attacks, a more intersectional understanding of bias, race, and religious hatred must be gained through education for all. In addition, ceasing reliance on obviously white supremacist and anti-Semitic law enforcement agencies might help, too.
5
Predictably, Trump supporters are exploiting this atrocity in an attempt to project this flagrant anti-Semitism of this administration and its enablers onto Dems and African-Americans. However:
“If you have politicians saying things like our nation is under attack, that there are these marauding bands of immigrants coming into the country, that plays into this right-wing narrative. They begin to think it’s okay to use violence,” said Gary LaFree, criminology chairman at the University of Maryland and founding director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START.
Frank Figliuzzi, a former FBI assistant director for counterintelligence, said political leaders, “from the White House down, used to serve as a check on conduct and speech that was abhorrent to most people. I see that eroding.”
“The current political rhetoric is at least enabling, and certainly not discouraging, violence,” Figliuzzi said.
--WaPo
6
Yes, it’s an epidemic. It used to be that bomber pilots were the only ones who never knew whom they killed when they opened the bomb compartments on the bottoms of their planes. From that altitude, there was no way of knowing, or seeing, the horrors down on the ground.
Now, tens of thousands of people spread hatred throughout the worldwide web, as if it’s some kind of game, and they can be sure that at some point a rage-filled sociopathic or psychopathic recipient, somewhere in the world, will kill people who are the targets of their propagandized hatred.
Killings follow the dissemination of hate propaganda, on the worldwide web, as certainly as deaths follow bombings by bomber pilots, and in both cases the real killers are spared seeing the horrors they cause.
Unless and until the dissemination of hate propaganda on the worldwide web is curtailed, this epidemic will continue to spread.
2
I've always wondered about the _initial_ root cause of anti-Semitism. Why is it the "world's oldest social disease" as the author's state? Is it simply because the Jewish community tends to be successful in some ways (i.e. academic success, which then often leads to financial success) ..... and members of other groups are jealous of this?
3
Anti-Semitism is originally a European Christian phenomenon and has always been inextricably tied to nationalism. In Europe, this was because of the church-state connection, meaning you could not be a true citizen and not accept the state religion. Here in the US where church and state are separate Jews had an advantage but old prejudices die hard and the push by our own rabid nationalist Evangelics poses a danger for us. The irony is that the most anti-Semitic Christians are far more pro-Israel than many Jews but this does not change the animus against Jews -- especially secular progressive Jews who oppose all nationalism including zionism.
2
When I was very young (19), I met a man who was Jewish and fell in love. I was so naive that I thought anti-semitism was something that had happened only in Nazi Germany and had ended with WWII. I was just plain old stupid, but maybe that wasn't a bad thing, as my ignorance certainly didn't affect my ability to love.
I remember being astonished when Mike and his family told me anti-semitism was not only alive and well, but had been so for as long as Judaism had existed.
I still remember the feeling of utter ... just an inability to understand how anyone in their right mind could single out this particular demographic for hate, murder, contempt, prejudice. I still can't understand it.
The title of your op-ed is misleading -- I thought I might find some answer here. I am, though, not surprised that it is actually a call for ideas.
I do have ideas, but they have to do with legislation, and the Internet, and they infringe on the 1st amendment. Just as I was completely stymied in my ability to understand this kind of bigotry, I am equally stymied by ways to corral it inside of the constitutional constraints we have in place.
That means the answer lies in each of us, individually. We must speak up, stand up, and live lives that exemplify the behavior we seek to normalize.
These are not Jews. These are our countrymen. Anyone who thinks otherwise is not.
3
Trump claims that he is horrified, but racism and bigotry are what this is all about. And he has stoked fires that seemed to have gone out, or just about (remember the "post-racial society?"). Trump might think can he can direct the hatred he sets off, but once it's out of the bottle it's out of his control. A plague on all of us.
2
Let's start with two basic facts.
First, Jews are the most oppressed minority in the history of the planet.
Second, for the great majority of us, Judaism isn't a religion - it's a culture or even an ethnicity.
And yet, in demographic data, being Jewish isn't distinguished the way that being black or hispanic or asian or "middle eastern" is. We are lumped in as "white caucasians".
The first step in dealing with anti-semitism is to recognize that it exists because, as hard as we may try to assimilate, we Jews ARE different.
You cannot protect a persecuted minority group that isn't recognized as a minority
5
My son travels to and from school every day by subway. Sometimes he comes home not wearing his kippah or with a hoodie over it because he says he’s afraid to show people he’s Jewish. I am of two minds: one , safety first of course, and the other: don’t ever be ashamed of who you are! If you cower, the haters win.
What’s a Jewish mother to tell her young son?
2
@Almost Vegan Wear a baseball cap. that is a head covering too.
Given that both people share a narrative of slavery and discrimination, perhaps African-American antisemitism is the most deplorable of all. It is heartbreaking because jews vigorously fought for equal rights, risked their lives, and died in pursuit of desegregation.
11
@Jorge
I share your thoughts.
Of course, great efforts since the mid sixties have been made by many in positions of black leadership to minimize and indeed essentially attempt to nullify that history by claiming that it represented nothing more than "patriarchal racism", not arising from a place of true "altruism".
So again, Jews are the easy, convenient scapegoats for everybody's problems. Why reach or work for solutions when you can just blame the Jews?
2
First thing in 2020 is for the Senate to convict Trump, the person who claimed that "there were good people on both sides". Trump is a man who acts with impunity and those in his base who are anti-Semites need to learn they cannot act with impunity.
2
it is amazing to me that people talking about this phenomena completely skirt the reason why it's occurring. It all stems from the politics of hate propagated by Donald Trump and commentators like those on Fox news. They spew hate and vile propaganda and people commenting here focus on anti-Semitism and what we can do specifically about that but hey people it's part of a much bigger problem. We allow Fox news (incidentally owned by the Murdoch family, Australians) under the rubric of freedom of the press to spread lies and distortions to the people of this country and we're surprised when people feel free to hate other people, and wind up killing them with the guns they so fervently seem to cherish under the second amendment. And the result is white power advocates are empowered, "Christians" and Evangelicals are empowered and the dark side of their theology turns out to be about hate. Is this surprising anyone? Just the other day there was article how one of then, a Congressman, wants to form a 51st state called "Liberty" and do you think Jews will be welcomed there? As long as we tolerate this cavalcade of lies and spiritual poison more people will die. It will build and escalate under the leadership of Trump and people like Stephen Miller (a Jew btw whose own family distains him). People have forgotten the lessons of the 30s and what complacency for these kinds of things can lead to. Think we'll survive the 2020's?
5
I agree that this is an epidemic. It's more than an epidemic of anti-semitism, but an epidemic of all hatred and violence fomented by the white nationalist and white supremacist ideology. It's also about mental illness. If we want to look for root causes, look at who occupies the WH in terms of white supremacy and mental illness, and then overwhelmingly vote he and his supporters out of office in November.
6
I'm not sure that this most recent attack can be identified as "anti-Semitic" just yet.
I have seen a statement from Thomas' lawyer saying that he is not a member of any hate group & that he has a long history of mental illness.
If true, & that's a big if, is this incident truly an instance of anti-Semitism.
Regardless of the above, just think for a moment on whether or not Thomas could have bought a gun.
3
Many Jews blame Trump for the rise of hate crimes, helping embolden white supremacy and other far-right groups across America.
They say Trump has routinely refused to condemn hate crime perpetrators, while often refusing to criticise far-right extremist groups.
Spewing incendiary rhetoric he has divided the country, tearing the social fabric apart.
In August he claimed that any Jewish person who votes for a Democrat shows “either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
History had shown how harmful it had been to question Jewish people’s loyalty.
4
@J. von Hettlingen Your response brings to mind a brilliant sketch by the comic Dave Chapelle, in which he plays a blind Black person who rises to prominence as the racist host of a show on a White supremacist radio channel. Mr. Chapelle’s character is unaware that he is Black until he is asked to appear at an award show in person, when someone breaks the news to him, devastating him. The sketch ends with a note that Mr. Chapelle’s character has divorced his (White) wife because he can’t bear the thought of her consorting with a Black man.
I bring this up because the only way I can think of for the Black perpetrator of this attack to be conflated with White supremacists is under the circumstances in Mr. Chapelle’s sketch.
2
It has always been the agenda of the political right to exploit the inter-tribal tensions between minority groups. With what's been going on in Israel for years with Netanyahu and in America with Trump the chronic smoldering has burst into flames. Put the blame for starting this once again on where it starts, in the cruel and hateful pronouncements and actions of the 45th POTUS.
2
Yes, there is antisemitism, often violent. But it is really part of a much larger problem, and while focusing on the antisemetic component (we love violence, whatever it's provenance), we continue to ignore the much larger context, namely the prevalence of untreated mental /emotinal problems in our society, much like suicide is. I am not a mental health provider or shill for the profession, but the connection to me is obvious. A man looking to target a "zionist temple" ? If that isn't nuts, what is? Quite frankly, as antisemitism has been a lifelong interest (I'm an aged Holocaust survivor), I don't know what can be done about it. Certainly the current tolerance for all sorts irrational behavior in all parts of society in the name of liberty and equality, as well as the stoking of the madness by wealth and power, are large contributors to attitudes that were largely held restrained prior to 2016. Antisemitism will not be eliminated in the Christian world, but it's manifestation can be restrained by vigorous church and governmental action. 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.
2
In my book the "Right Response" here is too weak. There is a real need to look hard at the root cause(s). What motivates the borderline anti-semites to become true anti-semites and what motivates confirmed anti-semites to use violence.
Wringing hands, saying "tsk" "tsk", proposing internet band-aids, and calls for good will just don't cut it. "Why now" is a very good question. It deserves a better answer.
3
Anti-Semitism is, unfortunately, an enduring blot on humanity that for a variety of reasons continues to have resonance for some benighted souls. The same can be said for racism, particularly against those of African heritage, though it should be noted that since race is not something that can be scientifically defined, terms like racist are merely a cover for fundamental issues of social bigotry in general.
The current rash of incidents is, however, certainly also an effect of the demented, yet purposeful, rantings of Trump. When the President of the United States says the things he does out loud, it gives a sort of permission for haters of all sorts to act out their hate. Trump’s rhetoric not only serves as a distraction from his incompetence, but works as a siren call, extending a sort of green light for sick minds to act out their grievances, or hostilities, or perhaps their psychoses.
As long as he is able to misuse the bully pulpit of his office in this way, we can expect a higher rate of occurrence of these kinds of violent episodes.
3
I’m a Reform Jew who wears a kippa in public, not just in a place of worship. (Ignore for a moment how unusual that is). Since Trump I have been more reluctant to take off the hat I normally wear over it (I like hats!) and announce to the world my religious beliefs. I used to never think about it, now it’s something I think about all the time. Am I putting others around me in danger?
I used to turn my phone completely off during services. Now I just turn off notifications. I don’t have time to wait for it to power up (and we have an armed guard). That’s where my mindset is today.
And then there are my fellow Jews who completely ignore the connection between Trump, white nationalists and increased acts of anti-semitism.
I never thought I’d have to write these thoughts living in a large American city.
Sad.
11
This article is a nothing burger in terms of suggestions for a response to anti-semitism. I don't get why it was written or published.
5
The article muses one cause might be "the declining confidence in liberal democracy and its core value of pluralism." This falls short of its mark. The problem now, different from before, is that cadres of people are actively trying to manipulate our populace in order to *destroy* liberal democracy and all its important values. They're doing this by inciting people to attack one another, and yes, the internet is playing a role, not so much by "amplifying" (as the article says) but by enabling provocations and instigations with impunity: the old 'lets you and him fight' game identified by Eric Berne in his best-selling book 'Games People Play'.
It's 'laissez-faire' extended outside economics into social and political relations. It's a headlong flight from the truth, rationalized with 'everyone does it'. In Europe before and during WW II, it got so far out of hand that millions of people had to die, many of them fighting to eliminate fascism. For this is what these behaviors ultimately lead to: fascism and totalitarianism.
You can see its key tactic unfolding thousands of times every day in social media: It seems like people are picking fights just for the fun of it, but its a deadly game, and ultimately has a cost in human lives. I coined a slogan I'm trying to use in response:
"Trumpism is the 'gateway drug' to anti-semitism."
... because if we as a society can tolerate Trump's hateful racist, sexist, and xenophobic behavior, that says its OK to be that way everywhere!
5
It's always been here. Just like racism of all kinds. Trump didn't cause it. But whether it's the internet (and our ineptitude at understanding its effects or how to really limit the bad ones) or the normalization - or, IMO the politicizing of it that excuses it when it comes from "your side" - it has flourished since 2016. The Trump election has led to a normalization. But make no mistake, it's no simply Trump. It's Republicans excusing the house minority leader's writing a Jewish name with a $ in place of an S. It's the casual transference of traditionally anti-Jewish tropes onto anti-Israel ones. And ultimately, it's the economy, which doesn't work for those who rely on demonizing others instead of attacking the people who truly keep them disenfranchised. If we don't approach it from all directions and with zero tolerance, it's going to get a lot, lot worse.
2
We need to take a closer look at the education that we have depended on to be a barrier to anti-Semitism. Starting from kindergarten, we need to show children how hatred of those who are different is not only wrong, but cuts them off from a broader world, that they lose something in the process. As a Jew, I never before felt fear as such in this country. Yes, there have always been anti-Semites, but now they have become the new normal. And that cannot be tolerated!
2
Anti-Semitism is not new here in Los Angeles. It's been going on for at least a decade. Overtime my synagogue has added razor wire, fingerprint to the rabbi's office iron in front of our lovely glass front doors, web cameras, removed door from exit only doors, added 24-hour outdoor klieg lights, bars over windows and cop outside who has the punch code to let you in through the gate. Outside the sidewalk is now protected by heaps of stone in wire cages bolted to the sidewalk to stop car plows ('they' tore out a tree) . We are a very small congregation and this has been done at great expense to us all. It's been accumulating over time in response to mostly unreported break-Ins.
The police came and gave us a lecture on security starting by suggesting that we acquiesce and the current circumstance that the police and our government cannot protect us. He went on downhill from there.
Please tell me what do we tell our children about all this?
4
I am dismayed by how many comments on this article are focusing their ire on President Trump, as if the New York Times was somehow deficient in their criticism of him and his policies. The President has a lot to answer for, but this was not the occasion. The man who walked into the Rabbi’s house on Hanukah with a machete and attacked those people was not motivated by anything said or done by President Trump, and it is disingenuous to be focusing on him for this incident and the other recent attacks on Jews in the New York area. People seem more interested in using anti-Semitism as a political weapon here, than confronting the real problems that exist in their own ranks.
5
@arden jones,
Trump sows hatred for all ethnic groups.
He creates an atmosphere that inspires these things to flourish.
To pretend otherwise is disingenuous.
2
How can the violent actions of a demented black nationalist, influenced by an antisemitic black group which actively hates and despises Trump, be laid at Trump’s feet? Trump is awful but people are way off base as to what the problem is regarding the background to this incident.
That’s because they don’t want to face what the problem of black antisemitism.
5
@arden jones I agree with what you are saying. On the other hand, the Fox Nation types are also trying to exploit this situation portraying themselves as the true guardians against anti-semitism. They blame the anti-semitism of the left. There is just so much mischief and nonsense afoot.
1
"Let’s start with “Why now?” Why, when American Jews have felt unmatched levels of inclusion and equality, and when, unlike in previous generations, Jews can be found in every sphere of American society, is anti-Semitism making a comeback?"
To some degree the "unmatched levels of inclusion and equality" may be an illusion. Much of it is the consequence of more positive apparent attitudes among fundamentalist Christians, who were not traditionally known for harboring fond sympathies toward Jews. But now an "end times" political narrative has taken root in fundamentalist circles that incorporates a positive role for the Israeli state. Some of the current right-wing political enthusiasm for Israel has translated into greater tolerance for Jews generally.
But politically based tolerance is not the same thing as unconditional love. It is a transactional sentiment. If the dynamics of the Christian fundamentalist Israeli bargain shift, attitudes towards Jews will adjust accordingly.
And, more to the point, current fundamentalist tolerance for Jews may prove to be a largely superficial phenomenon -- a political posture more than a deeply felt sentiment. If so, there may be an ongoing tension between the surface political stance and a longstanding underlying prejudice. It may be that in these stressful times we are seeing within psychologically unstable personalities the inner demon beginning to prevail.
111
@woofer I do agree with your assessment of fundamentalists' views of Jews and Israel, but it does not answer the question. The recent attackers, as far as I understood, were in not followers of the Christian fundamentalism. Also, as a Jew presently in America, I have to agree that the level of inclusion and equality is quite good at present (compared to historic anecdotes, because I dont have personal experience). So, why now? Because Jews, as always, are seen by many as a cause of their suffering. The anti-Israel propaganda on the left does not make things better, by confusing and agitating some folks who dont know the difference.
11
@woofer End-times theology requires not just that Israel be under Jewish rule, but that until and unless we convert the events leading to the "Rapture" cannot take place.
The fundamentalist Revelationists don't care for us except as our role (as they see it) in getting them and only them into Heaven.
That's not acceptance, nor even tolerance--it's cynical transactionalism. And it's abominable.
13
Fifty two percent of Black adults in America say race has hurt their ability to get ahead. That’s more than 15 million of our neighbors (Pew Research).
That’s an epidemic.
America has many more epidemics too.
Anti-Semitism isn’t one of them.
A crisis for humanity from time immemorial … certainly.
An ever-present opportunity for vigilance, learning, and action … always.
Ironically, even tragically, history has taught us time and again that anti-semitism is more likely when we don’t address underlying social, economic, and political challenges.
Focusing on the symptoms without even more urgently addressing root causes will lead to more of where we’ve been for generations.
That’s not good for anyone.
215
@Seth Eisenberg
I agree with you that the problem in America is much broader. But I also believe one manifestation of the problem is a disturbing uptick in anti-Semitic incidents. As the climate of hate and resentment intensifies in the US, unbalanced individuals of all sorts can find some group to focus on as the enemy causing their dissatisfaction with their status.
I also believe you are right about the solution: a kinder, more caring society would be less hateful, leave less people stranded on its social and economic margins, and care better for the mentally unbalanced.
A renewed focus on community over self would make America a much better place. Unfortunately, we seem to be moving exactly in the wrong direction.
13
@Seth Eisenberg While most of what you say is also true, America certainly does have an anti-Semitic problem, and it's the same one we've had for a long time: conservatives. Far-right conservative extremism has emboldened all kinds of hate groups, including anti-semitic groups.
Trump's response? "Fine people on both sides" and some extremely ignorant pro-Israel actions.
9
@Seth Eisenberg
That's all fine and dandy Seth. But the Hasidic and other Orthodox Jews in New York who have been the recent victims of attacks are petrified NOW. It is callous and cruel of you to simply say tough it out until we eliminate the root causes of racism of all kinds, something that we have not been able to do and are unlikely to do anytime in the near future.
29
The "right response" is to admit that we American Jews have been living in a 70 year fantasy paid for by the blood of 6 million of our ancestors.
But that fantasy is now officially over.
Yes, people on all sides hate us, even surprisingly enough ones that we've helped the most to achieve equality in this country. For me, that's the one that comes closest to actually stinging.
Let's face it, there's not much else that we can do at this point other than to just be prepared and vigilant for whatever comes next. If you think new laws and community "outreach" programs are going to solve or even partially mitigate any of this, think again.
5
Anti-semitic acts have always happened here in our country, almost since its creation.
However, Trump has engendered its advocacy since Charlottesville. No matter what anyone else says, he is responsible for its increase.
The same applies to all of Trump's other types of bigotry, which he has condoned since his announcement, when he commenced his run for President.
Anyone, including all of our other elected officials, who support his reelection is condoning his antisemitism and other racial bigotry.
The only question is will America allow anti-semitism and other bigotry to flourish and continue to destroy what is left of our "democracy" to all of us?
1
These cases should be tried as domestic terrorism, hate crimes is too general. Sane or not, the perpetrator's intentions are clear--kill those he/she perceives as the "enemy." State and federal statutes should reflect this with more severe punishment ie. the death penalty.
There are at least three strains of Antisemitism in circulation today...emanating from the Right, the Left, and Islam.
Historically, whenever the social and economic fabric of society begins to fray or disintegrate, the default pressure release valve has usually been ‘blame the Jews’. Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, Antisemitism is a measure of how poorly people and societies are functioning. And what’s happening in the world today is no exception.
History has a tendency to repeat. Until measures are taken to effectively and finally eradicate this toxic affliction (if that’s even possible), Jews everywhere must learn how to protect and defend themselves. Yes, sadly it’s come down to that.
3
Several commenters mentioned the omission of the "elephant in the room" from this article by Nita Lowey. I think those commenters themselves have failed to mention the biggest elephant in the room -- the tolerance of white nationalism by the current occupant of the White House. He himself may not be antisemitic, but boy has he encouraged and empowered those who are. They are all out of the woods and out in the open now openly spewing their hate of not only Jews but essentially all other racial and religious minorities.
4
@Alfred Yul So a Black man was influenced by Mr. Trump’s tolerance of White nationalism to stab 5 orthodox Jewish (White) men. Got it. Your logic is impeccable.
4
You can thank the Republicans and Donald Trump for the epidemic of violent anti-semitism.
1
@DSD ...and the members of "the Squad" who have acted equally as bad.
5
As some other commentators have pointed out, why have the writers avoided pointing out the 500-pound gorilla in the increased rise of anti-Semitism in our country? It is no coincidence that this change has occurred along side of Donald Trump's repeated, contemptuous verbal attacks on minorities, vilification of George Soros and other rich liberal Jewish activists, and giving "special" carte blanche to the Israeli government's expansionist aims against the Palestinians. Trump has made it seem that hatred of "the other" is respectable. This has invigorated political anti-Semites and unleashed the mentally unhinged looking for a target for their inner rage.
1
The authors neglect an important reason for the rise in antisemitism: the largest level of income and wealth inequality perhaps ever in U.S. history. Economic disparity feeds old antisemitic tropes of Jewish control of banks, etc. Whenever economic inequality increases and people seek reasons for it, the right increases its dissemination of antisemitic ideas rather than critique the system that leads to the disparity.
35
Unlike Billings, MT, the nation has no leadership willing to step forward and forcefully proclaim that Anti-Semitism and racism have no place in the U.S. We have a leader who says that White Supremacists are "very fine people." Jews cannot depend on national leadership to lead the fight against anti-Semitism. They are left on their own, abandoned by the president who proclaims himself to be the best friend Jews ever had.
Many commentators claim that the Holocaust is not taught in the schools. Not true! At least in NY where I am a Social Studies teacher, it’s incorporated into the curriculum! Whether or not the students care, well that’s another question.
2
@Counter Measures In 8th grade, my daughter was asked to give a short oral report on where her relatives were during WWII. She reported about Buchenwald. The teacher was a bit surprised but used the opportunity to open the discussion with the class. Also a class in NY State.
1
Why is anti-semitism coming back?
Wrong question. Anti-semitism is a baseline in Christian society. The real question is what has worked to keep it at bay and how can those protective factors be strengthened.
My own view is that Christian suffering is very bad for the Jews. Right now the white working class is in a miserable state. It is looking for someone to blame. Can you guess who the scapegoats might be?
1
Lets be honest. The multiple acts of violence in NYC area are not the consequence of Trump's rhetoric or online fascists. They are part of a long line of anti-Semitic speech and behavior on the part of black leaders. The list is very long. It includes Sharpton, Jackson, Wright, Farrakhan, the school board member in Jersey City, the Squad, James Baldwin, the late 60's fight over school decentralization. This is not a one off. Liberals especially Jewish need to make this a political issue to change this long and ugly history.
11
@bill walker
Why is it that people who claim to be so concerned about black anti-Semitism have nothing to say about the pervasive anti-Semitism from white conservatives that has resulted in atrocities like the Tree of Life and Poway murders?
Although the legend of King Christian wearing a yellow armband or Jewish star is apocryphal, the fact that the Danes saved thousands from Nazi extermination is very true. Just as the Billings, Montana, residents showed their courage and fairness, so might some of us today by wearing a chai (Hebrew letter that means life) or star of David. Wearing such symbols or putting a mezuzah on the door to show that you are against anti-semitism is a brave thing to do. Let's stand with Judaism.
2
The rise in attacks on Jews is not an isolated phenomenon. There has been an increase in attacks on Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, etc. Trump makes hate of anyone who is not like you acceptable. The hate being spewed on a daily basis from the White House is a direct message to people that they can harass, vilify and physically attack "the other" whomever they may be.
2
Antisemitism is an anti-rational and anti-intellectual way of engaging with the world. It serves separate purposes for different groups. You can only cure the cancer that is antisemitism by correct diagnosis. Just as there is no one cure for the multiplicity of cancers, so too there is no one answer to the many ways antisemitism manifests itself.
If you made a list of the antisemite's complaint against Jews and since 1948 Israel, you would see that taken together they cancel themselves out. By its nature, evidence and logic cannot be used to combat it. Its adherents want a simple answer to the chaos and uncertainty that they confront in life and that life has been unfair to them. Us versus Them is the go-to answer, and Jews the traditional target in both Christian and Islamic lands.
One way to combat this scourge would be to have religious leaders speak against it unequivocally - which is to say substituting Israel for the Jews is equally unacceptable. Vatican II started to turn the tide against Catholicism long history of antisemitism. If Christian and Muslim religious leaders spoke out against the doctrine of supercessionism also known as replacement theology, that would start the process of changing hearts.
As to those on the political Left, they need to recognize the fact that their assumptions of Jewish “power”, Jewish “capital” - sometimes expressed through bizarre references to Rothschilds, or some version of Elders of Zion - are cartoonishly wrong.
2
Gee, not one mention of Donald Trump in this whole article, the man who promulgates hatred so that he can get re-elected? Do you think this rise in hate is just a coincidence?
2
For 2000 years, Jews have not been allowed full participation in society anywhere, not in the Middle East, not in Europe, not in America. For variable periods, a few decades, a hundred years, Jews in some places have felt at ease, accepted by their neighbors, but it has always ended with expulsions and mass executions. We have in America now many who believe America was founded as a Christian country and that non-Christians threaten their privileged status. The alt-right, white nationalists see themselves as Stormtroopers and the anti-Semitic venom they spew finds support among many otherwise "nice" conservatives. Dangerous times.
Trump is always around saying what he thinks are the right things when there is an anti-Semitic incident. What he hasn't done in three years is to talk directly to his supporters and say that if you are an anti-Semite I don't want your support. He has not put at risk and gone too near near what he believes is the third rail of his White Nationalist support. He has refuses to disown a specific part of his base and will just talk in generalities after the next attack.
4
The fight against anti-Semitism starts at the top with President Trump as a world leader authentically condemning such actions and thoughts globally and with specific references to what is happening in our country. Mr. President, stand up for all Americans by taking a position against violence and hatred with the entire country in mind! Stop the propagation of this virulence in all its evil forms by speaking out and establishing your visible presence as a foe of anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred. There are too many allusions to Nazi Germany in our daily lives which cause us to stop and evaluate these current events with deep concern for what might happen in America if our president does not take decisive action immediately to stem the rising tide of hatred .
3
Anti-semistim is coming back? Sorry but it never left. I can remember decades ago comments from classmates in high school about sending Jews to the ovens and one notable person saying he would love to kill Jews during a class discussion. I also remember being on a plane coming into Newark Airport and one drunk passenger screaming about killing and harming Jews.
Don't tell me its coming back. It never left. The only difference now is there seems to be a greater willingness by haters--from the left and right--to actually back up their words with their demented actions.
5
Anti-Semitism on the rise in the US, and many Jews blame Trump for helping embolden white supremacy and other far-right groups across America.
They say Trump has routinely refused to condemn hate crimes, while often refusing to criticise far-right extremist groups.
Spewing incendiary rhetoric Trump has divided the country, tearing the social fabric apart.
In August he claimed that any Jewish person who votes for a Democrat shows “either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
History had shown how harmful it had been to question Jewish people’s loyalty.
2
It is odd that among the reasons cited, there is no mention of the situation in the Middle East and the animosity between Israel and her Arab neighbors. Many associate support for Israel among the Jewish community abroad as tantamount to support for the repression of the Palestinian people.
That is often the core issue behind these heinous acts of hatred.
1
@Dean Tseretopoulos ...because this isn't about the Middle East. It is about hatred of Jews. Blaming the hate on the Middle East excuses the hate as a consequence of something else.
4
Analysis of the perpetrators is the essential beginning and another Opinion article in today's NYT begins such.
And then a more pro-active concept of punishment and restraint will be necessary. In my opinion we have all gone overboard in being kind to those who carry out vicious crimes, thoughtless and young they might be, but vicious they definitely are.
1
The Anti-Semitism card, already threadbare, is seriously in danger of suffering the "Little Boy Who Cried Wolf" fate. It is beyond amazing that its proponents continually fail to see that. The time will come when the cry of "Anti-Semitism" is met with such a firestorm of derision that even when it's appropriate, no one will dare utter it.
Ipso facto portrayal of one thing as proving another, as if they are both joined at the hip, while a standard political ploy, is ultimately self-defeating. Pro-Palestinian sentiment is not ipso facto anti-Jewish sentiment. Presenting it as such may work in the short term; but over the long haul may have dire unintended consequences.
In all the time since the Big Bang, nothing has ever been found that even holds a candle to treating everyone and everything as having worth.
1
@Chris Yup, blame the victim for asking to be left alone. Just because you are tired of hearing that anti-Semitism exists, doesn't mean it doesn't.
4
Most of these comments are about Trump and the white nationalists but they are quite dishonest not to admit that minorities in NY are committing these crimes. And DeBlasio and Cuomo echo these sentiments. Makes me wonder if it is more cowardice or lunacy?
4
Good suggestions. For one thing, I suggest that every American elementary school require its pupils to read Dr. Seuss’s “The Sneetches,” which deals, in a way children can understand, with discrimination, which can be “racial” (please don’t ask me to define what constitutes a “race”), ethnic, religious, and even economic (witness the importance millions of young Americans put on brand name blue jeans, sneakers, etc.). The trope, “YOU’RE Jewish? You don’t LOOK Jewish” proves the rule: You can’t judge a book (much less a person) from outward appearance. But attacking Jews—or ANYONE, for that matter—because they think or behave differently than you do, is, as long as their beliefs don’t infringe upon your freedoms, or your physical integrity—or the safety of those close to you, e.g., your family—is indefensible. If you would not tolerate similar behavior aimed at you, your family, or other loved ones, you ought never to engage in such behavior aimed at others. Unfortunately, while such logic is simple, it hasn’t sunk in among all Americans.
2
Before I moved to France in 2002 I was warned by Jewish friends that antisemitism was active in France.
We are not Jewish but have always had Jewish friends.
In the 17 years we have lived full time in France we have never personally witnessed antisemitism in our village in Provence. But large cities like Paris have experienced antisemitic verbal and physical attacks.
This is unacceptable. We will cooperate with any effort to stop antisemitism. Some Jewish people in France have decided to accept the invitation to move to Israel even though they prefer to stay in their home country.
2
How does this article not mention the most glaring point? Almost all the recent attackers have been African Americans (black). Not recognizing that is very similar to not recognizing that Islam was the common thread behind almost all the recent terrorist attacks around the world. If you don't recognize such a glaring point of reality, you will never really understand it or be able to arrive at a solution.
8
While its not possible to blame any hate crime on the results of the 2016 election it certainly should be noted that the Southern Poverty Law Center has documented an increase in hate crimes and an increase of hate groups since that election. Most of the hate stirred up by the White House has been related to immigration, and then there was the astounding statement from Donald Trump that there were good people among the neo-Nazis who marched on the U of Virginia campus in Charlottesville shouting "Jews will not replace us." And to make matters worse, the Republican Party has protected Trump politically. It appears that the end of the American experiment in democracy may be at hand. A very dark period may be on the horizon. Voters could stop this possible decline into what might be called fascism but too many seem apathetic or more interested in political battles within the Democratic Party. The US has very strong democratic institutions but all are vulnerable. The recent attack on Jews celebrating Hanukkah in Monsey may be one more milestone in the descent to an authoritarian nightmare in America
1
@Bob
It's not just the SPLC (which conservatives hate, for constantly targeting hate groups that Republicans rely on for support). The Anti-Defamation League and all major American law enforcement agencies--Trump's admin. agencies--also have documented the surge in right-wing political violence, including anti-Semitic and racist attacks like El Paso.
A well done and important piece. As a resource, this article mentions the attacks in Billings, Montana. Those attacks spurred a local movement, "Not In Our Town," a PBS film, and a national movement. Go to www.niot.org for a full and rich set of resources for community responses to hate crimes. We've been doing Not In Our Town in our community since 1995 - it does make a difference in setting a community attitude.
4
I get nervous when I see writers using the term solution. I understand that was a phrase used but it just doesn’t seem appropriate .
It is no wonder that we are in such bad shape in America today, reading through all of these well meaning readers comments one gets the sense that we all have our own pet theories for why such wide spread anti-Semitism and violence today. From the assault in the Texas Walmart targeting Latino patrons, to the horror of facing down a knife wielding person in New York, we are all in a fog that has gotten a lot thicker. Looking at Europe and the US today, we are constantly perplexed about people's behavior and our perpetual war-like stance about everything, from rude dangerous driving to hostile beligierant tweets to the in your face hostility that seems to pop up in all of our daily activities. Yet all of us remain convinced that we know what is going on as we repeat the latest theories, about human behavior. This country has given up on mental health and yet now sees disturbed inviduals as being at the center of such violence. The deniers of gun violence and the proponents of sensible gun laws. On and on, we find ourselves forced to take a position because all of this requires some kind of explanation. Why now? Why at all? We need to look deeper into the soul of America. So we are now all fearful people looking for a sensible answer.
1
I am frankly shocked that only 31% of Jews in the US take steps to hide their Jewish identity in public. I have several Star of David necklaces but haven't worn them in over 20 years (once, in grade school, a bully pulled one off my neck--I am more careful now). I married a Catholic so my name doesn't sound Jewish, and most friends and colleagues assume I am Christian. When I was younger, I was more open about it--a show of defiance, perhaps--but now that I have children, I am more cautious. It does make me angry, however, that Christians would never feel uncomfortable wearing a cross, yet I feel unsafe wearing a Jewish star. Maybe my fear is just perpetuating the problem.
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@Dee
I totally agree. I would love to wear a Jewish Star or a "Chai" but knowing how this is a point of identification I do not. I am also married to a Christian, do not "look Jewish" but I don't hide it either. If religion comes up in a conversation or if the opportunity comes to say I am Jewish I say it. I won't wear a Jewish Star or a Chai because this will identify me to strangers whose nature I do not know.
I think one of the main reasons this issue has resurfaced is the lack of education in our country as to history and The Holocaust. Sad to say a lot of young people do not know anything about it. Tragic.
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@Dee - I am unafraid of violence, but I am afraid of discrimination or social ostracism due to wearing a crucifix in public or in the workplace. I am not proud to say this, but I don't display my religiosity on my clothing or at my cubicle as a working professional in New York City. I say that not to argue equivalence, just to say that all religious people should stand together against anti-Semitism and anti-religious bigotry or violence of all sorts.
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@Rozie James God forbid you have to carry a marble rye in public!
“Why now?” ......."Why, when American Jews have felt unmatched levels of inclusion and equality, and when, unlike in previous generations, Jews can be found in every sphere of American society, is anti-Semitism making a comeback?"
The article makes a very superficial attempt to answer the question "why?" There is general reference to the current indifference to the Holocaust and the effects of the internet, but the potential root cause is totally ignored: Israel's immoral and illegal activity to which the Jewish community is inextricably attached.
To ignore this cause and effect relationship is to have one's head in the sand, and this is not good for the world's Jewish community.
2
If what happened this week in the Texas Church is any indication it is time for Jews the world over to band together and form its own security forces. No longer should Jews rely on inadequate secular government forces to protect them. Hope the JDL rises anew to form a nucleus to protect Jews from this new world order. Sorrowfully, Rabbi Kahane's motto of "Never Again" has proved itself relevant to a new generation.
4
“Never forget” long ago entered the lexicon, in relation to the Holocaust. So every time there is an attack on Jews, or other minorities in this country, we need as a nation to come together and remember that for 40 percent of the country their "Champion" and "Moral Beacon" spoke of "Fine People" walking with Neo Nazis. Yes, let's not forget this.
2
Antisemitism is not restricted to one race, one political party, or one gender. What it is restricted to is ignorance.
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Ms Lowey and Mr. Harris make some very valid and important points, but they miss what is perhaps the greatest factor in the exponential rise of Anti-Semitic hate crimes in America and Europe today. The demonization of the Jewish people’s right to self determination in the form of Anti Zionism. The rewriting of historical facts has become the norm in the attempt to separate the Jewish people from their history and homeland. The colleges and high schools on both continents have turned history on its head and are filling their students with complete falsehoods to fit the social justice narrative that paints us as White, Colonialist, Enslavers, Settlers, Genocidal, and on and on. The purity test within the social justice movement is a breeding ground for AntiSemitism. Until the halls of academia are forced to confront and clean up this outrageous campaign of misinformation we can only expect the exponential surge of Hatred and violence against Jews. While Assad continues the slaughter of over half a million of his people, China imprisons and brainwashes over a million Uighur Muslims, Mayanmar exiles 4 million Rohingas, Palestinians pay for Slay goes unchecked, the Taliban continues its campaign of terror against the Afghani people, which are truly crimes against humanity we watch as these so called educators stand silent because they can’t blame the Jews. We must fight this Anti Zionist/ Anti Semitic campaign within the halls of our educational institutions with all our might.
9
The author fails to consider one other possible answer to his “why now” question: perhaps combatting anti-Semitism is no longer as entwined with American identity as it once was. Let us not forget that before American involvement in WWII our great nation routinely turned a blind eye to Jewish injustices, even turning away a boatload of Jewish refugees fleeing the horrors of Nazi Germany. Yet after the Allied forces won WWII, it became almost de rigeur to condemn anti-Semitism because doing so was essentially an implicit endorsement of American exceptionalism, contrasting us favorably with the German fascists and the Soviet communists.
Today is a different world, and anti-Semitism is no longer the litmus test of a model society that it once was. Violent crimes against Jews no longer conjure the same level of outrage because they are no longer seen as an attack on the very fabric of American culture.
3
In some dystopian time - which might well come (and perhaps not that far into the future) - even if every Jew on the planet were gone, the world would next persecute anybody with any fraction of 'Jewish DNA' - even a great-great-great Jewish grandparent: the world has always needed it's 'witches', and it will always find them.
4
When you look around in cyberspace it isn't hard to see why anti-Semitism increases. Criticism of Zionism is nowadays claimed to be anti-Semitism, as are criticism of globalization, criticism of neocon propaganda, support for Corbyn and criticism of Soros.
So many mainstream media are telling people that they are anti-Semites - they just don't know it yet. Obviously such claims aim to have people reject such opinions. But inevitably a number of them will change their opinion of Jews instead,
The rise in anti-semitic hate crimes received a tremendous boost from Donald Trump when he came to the defense of white nationalists marching in the streets of Charlottesville chanting Nazi slogans, which resulted in a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi killing a woman and injuring dozens of other by driving into a crowd of counterprotesters.
Instead of showing moral leadership and unequivocally condemning the anti-Semitic marchers and their use of deadly force against peaceful protesters, Donald Trump defended them, declaring there were “very fine people on both sides”.
2
This is an era of fear and insecurity caused by technological change, globalization, growing income inequality, corruption of political systems and the huge disparities of income and opportunity that all of these forces have generated. In such circumstances resentment generates hatred and hatred generates hate crimes, in particular against minorities, and more specifically against Jews who are seen as being at the forefront of the very forces that triggered the marginalization of others. The impoverished state of Germany in the interwar period is what fueled Hitler's rise to power and persecution of the Jews of Europe. While the circumstances differ the etiology is similar. Donald Trump's approach to leadership only exacerbates the basic problems. While defensive measures are needed in the short run, a long-run solution depends on addressing the core problems giving rise to hatred and hate crimes.
It certainly doesn't help that America has the most divisive President in modern history who panders for a political living to white Christian nationalists and who champions unregulated gun violence for short-term political gain.
The latest attack was with a knife/machete. thank goodness; that's why nobody has died.
But the next attack will most assuredly be with a semi-automatic gun and who knows how many bullets.
America is a pluralistic society, and yet we have a tiny President who only governs and 'leads' for the tiny minority of Americans who voted for him.
Let's hit the leadership reset button on November 3 2020.
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@Socrates I'm so sorry, but antisemitism was resurrected during the Obama administration for 8 years, and this President has been more friendly to Israel than all of the previous Presidents put together. Right now, the Democratic Party has more vocal Antisemites on board given daily bullhorns by the main stream media (e.g. Oman, Tlaib, AOC, Linda Sarsour and Bernie Sanders) than anyone else. This has fed hatred of Jews on a daily basis. The NY Times has also contributed to this. My Party, the Democratic Party has become despicable. And the more it accuses the President of its own animus, the more hypocritical and ridiculous it looks. Keep justifying these attacks and we will be back in 1936, courtesy liberal appeasement and apathy.
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Well, antisemitism in New York City is mostly a black thing. Boys who graffiti synagogues; a woman who sashays around punching Jewish women; men who attack yeshiva students and rabbis.
In the heartland, it's another matter. Let's focus, please.
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@Socrates
"…governs and 'leads' for the tiny minority of Americans who voted for him."
Uhhh…63 million Americans who voted for Trump are "a tiny minority"?
Stop daydreaming.
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I'm surprised by now, that this question isn't being asked: what is going on between the black and jewish communities that was not going on (or apparent) before, that is causing violent aggression? And only along the Atlantic seaboard. I have opinions based on experience and observations, but are irrelevant here. I would however, urge community organizations and elected officials in NY and NJ especially, to allow voice for frustrations to be aired, no matter how ugly, wrong or racist they may seem. Let's not fire school board officials in NJ for making a statement that we don't agree with, and then refuse to unpack that message for deeper meaning. Blacks seem to be perps here, and we need to understand how they got here. Homicidal ideation and violence are not a result or a symptom of any mental health disorder alone.
6
The current president promotes hatred, divisiveness and prejudice based on countries of origin, religious beliefs and political preferences. Hate speech and implications of violence have become acceptable by way of the examples he sets.
Rightly or wrongly, the world has long looked at the United States as a moral compass. When the compass of morality and ethics is openly corrupt, delegitimizes political opponents, dehumanizes immigrants, disrespects women, spews hatred against Islam, and fosters the notion that America is a blood and soil white Christian nation rather than a constitutional Republic dedicated to equality for all, there is a problem far bigger than antisemitism.
Donald Trump didn't create the slime of racism that used to hide under rocks. But he did lift up the rocks and has allowed the slime to ooze into American society and societies around the world.
If nothing else, the current spate of antisemitism should remind Jews that in the eyes of their haters, they are people of color too. Jews, of all people, should note how Trump trades in the rhetoric that has made genocides possible throughout history, including Native Americans, Armenians, Tutsis, Serbs and of course, Jews in the world's most massive, factory style genocide.
How should Americans respond to antisemitism? Start by electing a new president.
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We also need to be honest about who is engaging in these attacks on Jews. So far as I can tell, the liberal headset doesn't allow for this. The perpetrators of the recent string of horrific attacks in NY and NJ were surely not MAGA hat wearing, Trump supporting alt-right types yet the leftists cling to this belief. If this comment is even published it will surely get flagged and removed; this continually happens whenever I try to point towards our refusal to acknowledge who the perpetrators of so many totally unprovoked attacks on Jewish strangers are. So far as I can tell, as there is a refusal to be honest as to who is even doing these attacks, we will get nowhere towards preventing them. So much easier to jut blame Trump for everything........
As for religious Jews in the US who are obviously Jewish due to their attire; please get self defense training and acquire and learn to safely use a gun. Consider what the outcome in the Texas church would have been the other day had there not been a number of armed and trained people in attendance. Don't leave the protection of your community to the police or the Guardian Angels(although it is sweet they are trying to help). Take responsibility.
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@Greenie
No one is disputing the recent spate of attacks have been committed by African Americans, although no link whatsoever to the Dem party has been established.
You'll surely agree then, with the WaPo:
"Over the past decade, attackers motivated by right-wing political ideologies have committed dozens of shootings, bombings and other acts of violence, far more than any other category of domestic extremist, according to a Washington Post analysis of data on global terrorism. While the data show a decades-long drop-off in violence by left-wing groups, violence by white supremacists and other far-right attackers has been on the rise since Barack Obama’s presidency — and has surged since President Trump took office."
The root cause of anti Semitism is Tribalism. As long as Americans and the world retreat into their tribes there will be continued anti Semites as well as anti THE OTHERS. This is as old as the cave man defending their caves.
AS a proactive recommendation the Jewish faith has it roots and draws its strength from its emphasis on education and study.
A public relations campaign should be considered and sponsored by Jewish organizations that promotes this path to economic success for all tribes REGARDLESS OF THEIR FAITH
@Marty f Maybe a public relations could be started, if we only had funds left after reinforcing buildings and hiring more security at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars at each facility, each year.
1
No mention of Donald Trump?
@Michal Come on, Michal, Trump says he's the "least antisemitic person"! Don't you believe him?
Now the president himself said their are very fine people amongst white supremacists, remember that in November. Is money more important than inflaming racial hatred. You decide.
1
When the wife, not so young, of my husband's fellow Episcopal clergyman on Long Island said to me, "What's wrong with these Jews? Why don't they get over the Holocaust already?" I knew we were still in serious trouble.
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@Sophia Can you imagine if a Jew (or anyone!) said something similar about Jesus's crucifixion?! Over 2000 years ago, get over it?! No way.
"The resurgence of anti-Semitism could be a result, in part, of the vanishing legacy of the Holocaust. Recent surveys reveal abysmal levels of knowledge among young people about what happened to the Jewish people in the Second World War. There is far too little understanding about the slippery slope from the Nazi dehumanization of the Jews in 1933 to the Final Solution nine years later."
I could not agree more, and sadly there are numerous documentaries on the Holocaust. however are educational institutions informing students of all ages about the Holocaust, but more important the history leading up to the Holocaust?
If today's students hardly know what the 3 branches of government are of the United States, then do we really expect them to know the horrors behind the Holocaust?
Sadly and disturbingly, an emphatic "No".....
This is a very complex issue and the path of society is at a cross roads on many levels, yet when many media intuitions voice attacks on many religious groups for their views on social and political issues, then how do we expect younger people to comprehend such complexities?
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Lock your doors, carry weapons and reinstate capitol punishment.
1
The right response to antisemitism is the society being intolerant and condemning of a resentment or hostility towards any minority group. Even if it is expressed by another minority group. Condemning "Political Correctness" opens the door for a hatred of minorities in the open and that leads to violence. There is an inherent, tribal negative reaction to minorities, especially when they are very visible. This reaction must be condemned and controlled. Or another disastrous massacre is coming. It is in our blood, people.
1
How could an entire article be devoted to the rise of anti-Semitic attacks in the U.S. and not mention the name of Donald Trump? Has it somehow escaped the attention of the writers that such attacks were virtually unknown before the election of Trump? and that Trump's remarks at Charlottesville and elsewhere have given the necessary wink and nod to racists everywhere in this country that racism and anti-semitism are no longer out of fashion? To treat this as a purely sociological problem is to become complicit in the spread of antisemitism by failing to name its current most virulent cause.
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@cb It didn't just start with Trump. My neighbors had a "Support Religious Freedom" sign in their yard before he was elected. There is a movement led by Republicans and those on the Right to justify discrimination in the name of religious freedom, which (IMHO) leads many in the majority to feel justified in persecuting religious minorities. This latest spate of violence should surprise nobody.
@cb For the same reason the authors left off the members of "The Squad" who flamed the same hatred as Trump. Let's not make this a right or left discussion or point fingers. Rather, let's make this a discussion about eliminating hate wherever it resides.
4
There is a level of hatred in this country I have never seen before. It is no longer just exclusionary but tends to violence. Good leadership (Calm & Inclusive) would go a long way in ending this cycle of violence.
3
In any angry and raging political environment the Jews are always everyone's second choice to hate. They are to default position in times of vicious political discourse.
Cable news and the Internet feed this rage -- the rest of us consume it. Jews are never safer than in an environment marked with reasoned discourse. We are not now in such an environment (and please spare us your anti-Trump homily; the rage is everywhere.)
2
I take some comfort in the fact that Trump's daughter and her family are jewish so he, presumably, would stand up to this latest strain of anti-semitism. and he has, belatedly and somewhat. He, as the idol of the deplorables, is in a position to combat this scourge in a way that nobody before has been. Let's hope he does so for the sake of his family - if not for jews everywhere. But really, all I can say/think it, thank god his daughter is jewish, or else jews would be a whole lot less safe in America.
1
Leaving aside all the facts presented here, the perpetrator in the Monsey attack appears to be mentally ill. Undoubtedly his defense will argue for a not-guilty by reason of insanity defense.
I would agree that there are "abysmal levels of knowledge among young people about what happened to the Jewish people in the Second World War." And why is that? Is it the young people's fault? Hardly. Young people do not determine curriculum in our public schools. Adults do. And they do a very poor job of it.
Also - what passes for cinematic and/or streaming entertainment is typically at an abysmal level. There are many stirring, poignant tales to be told that include not only the trials of the Jewish people but people in general. The 20th Century is full of them. Why the failure to embrace that rich historical legacy both in fiction and documentary form? Hannah Arendt referred to the banality of evil. One of the central problems of contemporary culture is banality - period.
Last but not least - there's the current occupant of the White House. Yes, the guy who offered a salute to the Nazi thugs chanting "Jews will not replace us" in Charlottesville not so long ago. You may remember his description of "fine people on both sides". As far as I can recall I believe that Jews (and the rest of the fine people) were marching on one side only. David Duke is not a fine person. He's a former leader of the anti-Semitic Ku Klux Klan. Richard Spencer is not a fine person. He's the one who gave the Hitler salute while declaring, "Hail Trump."
Striking a real blow at anti-Semitism means striking blows against white supremacy and impeaching Donald Trump. Anything else is just empty words.
2
Describing antisemitism as an epidemic begins to sound similar to antisemitism in Hitler’s Germany. To be antisemitic in Hitler’s Germany was so commonplace that it went practically unnoticed. Daniel Goldhagen, in his book entitled “Hitler’s Willing Executioners”, established that antisemitism was deep and commonplace in Nazi Germany and part of the public philosophy; and that it was this public philosophy that made the Holocaust possible.
The resourcefulness of evil cannot be ignored. Antisemitism, or any other religious prejudice, is an existential threat to the objects of prejudice. Do not for one moment think that the horror of Nazi Germany cannot happen in this country — it can and the first indications have already appeared.
3
People aren't born to hate or born racists. We are so much better than this. Mentally impaired people hear this and how and why? Where does it come from? Who tells people this crazy stuff? We need to make every incident a high priority. So sad. For what? People don't even know. Never give up.
One would think that education somehow would help. But with half of high school graduates being marginally literate it is foolish to believe that a curriculum that includes Holocaust awareness will have much impact. Forceful pushback and real life consequences for these marginalized radical groups is what ultimately makes for change. Debate is fine and should be encouraged but the past years worth of teeth gnashing and hand wringing in the press along with the blame game has had no discernible effect other than to embolden the radical elements.
1
I find it really shocking the authors of this article never mention the elephant in the room. The rise of Trump has of course emboldened this wave of hatred on Jewish people. How could Trump not be mentioned by name here? Please explain someone.
4
I came to see if anyone called out the elephant. Thank you. The vitriol and nasty diatribes from the OO must be called out for what it is: enabling the voices of violence and hatred.
@Arshavir For the same reason the authors left off the members of "the Squad" who also contributed to the wave of hatred on Jewish people. Hate lives and is fueled everywhere. Focus on the hate and don't let politics get in the way.
1
It seems to this reader that the biggest problem is our refusal to truly address the issue head on. There has been prejudice, genocide, and hate in the world for as long as there have been humans. What has not occurred in America is an honest appraisal of the scale of the problems. Whether it's anti-Semitism, bigotry, misogyny, etc., Americans blame the victims. It's the LGBTQ community's fault for being different. African American males are too angry.
This country needs its own Truth and Reconciliation commission. It's been to easy to ignore the effects of accepted bigotry in America.
4
Anti-Semitism is a bit like the canary in the coal mine. If a society with an established Jewish community shows a surge of anti-Semitism, then not only is there the extremely serious problem of anti-Semitism, but there is sure to be a surge of other forms of hate. So we see in the United States. While we recognize the special historical issue of anti-Semitism, we also must recognize that we can't treat the various forms of hate in isolation. All of us must rally round each other, acknowledging each other's particular issues, to protect each other, to respond productively to hate, and to do everything in our power to provide an environment of security, tolerance and friendship for everyone. Certainly we must begin with security for Jews and every other targeted group in our society. This means not just talking , but organizing and taking specific security measures within the law, as necessary.
2
An essay purporting to clarify the roots of increased anti-Semitic acts without mentioning Charlottesville and our current President's words and actions does not seem like an adequate or even honest account. But perhaps it is, as in the title, a "right" response.
4
See article by Mitchell D. Silber
"How to Protect New York’s Jews"
1
Jews are the canary in the coal mine. When anti-semitism is on the rise, fascist authoritarian is close behind.
4
How many of y'all know that a week or so ago one of the military applications forms removed the question, "are you a white supremacist." So tell me how far we have gone backwards. Shame on them all. Never again people. Wake up.
5
The Babylonian Talmud asserts that "violent confrontation with a mentally-troubled person. or with a juvenile is always bad" for the normal adult involved---simply because there is little just punishment that can serve as a deterrence. Where madness reigns, the courts are limited. Can you justly execute a mentally unbalanced individual for a capital offense? If the Monsey attack was done by a schizophrenic adult, what should we do to deter others who have mental problems?
What has caused this atmosphere of ignoring the pain of Jews, or of any other ethnic group, so that it becomes proper and acceptable to malign them or hurt them? That white nationalists were labeled as "fine people" even as they all chanted "Jews will not displace us" helped set up this general attitude of hatred.
If people of good will join together as they did in Billings , Montana in 1993---or as the Danes did to protect Jews by all donning Yellow Stars during World War II---then there is a chance that hatred of "others" might be ameliorated. Certainly the attack on "Mexican murderers and rapists" or "Moslems" is not helpful. If the media can be enlisted to join our educational system to make tolerance and acceptance of groups that are "different" acceptable and the right thing--we might lessen these horrible incidents.
1
Let me preface my remarks by stating that Jews in America should never feel the need to escape hate here by running to Israel for protection that is quite adequate here judging by your writing. But, I still view your reflexive reaction as dishonest as you know well, the nation's leadership is responsible for fomenting the urges of ethnic hate in America from Muslims to Hispanics, to now escalated hate directed at Jews made all too clear by the attack at the Rabbi's home. But again, it was one of two recent attacks that brought out the reflexive such as yourselves.
For some background; I'm an old guy who grew up in the sixties and seventies, and having viewed the constantly broadcast war movies learned the evils of hate toward Jews during the war but it appears many in our nation, instead, adopted that hate to fill some perverted personal need for feeling great by tearing down others. I learned not to be a Nazi and many others became Nazi's.
So why do you blame the internet, a means of social communication for Americans while ignoring the real daily purveyor of hate and war, the Television? Or is it your medium that serves you all too well? And let's ask; what do you mean by the deceptive term, "Enhanced information gathering?" Are you also like Republicans, inclined to adopt secret police tactics like in other authoritarian nations?
Think about how your TV viewing provoked you to write this. It likely does the same thing to those inclined to hate others. Dump Trump.
As a Black Man and God son of a Jewish giant in my life, I looked in horror at the picture of this obviously deranged bearded black man that has been alleged as the attacker.
I know that his comment will mean nothing but I was praying that it would not be some black man that did this. I know that I am not responsible for this as I am not responsible for so many other acts of ignorance and hate now that we are in the era of hate all our brothers and sisters who are even slightly different from us.
I close this with deep sorrow for all hate acts and big hopes that we civilized people will join together in saying that hate, racism & other Bigotry has no place in our world and we must all act together to wipe it out with education & acceptance of others who act in peace. We must stand united against those who will not act in peace. Let the blood shed stop NOW!
7
It's about mental health/insanity/anger management / schizophrenia/psychopathy/paranoia/fear/sociopathy that manifests itself in ways that target certain groups. It could be rich people, it could be African Americans, it could be Jews, it could be Muslims, it could be LGBTQ folks, it could be women, and so on and so on and so on.
When protesters chant “Jews will not replace us!” and the Commander in Chief says some of them are “very good people,” look no further.
5
Lack of knowledge about the holocaust causing a resurgence of anti-Semitism? That makes zero sense.
2
That’s right. It’s Trump’s fault. These Black attackers watch Fox News and go to Trump rallies. That’s what made them do it.
13
@SP
When you encourage hate at the highest levels, it filters down to everyone.
It is quite disingenuous to ignore the canary in the coal mine.
Hate is ascending because our leader is promoting it daily by calling people hideous, childish and uncalled for names, by calling those who do not support him his enemies, by encouraging violence at his hate rallies, thus encouraging and giving permission to the craziest people to act out.
Ignore the hate coming from the top at the peril of these United States.
Those that fail to remember history may very well repeat it.
What happened in Germany in 1933 can happen to any country. Place into power one angry indiviual seething with thier own personal resentments who pours into a pot the angst of a nation and the slide into the abyss occurs. I am not implying that Trump is Hitler. Yet the increase of anti-Semitism and attacks on other groups has been increasing over the past years. The bonds that hold a society together are being more frayed with each passing day. I never thought I would live to see Jews in the US gunned down while praying. I never though that I would see one act of carnage after another from the Pulse nightclub to the El Paso Wal Mart & Jersey City. There is a clarion call to remember past injustices and how easily it can be for the accumilation of slights to build and like black mold reach dangerous levels. Watching a recent CBS report last Saturday night on children separated at the border from thier parents I shudder . No not again this disease of hate ! As the final members of the Greatest Generation & those that survived the Holocaust are laid to thier eternal rest the collective memory of those darkest of days passes. As a new decade approaches we all need to remember that even as strangers we are all in this life together. The words for 2020 and the decade to follow must be compassion , acceptance & understanding. If not the lights will go out perhaps never to be lit again.
1
Anti-semitism has been a tool of the ruling rich since feudal times. They will never relinquish such a proven successful weapon against working people. Workers must recognize anti-semitism as a mortal threat to Jews and to the working class, and fight it wherever it rears its filthy head. No one can claim to fight any form of oppression or discrimination while giving any ground to anti-semetic hatred and crank theories. Centuries of promotion of Jew hatred by the elites of Europe and the US have left their twisted imprint in crank conspiratorialism. Worsening labor and social conditions of working people become more and more unbearable and increasingly pose the question of resistance and fight. The question will be against who? Will we effectively fight against the real cause of our exploitation and misery: the capitalists? Or will we be misled by those capitalists and their shills to direct our rage as brutes against Jews, immigrants, Muslims, Blacks? It will become a life and death question for the immediate victims and all working people. There is no mistaking that Jew hatred today is heat lighting of more violence and struggles to come. It must be denounced unconditionally by all working people. Those who shill and whisper anti-semetic lies must be called out and denounced. Struggles against racism, for tenant rights, or against Zionism will only be weakened and betrayed by any failure to clearly draw a line in the sand.
3
The article is misleading.
I grew up as an observant Jew in Monsey in the fifties and sixties. It was rapidly transforming from a rural community with and influx of summer visitors who were mostly Jewish to a predominantly Hasidic community in the eighties and nineties.
There was only one full time synagogue in Monsey in the early fifties. Now there are hundreds.
Anti semitic attacks on Orthodox Jews were common growing up. Both my brother and elderly father were severely attacked wearing a yarmulke while walking to synagogue. I grew up hearing racist comments about Blacks and Puerto Ricans from Jewish relatives and friends. Hasidic villages in Rockland county and elsewhere are totally segregated from the mainstream with Yiddish the predominant language and almost total disengagement in the surrounding secular community .
This misleading article fails to note that in the south, Jews interact more with the Black community, and anti semitism by Blacks is almost unheard of.
In this incident, did Rabbis in Monsey ever perform any type of outreach to Black churches? Did the perpetrator's Black pastor ever participate in Hasidic events?
This type of interdenominational activity is what the AJC should be focusing on to curtail anti semitism by members of other ethnic groups.
Of course antisemitism was made mainstream by Charlottesville and encouragement of white
nationalists by our President which is overlooked by Trump's unconditional support by Orthodox Jews.
7
LVG my thoughts exactly. I am not trying to blame the victims, but it is harder to hate someone you know. I have had orthodox neighbors. Some have been lovely, thoughtful people, who took an interest in my life even though I am a Goy. Others would not talk to me even to exchange a have a good day. Making people feel like the have some communicable disease, does not help.
2
@LVG Jews don't do outreach to Buddhists and Hindus, to Asian or Native American community leaders, and yet these groups seem to have no problem not committing mass violence and abuse towards Jews. Maybe the problem isn't Jews.
2
@Liz Beader Indeed, behind all stereotypes there is an element of truth, a seed if you will that generates a weed. The Hasidic community/some Jews
seems to be only concerned with racism when they are the target. At this very moment, children are penned up in cages on the southern border of the United States. Some have died, has anyone from the Hasidic community in Monsey or elsewhere stood up and asked that to stop?
If this man had a gun, there would have been deaths, maybe many. But why did a man with an inability to think normally attack Jews? Because anti-Semitism is floating in the air now. Our president presides over this blossoming in no small part having encouraged it initially and still encouraging, welcoming, pushing white supremacy, and this country as a Christian country. Any people with obvious differences are targets. Try to get your head into a person who can't think straight or normally. That said, most schizophrenics are more vulnerable to violence than perpetrators of it. My schizophrenic sister was murdered. Yet we will blame this on mental illness I am afraid.
6
“This is not our America.” After Charlottesville, can you be sure?
5
Why does it seem that everyone needs someone to hate? Simply treat others as you want to be treated and we will be a lot better off. We can have peace instead of madness. What on earth did he mean to prove with his machete and his attack. I am sure he would have been welcomed just as Dylan Roof was. Find the good America.
1
President Trump: Will you place a menorah in a prominent window of the White House? And encourage every politician in American to do the same?
With reference to this effectiveness in Billings MT: If you won't do this, why?
86
@Adam
You are aware that his daughter is married to a Jewish man and she is a Jewish convert, right?
"If you won't do this, why?"
Are you trying to imply something? What President moved the US embassy to Jerusalem?
8
@Dave Moving the embassy was designed to placate AIPAC, which represents a minority of American Jews, but are big Trump donors.
And Marc Thiessen (!!!), in the current Washington Post, accuses Trump of anti-Semitic statements: "Jews who vote Democrat are disloyal to America." Trump will do or say anything to stay in power.
6
@Dave What about White Supremacist Stephen Miller (a Jewish collaborator)? "Some of my best friends (and relatives) are Jews," just ain't gonna cut it.
Though I will admit that Jews get it from both sides.
1
Recently,we were having a discussion about security during the High Holodays in my Synagod. It seemed the Police Department was reluctant to have Police stationed in our Synagod, as they were used for traffic control .I stood up and said why can't we take care of our own Security. I was almost booed out of my Synagod.This has always been the reaction from Jewish people, when it comes to self defence, we perfer to rely on others to defend ourselves.
Until we take a page from Israel & make it unbearable for our enemies to attack us, we will continue to be sapegoats for AntiSemitics.
1
It's sickening but not surprising to see the Republicans pretend to care about anti-Semitism; but of course that's only when the source is a black person. The party of Trump will never acknowledge their complicity in anti-Semitism, because it's such a useful political tool for them to exploit.
Does anyone remember Trump supporters calling out the alt-right who marched with Trump flags and swastikas in Charlottesville and used AR-15s to force the evacuation of a synagogue? Or when right-wingers murdered a dozen Jews in Pittsburgh and Poway? Or when Richard Spencer and his followers chanted "Hail Trump" and used Nazi slogans in Washington D.C. a week after the 2016 election? Or when Trump was asked repeatedly not to use "America First," a slogan that has Nazi-sympathizer origins, but refused? Or when Donald Trump and his sons used social media to tweet blatantly anti-Semitic propaganda and neo-Nazi accounts? Or when Donald Trump accused any Jew who doesn't support him of disloyalty? Or way back when Trump became first president in history to release a statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day that deliberately excluded any mention of Jews?
Anti-semitism exists on the left, but at least it doesn't have the presidential seal and Republican Party legitimizing it. More than 3/4 of American Jews reject Donald Trump. The vast majority of them understand where the far more dangerous threat lies. The remainder thinks if they suck up to the monster, he'll protect them.
2
@Cousin Greg It is also sickening but not surprising that Democrats only seem to care about antisemitism when the source is a 'white supremacist'. Democrats have an unofficial list of those who are allowed to be classified as 'victims'. These days, they include women, gays, African Americans, transgenders and sometimes, Muslims. Jews, in general, have never appeared on that 'list'. For example, Bernie Sanders, a deep supporter of minorities, has no problem hiring Linda Sarsour as a spokesperson for his campaign. Had Ms. Sarsour said about Blacks or gays what she had said about Jews, there is no way that Bernie would have kept her on the job. Aside from some in the Jewish community, there was little, if any uproar about his choice. Simply put, antisemitism has never been placed in the same category as racism or homophobia. In fact, before the tragedy of the Pittsburgh synagogue, I don't remember the NYT ever having an antisemitism article on the front page above the fold.
3
The normal is the attacks on blacks, Hispanics, and Muslims. Those are attacks that are part of governmental policy, have governmental support, and are done by those with governmental authority .
Anti-semitism is a problem but it is sporadic and not as established as racism which is embedded in our culture. There is a need to accept all religions. When the President has a person who has been accused of killing Muslims randomly and that the President called a killing machine over to his resort shortly after pardoning him due to his celebration upon the death of a Muslim, it establishes a culture of hate and them versus us.
Rarely, do you find attacks on blacks classified as hate crimes and never as domestic terrorism. When Dylan Roof killed those people in Charleston, it was not classified as domestic terrorism. The rumor is that police actually took him to get a burger before bringing him in.
You can not approach hate on a group by group basis but must approach hate by teaching the need for tolerance and justice for all.
2
Why aren’t there articles like this about anti black racism? Why didn’t the white ny cop who attacked a black woman in Tennessee get charged with a hate crime? Why isn’t the schizophrenia of the accused Hanukkah attacker mentioned more often?
3
I recently visited the U.K. and am very concerned. I am not Jewish, I am about as Anglo as they come. For the first time, but repeatedly, I heard casual anti-semitism in conversation. All the speakers were now U.K. residents, but of EU origin. They weren’t necessarily saying anything overt - but references to Jews and money. Stuff like how a finance friend was doing really well, so well he might have Jewish blood, almost like it’s admiring. But also not.
It chilled me. I did not know these people well, they were recent acquaintances. But they free-associated Jews and money in conversation. More than anything else, those moments brought home that there is a real, growing, malignant problem. If people are idly talking about Jewish blood and money, with no apparent fear of being called out... this is not good. At all.
588
@Felicia
Thank you for this confirmatory insight. My acquaintances from the UK have been feeling this chill for about a decade now. There was a breakaway party recently formed by a handful of members of Labour who felt they could no longer countenance what you are describing.
58
@Felicia That kind of casual anti-Semitism has been a part of English society for many many years. When I worked there in the 90s and 2000s I slowly realized that many of the people I was working with were Jewish but had Anglicized their names in a way that doesn't happen as much in the US. They were completely a part of the society, but also were careful to remain somewhat "hidden". The way the left has expressed their opposition to Zionism has not helped either.
25
@Felicia I'm a 55 year old secular jew from NJ who has lived in NY, Seattle, DC, Vancouver, SF and now Berkeley. I have experienced/witnessed anti-semitism my entire life, wherever I go. From having a cross burnt on our Bergen County lawn as a child to comments and worse in the corporate/professional world around North America. None of this is surprising. Nor new. But I'm glad more people are aware and care.
43
When the US has a President who spews hatred of everyone who is not a white conservative Republican the increase of hate crimes against jews, latinos, blacks, women and other minorities is inevitable. Lay the blame at the feet of Donald Trump. He is the poster child and enabler of hate crimes.
4
Jeff: his daughter Ivanka Trump married Jared Kushner and converted to Judaism, his son Eric is married to a Jewish girl (The Daily Forward, 2014: “Another Trump Jewish Wedding”!). Three of his grandchildren are being raised as Jews, and he celebrates Chanukah publicly.
3
I am Jewish. I love Israel, but not Netanyahu. I despise Trump and his right wing minions. Yet, the sad truth which no one is mentioning is that these attacks are being perpetrated by persons of color and not MAGA fanatics. Blacks and Latinos, other historically oppressed minorities, are beating up Jews in the streets, slapping young Jewish mothers, blaming the victims of murder for their own deaths in Jersey City...Jews marched for civil rights for blacks as far back as the sixties, fought the KKK, overwhelmingly voted for President Obama, etc. None of the attacks on blacks in Howard Beach or Bensonhurst years ago were committed by Jews. I do not understand the antipathy many members of the African-American community have towards Jews. We should be natural allies. Why the hatred? Why these attacks?
13
Go to the Southern Poverty website or their publications and view all the known hate cells of various persuasions in the USA.
Together with a “president” who states there are good people on both sides! And gives mixed, disinformation and gaslighting to the American public via Fox.
There are not good people on both sides. MAGA and this mans rallies are hatefests, stirring up and encouraging the worst in this country. Cultivating victimhood for a majority, giving permission for trash to hurt, injure, and kill “others”.
This division and hate sowing is just what Trumps friends Putin wants to promote in this country. Division and death. Why are we tolerating this harbinger of hate Donald Trump and his gang?
4
You seem to think it's not nice to be "political", yet clearly the Trump Administration is giving the green light to those who want to commit Anti-Semitic acts.
2
As I read this article, I kept waiting for the name of Donald Trump to appear. It did not. So,let's call a spade a spade. In the U.S. there has always been the potential for anti-Semitism to rear its ugly head.
However, for much of our past, it has not been socially acceptable to express anti-Semitic opinions or act out these negative feelings through violence and murder.
Charlottesville changed all that as Trump said there were good people on both sides. No, there were Nazis on one side and good people on the other.
As a Holocaust interviewer, I heard stories of townspeople people lining the street jeering at Jews as they were being marched off to trains bound for Auschwitz.
No one is safe in our country until and unless everyone else is safe. Please do not omit Trump's name when talking about the rise of anti-Semitism today. He has made encouraging hatred his not-so-secret weapon!
136
@Minarose I believe more to the point is the fact that Trump has identified a political advantage in sending positive signals to the anti-Semitic Alt right. This editorial incorrectly calls anti-Semitic groups “marginal” in American society. If a president determines that there is political benefit in aligning himself with anti-semitic groups, they are no longer “marginal”.
15
@Minarose
I guess the biggest problem for you in the recent epidemic of violent crimes against Jewish people is that the nytimes doesn’t criticize President Trump enough. For me your comment represents the truth of a recent article in the Atlantic:
“We should all be suspicious of people, Jews and non-Jews alike, who purport to raise their voices about anti-Semitism but do not talk candidly about the anti-Semitism within their ranks. People who are more interested in how they can use the problem of anti-Semitism as a weapon than in the problem itself will always be a little too willing to avert their gaze when the wrong sort of people get killed by the wrong sort of killers.”
7
@Minarose That the article did not mention Donald Trump was a good thing, because it made the article factual, informative, and readable by intelligent and reasonable people who do not want to use antisemitism to political advantage.
3
When the President of the United States believes that protestors, one group antifascists, and the other white supremacists who shout "Jews will not replace us," and "blood and soil," meaning Nazis Germany's racially defined national body, have "fine people on both sides" it sets the tone.
Trump is not called out in this piece. Of course, antisemitism did not begin with him, however, his position is one of a role model for the nation. Unfortunately, we cannot look to Donald Trump to help the nation through this perilous time. He is part of the problem.
5
Trump boy has the gift of bringing out the worst in people or at best making people crabby and on edge. Let's all vote this freak out of office next year.
4
The reader comments raise a key question:
Who will the left blame when Trump is no longer President, but antisemitism runs rampant and the perpetrators are not "white nationalists"?
9
Putting a Menorah in every window is akin to the story (a myth, actually) that everyone in occupied Denmark donned a yellow Star of David to show their contempt for the Nazis. While that didn't actually occur, the King apparently did discuss it with his government in a cabinet meeting working out its evacuation plan with Sweden. But a lesson nonetheless. Otherness is what anti-semites want society to reflect. Let's not give it to them.
3
This is a simplistic analysis. It doesn't mention Trump, who has made anti-Semitism respectable among white supremacists. At one time, Trump welcomed the support of KKK leader, David Duke.
It doesn't take into account that Jews are probably the most successful minority in the United States. They have become investment bankers--Robert Rubin, Lloyd Blankfein, Gary Cohn--central bankers--Alan Greenspan, Janet Yellin--and successful industrialists--Irving Shapiro, former president of Dupont. They have become powerful politicians--Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler; prominent academics--Noam Chomsky, Steven Pinker, Milton Friedman. The success of American Jews arouses envy.
The Jewish Community is split. Most mainstream Jews don't care much about what happens to the ultra-orthodox. They view then as clannish and intolerant.
Anti-Semitism has waxed and waned in American history. After World War II and the Holocaust it was marginalized. Major Hollywood films, such as Gentlemen's Agreement, pointed out its irrationality.
It is growing right now due to many causes--Trump, the feelings of Americans about the depredations the state of Israel is causing among the Palestinians.
This era will pass without the need of government intervention--extra police, hate crime laws, etc. We are the prisoners of our past, namely the memory of the Holocaust. Let's disenthrall ourselves.
3
Violence against any one because of race, religion, creed, sex is violence against us all.
United we Stand. Divided we Fall.
Yes, the United States has a long history of injustices, but we have an even greater history of overcoming prejudices. In the last 50 years alone, we've made huge strides towards equal rights and opportunities for people of color, the LGBTQ community, and Jews.
Why has this movement forward stalled? The answer, in part, requires a World view, as intolerance of "the other" has intensified greatly worldwide during the last decade. The surge in Globalism over the last 40+ years has brought many benefits, but it has also threatened local traditions. When the economic benefits of Globalism crashed in 2008, resentment towards the squashing of local traditions ignited.
The US has grown more secular, more citified, and soon, the majority will no longer be white. Therefore, the group that feels most overwhelmed, most threatened is white Christians, particularly those with blue-collar jobs, less education, and/or live in rural areas.
In our march towards pluralism, these folks need to feel and be included. In recent years, I've heard liberal groups espouse equality for Group A, or Group B rather than equality for all -- our former rallying cry. Some will argue that white Christians have been the perpetrators of most past wrongs. Perhaps. But we most continue to march forward, together, because: United We Stand, Divided We Fall.
Its not just anti-antisemitism. There has been an insidious pattern of dehumanizing the other in this country. There has been an overall increase of race and religious based attacks over the past few years and if we ignore that and simply focus on antisemitism we will never get to the root of the problem and never find lasting solutions.
2
Will everyone please stop conflating anti-semitism with criticism of Israel's policies toward the Palestinians. They are not the same. Anti-semitism is hatred of Jews. Deploring the policies of the Israeli state is just that and is just as legitimate as criticism of policies of other states (Saudi Arabia, India, etc.) These attacks, whether by African Americans or whites (there is plenty of guilt to go around!) are nothing other than attacks on Jews for being Jews. The idea that they have anything to do with the state of Israel is ridiculous and overlooks the real threat to people who are our brothers and sisters as citizens of a pluralistic society.
201
@Seve, you are right that these things should be separated, but only too frequently, they are not.
In the current political climate, many people have developed an obsessive hatred of Israel that cannot be attributed to the policies of its leaders, and there is a tendency to direct these negative feelings to random American Jews walking on the street. People I know who walk around in obviously Jewish garb but have no other connection to the state of Israel have been told by strangers to "be nicer to the Palestinians." or "Free Palestine!"
I don't think the rise in antisemitic incidents can be attributed only to the Left. but I do think the Left's obsession with Israel is not helping. There is a lot of misinformation floating around and it fuels the hatred that already exists.
22
Correct. Being an American Jew does not mean I have to support the racist policies of Israel's leaders.
9
Israel gets singled out fat beyond the severity of its actions because it is a Jewish state. To deny that is like denying that the earth revolves around the sun. The history of the Palestinians may be tragic, but there are many factors that contribute to their plight. The overwhelming focus on Israel is a strong expression of antisemitism. The current wave of violence is a direct extension of that.
90
The authors overlook the obvious, too.
A “president” whose hateful rhetoric gives those who crawl out from beneath society’s rocks the courage to perform their violence.
We have NEVER had a president who so tears at the fabric of the nation; who daily invites and incites violence and hate and anger.
He is a nightmare come to life.
And as long as he is there, publicly spewing his hate, his followers will believe he is speaking to them, giving them license to do as he asks.....
Hate “the other,” whomever their twisted minds decide that is.
1
Judaism is the world's oldest conspiracy theory. I suppose there had to be a first, and unfortunately for Judaism, it beat others to the punch. Antisemitism is conspiratorial lunacy and always has been. Like all conspiracy theories, it defies logic. That said, I get the feeling there's something more sinister at work. A lot of people feel this way. Christians feel like they're under attack, as do Muslims, gays, transgenders, white nationalists, etc. It justifiably feels like an existential crisis, but I do believe it will pass. The mass migrations caused by upheaval in the middle east lit a tinderbox of global xenophobia and fear of others. It will eventually die down, but I realize this is cold solace to the people presently at risk. What we need, more than anything, is the steady hand of a leader that can talk us off the ledge.
I observe the rise of anti-Semitism with the rise of bigotry amplified on social media in the last decade. Intolerance appears as a euphemism for dismissing "political correctness." Schools are encouraged to offer "civility" lessons yet, no longer provide Civics Classes in government history. Members of the KKK can march in Charlottesville, VA and saluted as "very nice people" by Pres. Trump! Whether or not it's religion, race, creed, gender, sexuality, or nationality, our identity as Americans has unraveled in a mudslide of domestic terrorism which is funded by this current occupant in the White House! My prayers are sent to the victims and their families.
4
@SGC Nation of Islam goes to elementary schools to lecture children. Is that a problem to?
1
Until Trump and his horror show are gone, i suggest buying a gun, learning to use it properly and taking it to worship as happened in Texas this week end. The parishioner's who were armed shot the intruder. I hate guns and i hate the right wing and Trump, but until they are gone, i am armed and not going to allow some deranged person to harm me or anyone else without a fair fight. When common sense and decency return, i will sell my weapon, but not until then.
1
We have been told nothing about the assailant and his motives. An African American attacker (and there have been several) does not represent White Supremacist Anti-Semitism. At least one of the attacks was perpetrated by so-called Black Israelites. We need to know what's behind these attacks before we start reflexively attributing the cause to Trump or anyone else.
5
The fact that we discover antiSemitism coming from both the left and the right simultaneously suggests this is a scourge that will not easily be handled. While the left hides its antiJewish feelings under an antipathy to Zionism, the Movement to restore the Jewish homeland after generations of exile and pogrom and the right expresses its prejudice against Jews as a response to the canard that Jews are the dark power that governs the world demonstrates that hatred for Jews is ongoing. We Jews have learned from history that to survive we can only depend on one another.
4
Why the resurgence of anti-Semitism? See Patrick Kingsley's "anti-Semitism is Back, From the Left, Right and Islamist Extremes. Why?" (New York Times , April 4th, 2019). He quotes Ms. Schuker-Springorum, head of the Center for anti-Semitism Research in Berlin. He writes: "It is not unsurprising to find a resurgence of anti-Semitism at a time of prolonged political and economic instability...when citizens..are grasping for easy explanations for sudden and complex injustices".
And yes, we are living at a time of both instability and the desire for easy answers (preferably in 280 characters or less).
2
It is time to speak with brutal frankness.
This epidemic has been instigated by the racist Trump.
He is focused on exploiting the latent racism in the large minority of uneducated, left-behind white Americans. He wants to blind them to how the policies he allows to be set by billionaires have savaged their lives and communities, not in the interest of helping them but in his single-minded focus on winning another term, even if it means threatening another Civil War and tearing our nation apart.
It is both laughable and terrifying that this attack was apparently carried out by an American of African origin. Until Jersey City and this attack, it was his white pawns that were responsible.
Dan Kravitz
3
@Dan Kravitz
Over the past decade, we have also seen a surge of antisemitism all over Europe, especially in Britain, France and Germany and many other places. Your simple explanation of blaming an American president that I never supported and one that you obviously hate cannot adequately answer the question as to why this hatred has reared its ugly head once again in different parts of the world. In my opinion, much of the liberal media around the world is partly to blame. For politically correct reasons, when reporting on Israel, they have often blurred the lines between the Arab countries who, for over 70 years have never given up the hope of destroying Israel and the Israeli army who have sought to defend the country from such attacks. Israel is, perhaps, the most criticized country on the planet. One example is when the US kills a terrorist leader, it is greeted with enthusiasm and encouragement, whereas when Israel does the same, it is simply criticized. This biased and double standard reporting in the age of social media, in my opinion, has had a chilling effect on Jew and Israel hatred. Obviously, not all criticism of Israel is antisemitic but much of it is.
3
As tragic as this incident is, it is simply too facile to blame this vicious attack on Antisemitism. The recent spate of attacks by clearly deranged individuals against churches, synagogues, workplaces goes much deeper. The Monsey attacker appears to have a long history of untreated schizophrenia including involuntary hospitalization. The big elephant in the room is the scandal of American healthcare. Mental illness is treated like the unwanted stepchild by our very unhealthy healthcare system thereby condemning millions of our fellow citizens to sad, tragic and miserable lives. How many of these horrific incidents could have been prevented if we had a rational healthcare system? Simply concluding that 'hate' and 'prejudice' is the root cause is part of the problem and not the solution.
1
The article mentions how an anti-Semitic attack was handled in Billings, Montana. A menorah in a window revealed a Jewish household. So in support of that, others put paper menorahs in their windows. What about everyone wearing yarmulkes and/or Jewish stars? Rather than avoiding identifiable Jewish symbols, we encourage all people to join in solidarity.
1
The authors left out another classic reason for the rise of anti=Semitism: when Jews become so integrated into real or perceived power positions in a country that they are seen as a threat. In 1492 Spain, Isabel became incensed when her cousin in her court married a Jew, it was the last straw before she demanded Jews leave the country or convert, ushering in hundreds of years of the Inquisition. The Jews in Germany were so assimilated, many didn't even remember they were Jewish. Fear of imagined power was also a concern in the Bible: many of the stories related describe fearful or deranged leaders concerned that Jews might or could take power. Thus, all Jewish babies are killed, temples destroyed, and killing camps and crematoriums are built to destroy Jews. It's a sad history, and one that cannot be ignored.
4
Can we separate the mentally disturbed that need help that they are not receiving because of cuts to health care funding from the normal haters such as Donald Trump and his followers?
1
At the turn of the Twentieth Century, Anti-Semitism was respectable in many places and surprising walks of life. Much of it was scapegoating--blaming Jews for wider social and economic failures. The huge escalation of the '30's and '40'x was Anti-Semitic, but also part of the colossal program of extermination Generalplanost.
Unfortunately public Anti-Semitism got revived in the '90's, even in New York, and it led in part to the present upsurge. Also unfortunately, the continuing (since 1948!) attacks on Israel as though it were the world's great problem have now joined the chorus. Removing respectability is a start.
2
How about leading by example? Denounce Stephen Miller with all the moral fiber you have.
1
Seems to me that New York folks could learn a few things from folks in Texas.
The Texas problem was resolved in under 10 seconds.
2
The name of Trump is missing from this article. He has institutionalized hate ironically while getting support from prominent American Jews. The unwillingness of those people to recognize him for what he is --- and for Jewish institutions to call him out on his racism, cyber hatred, and authoritarianism --- is a major part of the problem.
I recently moved to Ms. Lowey’s congressional district. I wish that I shared her optimism about bigotry in America. Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that American antisemitism is both endemic and unstoppable. I am Jewish, but I try to live in a way that makes it hard for others to identify me as a Jew. (For example, I easily pass for Christian when I do business in Northern Germany.) I have one child. She married a Lutheran and they live totally non-Jewish lives. I am pleased. She shouldn’t have to suffer for being a type of human being that, for irrational reasons, is hated by a wide spectrum of her fellow countrymen. Tyranny of the majority.
But I ask my Christian fellow citizens, “How do you feel about having constructed the society you have built?” How do you want to be treated once American becomes a majority minority nation - a virtual demographic inevitability at this point? How will you will feel when the majority of the population tells you “Go back to where you came from. Go back to England.” I hope it never happens, but that seems to be the direction we are going in.
This column ignores what may be the most important element in the increase in large-scale anti-Semitic violence, as well as such violence perpetrated against others: the internet.
The internet, which is essentially cable TV on steroids, allows the one in a million so inclined to control the news of 300 million Americans and untold foreigners for days, if not weeks. That power, the ability to control, the way to say, "See, I really am somebody!" never existed before.
Previously, if someone stabbed or even shot up a half dozen people in Kansas, the national news may have mentioned it on page five a couple days later, while local papers and TV would have probably ignored it, at most giving it a one-line mention. Now, with the guarantee of ongoing universal coverage within an if-it-bleeds-it-leads framework, that rare individual who, for whatever reason, is motivated to do so, gets to act out his or her fantasies of control and recognition.
This is not to say that anti-Semitism does not have an ongoing life of its own. It certainly does, and while America has been low-keyed in that regard compared to most countries, our history has honored and still honors "popular" anti-Semites of our history such as Henry Ford, Father Coughlin, and Werner von Braun.
As to what to do about anti-Semitism? I suppose if Jews actually controlled the banks, media, and whatever else anti-Semites and simply ignorant people think, they could either buy off the anti-Semites or organize a pogrom.
2
To answer the question the title of article asks how about starting with responsible reporting. Something starting out like ... Two attacks at different places of worship. One ends in death because of the use of guns. How will that sell?
It is not an "epidemic." That is an overused metaphor for a bad thing that is spreading, but calling anti-Jewish violence an epidemic implies that it is something that has its own momentum, separate from human involvement. The rise in irrational hatred and violence is anything but that.
Anti-Jewish violence is not rising because we are getting further away from the Holocaust either. This shouldn't have to be said, but anti-Jewish hatred and violence is shockingly grotesque even if there had never been a Holocaust.
Thinkers are straining awfully hard to avoid naming the real energy behind the rise in anti-Jewish violence, and that's the rise of right wing political and religious extremism and white nationalism around the world, nowhere more than here in the US. Our avowed nationalist president praises the extremists and denigrates their protesters. He is the avatar of the movement.
If we don't name it we will never overcome it. No more euphemisms. No more pretending not to know.
3
Why now? One the far right it's a combination of a president who has made it clear that it's acceptable to speak out and act upon hate against minority groups as well as the fact there are so few left who bore witness to the Holocaust. I'm Gen-X, growing up in northern NJ and going into NYC it wasn't uncommon to see people who had numbers tattooed on their arms, marking them as survivors. The Holocaust was spoken of. My grandfather had liberated at least one death camp. It was made known to me how utterly unacceptable antisemitism is.
Then, not sure if you'd call it left or not, you have Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. He always seems to get a pass for his hate filled speeches and beliefs, including his rabid antisemitism.
What to do about it? Fight it everywhere you see it. That includes not sitting quietly when an acquaintance makes an antisemitic "joke" but instead speaking up. Of course the same goes for "jokes" about other ethnicities, races, gay people, bisexuals, transgender people, and each and every misogynistic one. If you stay silent you are part of it.
2
For once a shotgun, and someone in the congregation able and willing to use it, could have served a good purpose.
2
We all deserve the right to celebrate our superstitious beliefs without reprisal. It’s in The Constitution.
Hasidics are a discrete minority fundamentally different from the Jewish community at large. The Amish. Christian Scientists. Jehovah's Witnesses. An attack on discrete minorities says next to nothing about broader attitudes. And the targeted attack, however broad the perpetrator's language, is essentially confined to the discrete minority.
1
This will be unpopular. It may be untimely. But PART of what has to be done, in particular in terms of relations between African Americans and Haredi Jews, is for Haredi and other religoius Jews to do some self examination.
My niece is an ex-Chabad/Lubavitch and is still orthodox and lives in Crown Heights. She herself complains about the attitude of many Haredim towards HER, (she does not wear a wig and has kids) let alone towards Gentiles. We have all seen this. To Haredim a Reform Jew is a Shaygetz, a Goy.
Its fine to want to isolate in order to preserve. But this sense that is sometimes exuded, of superiority, and of acting as if other people dont even exist, or dont matter? No, that's not helpful.
There is also plenty of racism within the Haredi community towards African-Americans. My ex-Yeshiva bocher friend says he never heard the N word in his life as much as at the Lakewood Yeshiva, and at Yeshiva in Israel. Never mind attitudes towards "subhuman" Arabs.
My father, a well known NYC Rabbi, who had a visceral dislike for Jews of German descent (ours are from Poland) used to say years ago in the 60's, that German Jews have "all the warmth of Germans and all the humility of Jews." Well. Chutzpah, lack of humility before other humans, and an aggressive drive for success is a great trait for success (see: one D.Trump), but every knife cuts two ways. It can incur blowback.
Never would I say to blame victims. But victims can also be victimizers. See Ringlebaum diaries
7
@Sara Soltes AMEN
I’m sorry, but this is by no reasonable definition an “epidemic”. There are 5.2 million News in the United States, and in 2018 there were 835 “hate crimes” against Jewish people. That means 0.016% of Jews were victims of a hate crime. An epidemic is “affecting or tending to affect a disproportionately large number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time.”
This is by no means an epidemic.
4
As the child of holocaust survivors who chose to come to the United States, rather than Israel, I learned two things.
First, as crazy as it sounded, it could happen here.
Second, Israel was created as a Jewish state, because it could happen here.
We are nowhere near a genocide in the US, but people need to understand, this is exactly why Israel must survive as a Jewish state.
3
Anti-semitism is not making a comeback since it never went away.
Several things have happened to explain its reappearance from the cave it resides in. Far right Republicans and white supremacists, to the extent that distinctions between the two can still be made, are not to blame for the resurgence since their open animosity never abated. Far left Democrats, on the other hand, with their increasingly anti-Israel rhetoric have expressed views that come close to sounding anti-Semitic and sometimes defied attempts at making a distinction.
All this old and new disparagement of Jews would not have gained much new purchase if not for social media where a sizable portion of people in the US get their news and commentary.
So there you have it, old hatreds of Jews maintained by Christians for millennia now repackaged and broadcast through new media.
2
I am dissatisfied with both the inadequacy of and misconception inherent in Pete Buttigieg's address yesterday morning. He started out announcing (to dismayed gasps) and decrying the incident. So far, so good. But then he tried to blame it on people who "don't like people who are different from them."
Leave it to a mayor of a small city with few Jews to generalize this as just another incidence of bigotry. Anti-Semitism, while just as evil, isn't the same as other forms of bigotry. We Jews have been historically attacked and sought to be eliminated not just because we are "different." First we were persecuted because we refused to worship Jesus, but welcomed into the fold if we "saw the error of our ways" and converted. Then, starting in the late Renaissance, we were condemned because we "killed Christ" and were thus irredeemable. Then in the 19th century, as we managed to prosper in countries that accepted us, we were excoriated as venal and exploitive of the Christian majority. And after WWI, when returning German soldiers were unable to be employed, Hitler made us convenient scapegoats--and eventually sought to dehumanize us, restricting us to 200 calories a day and forced to beg in the streets before first being shoved into ghettoes and then sent to death camps.
All this is laid out in horrifying chronological order at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Visits to Holocaust museums, followed by discussion & study, should be mandatory for all schoolchildren from now on.
2
In this modern day, I can’t even understand why anyone is anti-Semitic. It is awful and fearful to experience this in this country. This needs to stop. Else, every minority group will be subjected to the same hate sooner or later. I worry especially because it is happening when the economy is great. This hate is simply because they are not you. This is dangerous, because it can’t see right and wrong.
2
It seems to me that one of the solutions here is not to separate anti-semitism from racism. Anti-semitism is a form of racism, which is itself an expression of tribalism—something very ancient. Getting rid of the “and” between anti-semitism and racism should make it impossible, or at least less likely, for Black people to attack Jews, as happened this weekend and previously in Jersey City. Of course, emphasizing that anti-semitism is racism might have no effect on people like the man who attacked the rabbi’s home. That man apparently wrote approvingly about Hitler in his journal, not realizing that people like himself were no more acceptable to Hitler than Jews were. But this blindness on his part may be due (I like to think, can only be due) to the mental illness his lawyer says he has. But the rest of us need to get back to the time when solidarity was the watchword among outgroups and the guiding principle was “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” I think a part of the reason for the surge in anti-semitism is that that sort of thinking—Martin Luther King’s—is so foreign to our loudmouth POTUS. The rest of us need to all rise up against all forms of racism, including anti-semitism.
2
How to respond to the horrible and terrifying increase in anti-Semitism in the US? Step 1: defeat President Trump in November. He has enabled, legitimized, and even glorified the white nationalist groups that foster it. Step 2: defeat President Trump in November. Step 3: did I mention defeating President Trump in November?
2
When you "look no further" than Donald Trump you miss seeing the actual perpetrators. Worse, this thinking provides cover to all the anti-Semites who have nothing to do with Donald Trump.
3
Education is key. There was a mandate in New Jersey that all schools include some aspect of the Holocaust in their curriculum. Fewer and fewer follow through on this mandate now. I have taught a theatre arts program for 25 years. The program is an annual forty-day residency which includes the adaption of a Holocaust survivor’s story to theatrical form. I rehearse the play for a period of five weeks with anywhere between 75-100 8th grade students, ending in two final public performances, one of which is a morning performance for students from public schools in the surrounding area, about 500 students attending each year. All schools receive materials pertaining to the play’s story and theme, excerpts from the play, and a visit to the schools to speak to the students about the Holocaust and the play, followed up by a question and answer period. The morning schools-performance, for many years, has had the good fortune of the survivors of the story attending and speaking to the students. This is where the reality of the Holocaust comes alive for them in a profound way. With so few survivors left, the mandate to educate all students about the Holocaust, from ages 12 and up, is more important now than ever.
51
@Dominique Then shouldn't the history of genocide be taught rather than just one? Does anyone believe that the holocaust was the only instance of genocide in human history? The list is long and loaded with multiple instances. Should one event be considered more important than the others? We need to behave better across the board rather than a focus on one group.
2
@B Mc
Yes, absolutely. If history were taught from a very different lens, especially in this country. If I could have it my way all of Howard Zinn's books should be texts for all students.
When you get in bed with dogs, you are going to get fleas. The comments section nicely demonstrates this. Support white nationalist and trump and this is what you get.
1
I am an Orthodox, Jewish psychiatrist I make the following statement without bigotry or malice and I speak from real world experience: At some point, does anyone have the guts to state the obvious, that profoundly mentally ill African Americans are targeting Chassidim in the New York area? This isn't a racist statement. It's a fact borne out from real data. Liberals love evidence based science. Let the data take you where it does and address the issues (mental illness in the African American community, homelessness, etc) aggressively.
9
The authors have failed to face the root cause of Jew hatred, and in so failing, have not called upon the community that must take action to stop it.
Simply put, Christianity created anti-Semitism. It is an integral part of the canon, Catholic or Protestant.
From deicide to blood libel, to church laws forbidding contact between Christians and Jews, which the Nazis copied, to the vile words of Martin Luther, to the yearly acting out of Jesus' trial in church, with some congregants playing the part of the Jews, yelling,"crucify him," Christianity manufactured anti-Judaism.
One can't recount 2000 years of demonization in this space.
But one can ask where is the voice of the church today as anti-Judaism spreads across Europe again, and in America.
So far, there is silence.
We need our church leaders, our Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, Catholics, etc., to raise their voices and condemn and say, Stop. It. Now.
Only those who began it can help end it.
6
"In a survey of American Jews by the American Jewish Committee, released in October, 31 percent of respondents said that they had taken steps to hide their Jewish identity in public, while 25 percent said that they now avoided Jewish sites. And this survey was conducted before the recent attacks in Jersey City and Monsey."
Please give me a break. People's perception of feeling unsafe is not an accurate barometer. You are a congresswoman and a CEO. Words matter. Stop using ones like "epidemic" so frivolously.
That's not to say that there isn't a problem; clearly, there is. But overdramatizing and randomly bringing up the Holocaust is not the way to do it. Do you genuinely think that the perpetrators of these crimes don't know about the Holocaust?
5
it is astounding that no one is willing to identify the most striking feature of the repeated attacks on Hasidic (and other "identifiable", if you like) Jews in NY and NJ. I guess it is not woke to point out that the NJ murders were committed by members of the Black Hebrew Israelite hate group, the Monsey stabbings were committed by a deranged African American man from Harlem, an assault last week on a mother with her child in Gravesend was committed by an African American woman, and the phenomenon of "knockout games," people attacking Jewish men and women in cowardly fashion with blows to the head, has come from young African American perpetrators.
There is an epidemic, but this article is talking about causes of general antisemitism, the kind that inspires white nazis a la Pittsburgh (and while we're at it, I assure you people who admire Hitler will not be dissuaded if only the holocaust is better remembered). And to put it bluntly, the local epidemic of antisemitism in NY
6
@Alex
The handling of the Covington high school students in DC demonstrated perfectly the problem. Everyone rushed to blame Christians, white males, pro-lifers, etc. -- in other words, progressives' usual suspects -- while failing to see what was right in front of their noses.
3
@Alex ugh I didn't mean to hit send midsentence. Now I'm going to get all the recommends from racists, until it's flagged and removed!
My point here is *not* to point fingers at the black community or to deny the scourge of white supremacist violence targeting Jews (or other minorities). Rather, it is to point out that it is extremely lazy, blinkered thinking to assume that bigotry and racism cannot fester and grow within a demographic that is itself victimized by bigots and racists.
The African American community has within it some conspiracy-minded fringe groups. This is not new, and the disempowered often favor conspiracy theories to simplify the answers to questions about ongoing failures to rise above more prosaic obstacles like poverty, crime, substance abuse, and broken family structures. It is far from unique to the black community, but it IS a contributing factor to violence from the very fringes.
To paraphrase Maya Angelou out of context, when Louis Farrakhan told us who he was, we should have listened the first time. it should astound no one that some percentage of his followers are open to acts of violence against random Jews, or blaming some jews for the actions of other ones real or imagined.
finally, anyone who thinks that the solution is an increased police patrol presence in NY neighborhoods with lots of neighboring Hasidim and African Americans is not thinking at all. this is an education problem.
1
It's interesting that the author considers anti-Semitism a social disease, and also the social media.
1
It seems a lot of these attacks have become more frequent since Trump became President. Face it. The biggest instigator of these attacks and on other minorities is none other than the President of the United States. A racist who fans these flames every time he opens his mouth. Disgusting.
3
When people in or associated with the Trump administration demonize Soros and suggest that he and unnamed “international financial interests” are behind illegal immigration and corruption, they are simply giving new voice to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Anti-Semitism comes from the Oval Office. Because their “base” is based on white nationalism and Christainism.
2
There are three ideological strains of Antisemitism prevalent today...Right-wing NeoNazi, the far Left, and Islamist. They form a noxious, toxic brew that will be very difficult to combat given how deeply indoctrinated these factions are.
Education is key, but that takes time to effect change. Until then, Jews must learn how to defend themselves...with more than words.
4
@Susanna
So you never heard of the IDF? Believe it or not, Jews are very capable of self defense.
It appears the homeowner should follow the example of the Texas church and have a self defense weapon available. Maybe all Jews should file for a gun license in NY based on the widespread threats against them.
4
There is almost no real info here on how to respond.
4
@Amy G
The only two concrete solutions I've seen are proposals to introduce educational measures in Brooklyn high schools (a majority of those attacks are committed by teens) and federal laws against anti-Semitic attacks.
1
This article is mind-blowing in its failure to even mention let alone discuss the role Donald Trump has played in unleashing the epidemic. Yes, there has always been anti-Semitism in the US. Yes there is a fading of knowledge about the Holocaust. Yes, the internet and social media have played a role in the current wave of anti-Semitism. But the role of these issues pales in comparison to the centrality of the role played by the leader of the US who is seen by the neo-Nazis, by the David Dukes, by the people who, if they had their way, would gleefully participate in exterminating the Jews in the US as encouraging and supporting their hateful activities. Donald Trump is seen by these groups as being their friend in the White House and as being their leader. Trump has unleashed the actions of members or admirers of these groups with has calls for beating up anyone who opposes him and his wink-and-a-nod statements like ‘there are good people’ in the mob chanting ‘Jews will not replace us’ while they were wearing and carrying the insignias of the Nazis and other hate groups. If Trump isn’t called out for his actions and inactions, violence against Jews becomes the new normal. Nita Lowery should know better than to put her name on such a defective article.
3
How possibly could you both ignore Trump as a generator of anti-Semitism among all the hatred and discrimination this great divider has spewed for three years.
2
@Richard C. Gross
He's an equal opportunity bigot.
This article misses the real causes for anti-Semitism. One of the most virulent and consistent is the anti-jewish preachments in countless christian churches across the land. They may not always come right out and say it as plainly as in the past but it is still there. The other reason this writer missed is the drumbeat of holocaust denial. Under the guise of free speech holocaust deniers have been allowed to spread their lies. Vicious lies about jews helped fuel the final solution. Most of the holocaust deniers go unchallenged or worse, they are invited to debate the subject which has the effect of legitimizing their absurd beliefs. Lies, hatred and scapegoating led the Germans to inflict the final solution. Lies, hatred and scapegoating, often engaged in by American politicians, will have the same effect and ending in America. It has already begun.
3
@JW Not in the Catholic Churches!
1
Anti-Semitism is always just a bit below the surface in Upstate New York and everywhere else in the United States.
3
The tactic used in Billings, Montana, reminds me of the action that the king of Denmark used during German occupation in World War II, who had every one of its citizens to wear the yellow Jewish Star, to save all of the Jewish lives of its citizens.
2
I would have chosen the word "endemic." Antisemitism is endemic to the US nation. However, yes. The recent surge in violence suggests a previously suppressed virulence.
I hadn't thought about an education gap between generations. I grew up exposed to films like "Schindler's List", "Band of Brothers" and "American History X." If that didn't get the message through, the school spent days introducing us to Holocaust survivors along with presentations about their experiences.
I never thought any of these experiences were odd. We lived around Jewish people. We were taught to understand their faith and cultural history. I still celebrate Passover with Jewish friends here in Utah. I have no idea how I found Jewish friends in Utah. I wasn't posting ads on Craigslist or anything. It just sort of happened.
This point highlights how my thinking is naive though. There really aren't many Jewish people in the US. Two percent of the US population according to Gallup. They tend to concentrate in areas in the Northeast, particularly New York and New Jersey. That leaves a whole lot of country with few if any Jewish people. My experience is not a common one.
Apparently that's a problem.
1
I think the demonization of George Soros brings about and exacerbates anti-semitism. Soros, as I understand it, is a major promoter of democracy around the world. Yet people who oppose him demonize him as some kind all powerful malign behind the scenes force. He actually is a strong supporter of human rights and democracy. Those who oppose him tend to be autocrats and those with fascistic tendencies. Trump and his personal lawyer have demonized Soros on a regular basis which reinforces the anti-semitic trope that Jews are some kind of malign behind the scenes force. So although Trump once and while says things in support of Jews, he also legitimizes and increases anti-semitism with his Soros bashing. With Trump and his supporters strongly attacking Soros on a regular basis, It should not be any surprise that anti-semitic attacks have sharply increased.
5
thanks for writing this. I've never understood the Soros attacks and yet see them as a sneaky way to demonize Jews universally by attacking him personally. it's odious. we need more democracy , not more fascism which is infecting nations on a worldwide basis. I see history repeating itself and it makes me nuts.
4
Anti-semitism starts slowly, seems to be isolated incidents, builds up momentum and then at some stage becomes an unstoppable runaway train, always with tragic results. This is a well written well reasoned article. Unfortunately most of the comments do not do it justice. The NYT needs to ensure that anti-semitic behaviour, language, tendencies and incidents are continually challenged, and never allowed to slip into the realm of "an accepted statistic".
3
"Some critics wish to exploit the issue to undermine their political opponents." For purely political purposes, supporters of the state of Israel have expanded the definition of anti-Semitic to no longer meet the laugh test. That makes it more difficult to take the problem of actual anti-Semitic behavior seriously.
2
Everything the authors say is true, but they avoid the heart of the truth: Anti-semitism, as all forms of hatred, comes from above.
We live in a society in which a powerful group of economic actors has chosen to align itself with an ultra-right-wing group of politicians and media outlets to foment hatred against minority groups and other members of the opposing political tendency.
This vile and cynical political deal is not aimed specifically against Jews this time, but once riled up, the usual suspects can and do act against the usual victims, including Jews. Let's not kid ourselves about where hatred in this country is coming from. It always lies beneath the surface, but it flourishes most when, every day, it receives the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.
If we want to end anti-semitism, or any other form of hatred, in the United States, the first step is to reestablish a society in which ALL forms of expressed hatred are considered unacceptable.
6
As a secular Jewish lesbian, I can't help but think of certain parallels faced by secular Jews and closeted gays. It was easy to hide and let the more recognizably gay people take the flak and then also resent them for being stereotypical just as it is easy to let the Orthodox and Hasidim be the object of attacks. What worked for gay people was to be "Out" not to hide. For that reason, I have taken to wearing my Star of David prominently. I can easily "pass" for other ethnicities. I want to make it clear that I am Jewish and proud of it. I invite my Jewish sisters and brothers to do the same. And I welcome any non-Jews who feel so inclined.
6
Is it possible that the term anti Semitism is being substituted for anti Hasidism? It seems like those being targeted in almost all these events are a specific group of people and while of the faith, are identified by appearance and garb. And, after looking at the videos on the news recently it appears that the attacks are being carried out in the New York area by other minorities. Are they feeling displaced and acting out?
2
@B Mc
Hasidic Jews are easily targeted because of their dress. The violence against them has been primarily in Brooklyn. There is a particular problem there.
2
What’s really amazingly inexplicable is how little the community did over the last three years to either denounce or stop Stephen Miller’s racialization hatred campaign against Central American refugees, complete with concentration camps , gratuitous deaths and separation of parents and children for life. News is of this awful policies has been carried around the world. Indeed, Ronald Lauder is a major bundler for Trump re-election. A life is a life and of equal value. Perhaps this is a time for reflection?
3
Hatred, no matter the source or the targets have no place in the United States of America. That is certainly true in our laws & the Constitution.
2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII; & the end of the Holocaust. People & nations around the world declared "Never Again" to such systematic & institutionalized oppression of any minority by any nation or group.
Unfortunately, these shared values & desires have not been the way we humans treat our fellow humans.
Here in the U.S., too many minorities seem to be open targets for those who cannot accept sharing their world with "outsiders".
Anti-Semitism & racism are two sides of the same coin. Even minorities can get caught up in hatred directed against another minority.
I am an American Jew. I am proud of who & what I am. I also take pride that our country is home for all minorities & of our diversity.
I will not shy away from my identity. People of color don't have the ability to hide who they are. Nor should they. Nor will I!
Those who wave the Confederate Battle Flag are choosing sides against what America stands for. That flag is a symbol of treason & oppression. In truth, that flag is no different than another flag which evokes fear in so many. The Nazi Swastika. The Confederate Battle Flag is the American equivalent to the Nazi Swastika. Anyone who would wrap themselves in either doesn't embrace what America means!
Hatred must be fought on all levels. That includes looking at ourselves & how we treat each other.
2
I am a Jew who has worked in blue Collar jobs my entire life,I have always hid who I was.Most people when they have figured it out we’re fine with it.Others would say I’m different and accepted me.Though when they did not know they would ALWAYS claim the owners were Jews or acted like Jews.This also occurred amongst my liberal friends.Antisemitism has always been strong it is the violence that has now made the Jewish community take notice for many of the reasons stated in this piece.
We just wanted to believe we were accepted.Most of us are professionals and work with a more educated class and therefore have limited exposure to working class people.That is not to say antisemitism doesn’t exist in college educated people.I once had a plant manager for a very large corporation tell me Jews are good with numbers.A Purdue graduate at that!I believe that most people are tolerant though can turn on a dime and look the other way,that’s just the human condition.This is taught to people,it comes from the home, family,friends,yes churches and mosques.Unfortunately we now know we are not accepted as we once thought we were.This is why Israel exits,for a place where we can just be and defend our human right to simply breathe!
5
The arming of themselves in the Texas church is what needs to be done in synagogues and mosques and every house of worship. The first line of defense is the people.
2
This country elected a president who, while he claims he is not anti-Semitic, certainly encourages all kinds of hateful actions and statements. I've seen name calling and vicious verbal attacks before but those were nowhere near what has been going on since Trump ran for president. The GOP has done nothing to discourage these things. From Charlottesville to the murders at the kosher deli Trump and the GOP have played the platitude game. Thoughts and prayers mean nothing. How about making it clear that this sort of hatred, anti-Semitic or otherwise, is not acceptable in America?
I'm Jewish. I'm also a lesbian. I have a handicapped brother. I have never felt so compelled as I have since Trump took office to hide who I am from other Americans. Even being bullied at school was less frightening than the attitudes I've witnessed since the 2016 election. It's not a matter of being a "snowflake" to be upset when people say hateful things. I've read about pre-WWII Germany. What happened there is being duplicated here. If our memories are so short that we need another genocide to refresh them we haven't made any progress at all on learning to tolerate each other.
4
This is not about America, it’s a much more global problem. It’s been socially acceptable for a few years to voice antisemitic ideas, particularly among Christians. Antisemitism never disappeared after the war of course, but it was not ok to be an antisemite, and in most Western countries people who voiced antisemitic ideas were prosecuted. Then, things changed.
A few years ago, I got a new job teaching in a French rural junior high, and noticed students were embracing neo-nazi ideologies. France does a rather good job of teaching the Holocaust, and my students, who were 14 or 15, clearly knew about it. I tried talking to the students, then to other teachers, and finally to the principal. I was met with a painful absence of outrage.
The students were indoctrinated through the internet, I was told, and would counter my arguments with ready-made responses. Apathy was advised. At long last, I reached out to an anti-racist organization, but they thought pedagogy was the answer. No one ever thought of the Jewish students who attended the school. Voicing antisemitic opinions is against the law in France, how could these kids have felt? Let down? Terrified?
When I was a kid my teachers would never have tolerated a student voicing antisemitic ideas, now it’s somewhat ok. Pedagogy is indeed necessary but it does include clearly stating that some ideas are abhorrent and unacceptable. Otherwise, teaching the Holocaust is giving some students a user’s guide to genocide.
3
The head of the ADL, Greenblatt, pointed out that anti-semitism comes in several forms. It's now all over the internet. People feel it's permissible to openly and negatively stereotype Jews, from Adelson to Soros.
He is pushing for Congress to pass federal laws against this type of terrorism. In New York, there is a greater need for increased law enforcement protections.
3
The shooting at the Texas church provides the answer to this problem.
Unfortunately, we Jews need to learn how to use weapons, and we need to arm ourselves.
Up until recently I thought guns were not helpful, but had the Chasidim in Monsey been armed, the perpetrator might have been stopped before innocent people were hurt.
I am not happy at coming to this conclusion, but I don't see any other solution.
While I am grateful to the police departments who valiantly protect us, they cannot be everywhere. We need to help ourselves.
Meir Kahane was not wrong after all.
For every Jew, a .22.
4
"Like an epidemic, it must be treated comprehensively, addressing root causes."
I see no evidence here of "addressing root causes"; not in the opinion piece and not in most comments. As studied in the Economist (October 12) anti-Israel and anti-Semitic beliefs are correlated. What Israel does has an impact on the Jewish community. Ignoring this root cause is simply foolish. The Jewish community needs to speak up forcefully against the policies and actions of the extremist government in Israel. This is a good part of "how to respond".
3
It can’t happen here. Yet it can and it is. This year is endn an epidemic of anti-Semitism.
One year after Pittsburg I would like to report that the attacks have dissipated. That vandalism has stopped. That buildings are no longer defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti, cemeteries desecrated, and swastikas have disappeared from walls of schools. I would like to report that anti-Semitism has faded, retreated into the recesses of memory.
I would dearly like to say I no longer live in fear. I can’t say any of that. Anti-Semitic acts just like my anxiety have not ebbed.https://wp.me/p2qifI-4EY
1
It is hard to believe that the article failed to mention the role of Trump, his divisiveness, his explicit condoning of violence, and his white supremacist supporters, in making attacks like this more likely. While Trump does, on occasion, denounce antisemitism, legions of white supremacists and neo-Nazis "forgive" him for such politically expedient platitudes as they remain convinced that the man who called people chanting "Jews will not replace us" while carrying neo-Nazi flags "very fine people."
Trump has removed much of the stigma from blatant antisemitism and white supremacy. Dog whistles have been replaced by bullhorns. How can we claim to be surprised when some deranged individuals seize upon this new climate of hate?
It does not matter if the terrorist in this case was a Trump supporter or a Trump hater. He exists in an America where proposing a "second amendment solution" to a perceived political challenge has become normalized, thanks to our Commander in Chief. The divisiveness and hatred Trump spreads infects people of all stripes.
Anti-semitism is and has been part of American culture for a long time. The recent violence against Jews, as horrific as it was, is really nothing new. A look at the FBI Hate Crime statistics over the past 20 years is revealing.
In 2000, Jews represented 75% of the victims of all religiously based hate crimes. The second leading group were Muslims accounting for 2% of victims. By 2010, Jews represented 65% of victims while Muslims now represented 13% of victims. What's notable here is that during that decade we experienced 9/11 and the ensuing Iraq and Afghanistan wars causing tens of thousands of American killed and wounded and yet, the Jews still dominated religious hate crimes.
The latest hate crime statistics (2018) show that Jews still constitute the group most plagued by religious hate crimes (58%) with Muslims at 15%.
So, in answer to the headline of this column (How to Respond to the Anti-Semitic Attack in Monsey, N.Y.), it certainly doesn't lie in anything that has been done before probably because anti-Semitism is systemic in our culture since the original colonists brought with them, not only slavery, but the ancient anti-Semitism of Europe.
2
Antisemitism makes no sense because Jesus was a Jew. How can some Christians hate Jews and Judaism but claim to love the message and the life of Jesus? The Jewish faith is the foundation of Christianity, as in Judeo-Christian. Do people not know that the Last Supper was a Passover meal and that a Catholic mass is symbolic of it? We just celebrated the birth of Jesus and his message of love; how terrible that so many choose not to live it.
3
Sadly, Anti Semitic views have always been present. I was raised in a Christian home and taught that bigotry and racism were a sign of ignorance. We’ve done a poor job of late in instilling in our youth the acceptance of others.
5
Interesting use of the phrase "social disease"! That usually means STDs....
They actually don't have enough for me . . . : The real problem.
How does America respond to this epidemic of anti-Semitic attacks? By finally opening our eyes to the hatred that is in nearly half our citizens. And not only hatred against Jews - but hatred against any ethnic or religious minority in this country.
Hate crimes against all minority groups have skyrocketed since Trump took office. Hardly a surprise with a "president" who tells his loyal base that the KKK and neo-Nazis are some very fine people.
But it is time for those who are not Trump voters to finally - finally, open your eyes. This hatred is not just from some very small fringe of our society. Some forty percent of Americans are thrilled that we have Hispanic infants and children in internment camps on our soil.
My inlaws are Holocaust survivors. My mother-in-law lost most of her family in Theresienstadt. My own ancestors survived the Armenian Genocide. Throughout the year after Trump's election, our family knew what we were seeing - the rise of hatred from an extremely large segment of white Americans - Americans who love Trump because he tells them they are the only "real" Americans.
Since that time, our family has secured a home outside the U.S. And we are fortunate that we may breathe a bit easier now. Many, many more Americans who are neither white nor Christian will be targets in the coming years. We understood what we were seeing. This will not end well. We would beg those of you who do not support Trump to wake up - to understand how real the threat is.
3
While you can outlaw hate-crimes you can't outlaw hate.
You can increase police presence, which is about all you can do, plus after the fact, you can prosecute vigorously.
3
Today's antisemitism can be traced back to the time when developing Christianity took umbrage that Jews remained Jews, did not become Christians like Paul. From this developed the lie Jews killed Jesus, when it was the Roman Empire (which later hijacked Christianity). Read Jesus by Charles Guigenbert who held the Christianity chair at the Sorbonne in the 1930s.
The lie persists because it was promoted by the Catholic Church and European monarchs, did not die with the Protestant revolution, and carried over to my lifetime having it heard it over and over again as I was growing up. Officially, it has been repudiated by the Church, but lives on in an increasingly smaller part of our population. It is a huge problem, but not an epidemic unless local and state governments refuse to enforce the law. It was the subversion of the rule of law that led to the Holocaust.
That Christianity promoted antisemitism is ironic because Jesus, a Jew never intending become a Christian, taught love your neighbor and love your enemy. Buddha, of course, taught: identify and kill your enemy--referring to one's mental delusions such as antisemitism.
1
First, start with taking down hate filled social media. Second, make it a major crime for racist or anti Semitic hate speech. That’s a good start. Finally, we all need to be on the lookout for people who could be dangerous.
2
We must also see the anti-Semitism in the larger context of violent hostility in the religious sphere overall. An attack on Jews in Monsey, and another church shooting in Texas. What will it come to, having to go through a check like we do in airports so we can feel a modicum of safety in places of worship? Or for the religious leaders in general?
Even all our attempts at gun control, though they might be somewhat helpful wouldn't have mattered in Monsey as a knife based weapon was used in that attack. But still, when mass shootings, mass attacks overall are increasing, in WalMarts, schools, places of worship, we need to do something. This level of "normal" in unacceptable. Period.
The rise in anti-Semitism was completely predictable when Trump demonized “The Other” as groups to be vilified and hurt—“those Mexican rapists,” “those Muslim terrorists.”
Once a group is seen as Other, then you can do very bad things to them—because they are not you.
Jews who support Trump because he “pro-Israel” are sowing the seeds of their own destruction.
The essence of compassion and spirituality is to everyone as one in spirit. There is no Other; we are That.
4
When the New Zealand massacre happened earlier this year, I remember coming out of Friday prayer to find our Jewish neighbors in NYC standing outside in solidarity. To me, this was a high point of the year, what happened to the Hasidic community this week and at the kosher shop in Jersey City earlier could very well be the low points of the year. This country need to confront all its ills, compounded they lead us to become by far the most violent country in the western world. The rise of anti semitism is alarming and should be confronted but there is one or two violent attacks on some “group” every week in this country. We cannot divorce the current rise of all sort of discrimination and attacks from the divisive behavior of the current president but we can also add that his election exposed a major rift in this country between geographies, ethnicities, religions etc... that we all worked hard to abolish and thought it already vanished, we were obviously mistaken and need to think through how best to manage our differences in a peaceful way. Until we close this dark chapter in our existence as a nation, we need to all stand guard to protect our Jewish neighbors and everyone else that is fearful for their safety as they go about their daily life.
56
@MR Thanks for your comment. As a Jew (not orthodox, but educated) I appreciate your comment and sentiment. At times like these I feel isolated when there is no response from other communities, but your comment makes the difference.
2
The education system in the US had traded in US and European history for a PC curriculum. There is almost no time spent in school on the world wars or Vietnam. Time to reassess. To paraphrase George Santayana, those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.
4
Unbelievably, the authors do not mention the attitude of hate and violence that Trump has aroused in his base ... not against Jews, but against other "suspect" groups. Those who hate do not see this fine distinction; they view his rhetoric and approval as giving them license to commit violence against any person or group that they consider "other," non-American. And that certainly includes Jews. What the authors suggest as a response is sadly ineffective. Since Trump will not do anything meaningful, Democrats must make an issue of this in the 2020 campaign so that people put this in the equation when they decide for whom to vote.
3
The State of New York released most of the disturbed inmates from institutions years ago but then never followed up with the money and structures to care for them in the smaller housing units promised.
Isn't the Monsey attack the result of not handling mentally disturbed people properly?
3
Antisemitism must be opposed. But we must do so in the name of a nonsectarian country, that accepts and protects the symbols of all faiths. Even those that are not under attack, because they will be.
2
Has anyone here heard of self-defense and of the deterrence it produces? In the Texas shooting, the church congregation included a few armed and trained parishioners. Result: the shooting lasted six seconds and there were only two casualties -- one of them the attacker.
Do you suppose there is a lesson in that for us to ponder and act on?
3
What a timid statement! It goes from bewailing recent antisemitic violence to referencing the Holocaust -- a necessary polemical flourish when discussing contemporary Jewish issues -- to asserting that antisemitism has always existed and will always remain the "world's oldest social disease". (This assertion seems to suggest that there is nothing that can be done which justifies their timidity.) They conclude with platitudes about the need for education and understanding. The only useful thing they offer is the need for solidarity with the victims of hate.
This kind of timidity in the face of the rising fascist tide is not what is needed now. We need to understand that the rise in antisemitic violence is connected to the hateful right-wing ideologies that are becoming increasingly toxic and anti-democratic. We need public displays of solidarity with the targets of hate. But we also need political solidarity against these right-wing ideologies and political movements.
2
I'm just a secular guy from Seattle, America's most "unchurched" city, where religion isn't really "a thing" and nobody much knows or cares what religion, if any, anyone practices, few people wear any religious symbols or garb in daily life, and "church chat" doesn't much happen. I like it that way.
So I read this article and I peruse these comments and I am left utterly confused as to whether anti-Semitism as currently observed in the U.S. is emanating from "the right" or "the left". Some here want to blame Trump. Some want to blame African-Americans. Some blame Republicans; others blame Democrats (and some particular D members of Congress). Some want to blame social media. In many cases, there is no agreement as to what the definition of anti-Semitism even is (and there is that tiresome debate as to what level of criticism of Israel is "allowed"). It's all very muddy. I think there needs to be a scholarly, objective, honest synthesis of what's going on and what the root causes are.
I suppose my net take is "anti-Semitism = bad"; "recent incidents = bad"; "condemn anti-Semitism = must do". But, also, in terms of discrimination and overcoming negative stereotypes and lacking access to opportunity and having resumes rejected on the basis of name alone, not to mention getting harassed or killed by cops, it is probably far more difficult to be Black or Hispanic or LGBT in America than it is to be Jewish.
6
Hate crimes have increased immensely during the Trump admistration.
He actively supports white supremacists, and the chants of "Jews will not replace us!"
This man has no moral compass. He used to be pro-choice. Evangelicals laud him, but he has no church, no belief. I find it sad that these otherwise fine people with good beliefs would align themselves with a man who has defied the Constitution, as so plainly stated by our founders, and expects to be a King.
My fellow people, you might look more closely at your belief in a man whom I believe is derailing this country. OUR country.
"Why now?"
Because Trump has freed racists and bigots to come out from the shadows.
I find it pretty amazing that Representative Lowey fails to address Trump. Perhaps it's part of the reason she's retiring - not wanting to deal with Trump and his White Nationalism.
The men chanting with torches in Charlottesville was a display of Trump's America. "Fine people" according to Trump.
“What can be done to stop such incidents?”
Electing people to office that will support their entire community, not just their base.
Vote Democratic in 2020.
Every office, every seat.
Change our government for the better.
4
We now live in a culture of hate, fear mongering, distrust of media, ignoring experts and data, anger, and absence of norms. WHAT'S DIFFERENT NOW? ..... Previously Bombings, shootings, riots and more were part of our history - Oklahoma City, Columbine, LA riots, and others - all races and beliefs. But they were isolated - there were copy cats and repeats but not "trending" - - - AND leaders on both sides of the aisle and across races and religions and liberal and conservative knew the norms and spoke out with SINCERITY ....... WHAT'S DIFFERENT NOW? Somehow in our democracy and checks and balances governance - one person has put everyone and their children's future at risk.
1
Anti-Semitism is abhorrent, vile, indeed on the uptick, and needs to be eradicated. It is the terrible by-product of recent political events around the world.
However, it is becoming apparent that this horrific attack should not be equated with the Pittsburgh shootings or the Jersey City incident. It appears that the attacker was severely mentally disturbed, and while his actions are completely indefensible, he may himself be a sort of victim of another scourge - the lack of proper understanding and care for the mentally ill.
@Northern Wilf
Agreed about the lack of concern and treatment for the mentally ill. However, this man did not just shoot at random people randomly. He chose his victims and drove directly to them. There is something else at work here, and that cannot be ignored.
1
Re “the declining confidence in liberal democracy.” Willfully ignoring the elephant in the room, that is the current increase in income and wealth inequality, and the failure of our democracy to deliver greater equality, will not help us get to grips with this problem. The lesson of history is the antisemitism is often a scapegoat in times of economic duress.
Thanks heaven for little favors! Had this man had access to an automatic weapon, had he come from a household stockpiled with guns, the tragedy would have been far worse. I pray to God none of the victims die as they, and many others, most certainly would have, had the perpetrator been equipped with firearms.
Could these attacks be against religious groups seen as extreme, if the attackers are from a different religious group? Houses of the gods of each group seem to be an easy way to identify those who are perceived as different. From the attackers point of view these are easy targets.
With a president who is a "hate cheerleader" making excessive news coverage, the crazies of all strips feel he has their back thus they are justified in acting out.
There have always been bad actors who hate and will do violence to those they discriminate against. But in this age of bad hateful leaders around the world, hate crimes and terrorism follow t hff air example and abound.
These hateful leaders are presidents, their advisors representatives, talking heads on radio, TV, cable, blogs, bots, etc.
President Obama's decency alone was not enough against Trump and promoters of the birther story and conspiracy theories. But Christ was alone too! Every voice for decency counts and makes a difference. Vote for decency and against leaders of hate in 2020.
I wholly understand the need for the media to parse their words. But, as an individual citizen, I am not concerned with blow-back from telling the truth outright.
The question is, do you think this could've happened under Obama? Not only that...would he have stayed silent about it? Would Obama have allowed an 'epidemic' of hate and anti-semitism to blossom under his watch?
There's no debate. Trump has fanned the flames of hatred across this country in a strategic attack on religious and ethnic minorities in America.
Trump encourages and facilitates white nationalism and extremism.
Period.
2
"These attacks violate everything that Americans should hold dear. An attack on any American group is a threat to the pluralistic fabric of our nation."
Amen to that. I applaud the authors for calling a spade a spade, because you can't fight a problem without recognizing it as such.
I felt sick reading how one third of Jews recently surveyed said they were taking pains to hide their identity, while a quarter avoided places of worship and other recognizably Jewish places.
In discussing the rise in these hate crimes, the authors didn't mention one thing that's contributing to this epidemic of anti-semitism: white nationalism.
White nationalism used to be kept under wraps, but in the past 3 years, it's blasted powerfully out in the open. While we can't expect this particular administration to speak out against its supporters, the rest of us should react as forcefully as the people of Billings did with the menoras, with action as well as words.
1
i agree with everything in this essay. But as to "How to Respond", the authors unfortunately offer very little. Particularly imponderable is the problem of "lone wolves", especially those demonstrably suffering from severe mental illness. At the risk of seeming to countenance quietism, however, I'd call attention to what the authors call the "copycat" phenomenon; a list of anti-semitic episodes on the ADL website includes a swastika traced in the snow; a fake gun brandished in front of someone who was Jewish; and a swastika at a boardwalk. Juvenile delinquency has to be separated out from murderous violence.
Many people seem to blame our current president for
outbursts of violent antisemitism.I don’t think it is that simple, antisemitism is on the rise in many European countries, which have different heads of state.
There might be different root causes of racism and antisemitism in different countries, but ultimately we need to blame ourselves or at least some citizens of those societies, not only the leaders.
1
If you want to understand the radical source of any delusion -- and it is delusional to be powerfully invested in a belief that you hate an entire population of innocent people you do not know -- you have to look at the pain and injury that families inflict on their children, the felt need to project and rationalize that pain, and the social traditions that make it too easy to turn this or that social group into your poison container. The problem will always be familial first, intrapsychic next, and societal last.
This may not be your America, nor is it mine, but it most definitely is the American currently being forged in the image of Trump.
1
I am heartsick for my Jewish brothers and sisters, and for all of us who value liberal democracy. Two points to add to this excellent op-ed. We need to flood social media with messages of non-violent resistance to hate, and we need to demand accountability from the tech giants. How? Just for example, they could ping accounts with a "Captcha" style test message and then silence the bots that do so much to amplify hateful lies.
35
Antisemitism didn't begin or end with the Holocaust, and it is certainly not a new phenomena here in the US. I don't need history books to tell me what it was like as a child to be beat up excluded and harassed because I was a "dirty Jew". The only thing surprising about the recent events are that they are surprising to so many. For centuries the Jews have been the canary in the coal mine. As countries disintegrate they need a scapegoat and the Jews are made for the job. What starts with the Jews doesn't end with the Jews.
Too many of us mistakenly think that outrage and goodwill and love will eradicate this hate It will not. My advice for the ultra orthodox is to spend less time studying Torah and more time learning self defense. As for the rest of the Jews----get a gun.
4
I can imagine these Jewish people must have been scared to death upon learning that this intruder was out to harm them. Thank God nobody was killed.
1
Jews are safer in Holy Land(Israel) than any part of the world. It took more than TWO THOUSAND YEARS, to create that state. Need to live there, than any where else in the world.
3
@Trevor Diaz Trevor, I'm not clear as to
what point you are trying to make. Are you saying that Jews should NOT live anywhere else than Israel? Could you clarify? Thank you.
1
This president has made racist, homophobic and neo nazi followers and rants acceptable. He created this environment where Black people in nice apartments are seen as thieives or worse, or sleeping in an Ivy league rest area seen as an intruder.
The irony of the most recent assaults is that they are happening to ultra conservative Jews who mostly voted for Trump.
That does not in any way make the attacks acceptable but there is a lesson there to be learned.
6
Mr. Thomas has a broken brain. The article doesn't address this at all.
1
@Marcia Clearwater
I think you missed the over-arching point. Thomas's act was simply a starting point for a larger discussion.
1
Coal miner used to bring canaries down in mines as a protection against toxic gas.
Jews are the canaries of our society. When toxic xenophobia is spreading are the Jews usually the ones first affected , in my Sweden in peaceful and safe Norway in the rest of Europe and definitely in USA .
We cannot dismiss the impact of your “president “ the hate oozing out of the Oval Office is triggering these haters
12
Perhaps all Americans should start wearing yarmulkes, to show solidarity.
17
Anti-semitism? The word has lost its meaning ever since it was appropriated by zionists to use as a cudgel against anyone who is opposed to Israeli government policies. In the various comments here Omar and Tlaib are falsely accused of anti-semitism. Epidemic of anti-semitism? Yawn. Call me when cops start shooting Jews in the street or killing them in custody. As happens to Black people with heartbreaking frequency.
6
Wrong answer. I am a committed opponent of Zionist supremacy. I seek to convince Jews that zionism is a death trap for them, in addition to a crime against the Palestinians. That makes me all the more committed to an unconditional and implacable fight against Jew hatred. It is a crime and a poison to any liberation struggle. Anti-Semitism was created in the middle ages precisely by the ruling rich to derail struggles by oppressed and exploited peasants into Jew hatred in order to protect the rich. The struggle by Black workers against police brutality, and for tenant rights is betrayed and destroyed by anti-semitism. The crank theories of anti-semitism peddled by Henry Ford, the Rockefellers and Kennedys and their ilk, were aimed at weakening the union of workers. Anyone who gives an inch to anti-semitism is an enemy of all oppressed and exploited peoples, and all freedom struggles.
Some officials have not reacted responsibly to this attack: Declaring it an act of terrorism with no backing evidence, and assuming it must have been mainly driven by anti-Semitism, without bothering to wait for more information first, e.g. investigations now suggest the perpetrator had no extended involvement with anti-Semitism or hate groups, but a long history of mental illness.
Anti-Semitism is a old scourge, on an upsurge recently, though so far without the wide popular support of past centuries.
What this episode regrettably suggests, however, is that some journalists and politicians are part of the problem. It is not possible to combat anti-Semitism with high effectiveness without understanding clearly why and how it is spreading, and it is difficult to vigorously pursue such an understanding if sensationalism and prefab talking points are given priority over gathering facts.
In New Zealand, an act of systematically premeditated terror and mass murder by military assault weapon was met by a prime minister who immediately called for banning such weaponry, and quickly got the legislature to enact such a ban.
Would that America had leaders of such ethical fortitude. Unfortunately, the insane lack of normal sensible gun regulation in the US makes deadlier tragedies more likely than not. And adopting wacko ideas of arming the entire population would be madness gone national. Monsey should be a wake-up call, not taken as an opportunity for lip service and soundbites.
3
Please do ot exclude Republican men in crisis. That included Bush brothers, and Kaich and others. We need to nominate someone not as polarizing a Bernie and elezabeth but someone who will mak them comfortable votin for the Democratic nominees for Prfesident and Senate. Do not disect the citizenry. Make a essage that reflects Tolerance for ALL, not hatred for superrich, white evangelicals, non-urban residents, middle American states,. We all ONE America and We are all equal. If we say we have a big tent, then that tent must make everyone feel welcome an respected.
1
(Part 2 - Sorry. Kept getting booted out despite not being over limit)
Antisemitism is also not rational (albeit is often rationalized). Hate is not rational. However, both are a serious blight causing effective negative outcomes. (The latter helps define why the large numbers of the common cold are not considered epidemic while much smaller numbers of Ebola are).
Love, care, compassion, empathy, & a higher order of relating to others are also not rational dynamics. But I beleive these & their effects are the basis for civilized & forward thinking (if not transformational) responses.
I am 66. I am not Jewish. I do work in accessibility with my wife who is blind (and with many other vertebrae of our global community). All good sincere work is generally good.
I also find that continued efforts to include ourselves in the lives & ways of all persons serves to enlighten *all* of us.
One solution the authors omit is to encourage real inclusiveness among American Jews.
As a Jew myself, I have experienced the "chosen people" effect which includes an overwhelming goal of Jews to only marry other Jews (ie one whose mother is Jewish). It's also astronomically difficult to convert to Judaism, especially to the more orthodox wings.
If you read Yiddish as I do, you can read in their children's books the recurring teaching of keeping separate from the "lesser" gentiles.
While this in no way justifies hatred and violence, the exclusive attitude and acts of many Jews are decidedly not part of an "inclusive vision for this country" and should not be overlooked as contributing part of the problem.
6
@American Abroad
Ever consider there may be a reason for that?
1
@American Abroad The Jewish inter-faith marriage rate in the US is over 50% (Per Pew survey from 2013). So your first point doesn't hold up although given that stat, it would make sense for American Jews to find other Jews to marry to avoid the complete disappearance of non-Orthodox Jewry in this country.
The rest of your post is victim blaming preceded by protest that it is not.
1
A clear statement from Trump, Pence, McConnell, Pelosi and every elected official including our police leaders that any violence against any minority citizen is a crime and against the very tenets of our democracy… would be a good first step at this point.
5
One way to help stem the tide of such hate crimes is to say more about the suspects. The NY Times usually identifies the victims by race, ethnicity or religion, but says nothing about suspected perpetrators. If similar information were given about the suspect(s), the number of such incidents might well be reduced.
A lot of people in the comments section seem to be interested in playing the blame game. (Some strange combination of Trump, political correctness, Democrats, and racial Nationalism seem to be the prime suspects this time.) I would like to make a suggestion.
I am not Jewish. I’m not Muslim. And I’m not a student. But if I was, I would insist that my place of worship and school had proper security. And that means metal detectors at the doors, and security guards with guns and proper training. It’s a sad reality in America, but I’d rather accept it than become a victim. Matter of fact, any location that doesn’t have that level of basic operational security is bordering on negligence in 2020. Shootings will happen. The question is how to reduce them, and their impact.
I’m aware of the hackneyed political debate that is gun regulation, and I can even understand both sides of the argument at some level. But in the last 20-30 years of bickering, America has not become a safer place. Much the opposite. So here’s to the Third Way: metal detectors and security.
1
@Luke Metal detectors and security don't always work. The school in Parkland had security. The church in Texas had security. The problem of mass murder, especially of minorities, is not solved by more metal detectors and guns. As this article points out, part of the problem is hate, especially hate being used as a political tool.
This was someone’s home
1
@Jackie Yeah, now we each need a bodyguard.
Socioeconomic factors create so many ills. When people are under stress or feel threatened, many lash out...just like Trump.
If one needs evidence of the dangerous tribalism in our society - simply read through these comments. I am appalled to see the vitriol against so many people.
There is no one cause for anti-semitism, just as there is no one cause for racial divide.
Just stop it and read what is here.
The growing number of attacks are horrific.
Hopefully Homeland Security and the FBI are keeping a close watch on haters both online and in public forums to protect us and other at risk groups from larger scale attacks.
There need to be strong penalties for hate speech because of the violence it leads to. This epidemic of hate has spread from the corners of the internet and is being mainstreamed by political support for it. The mental violence turns into violent disruptive actions that shock us daily. Please punish the hate. We don't want it to be free speech. It is not free because of the price it imposes on all who suffer from its sick consequences.
I agree one hundred percent with Congr. Lowey and Mr. Harris. Anti-Semitic violence is an epidemic which must be stopped immediately. I also agree with the Simon Wiesenthal Institute, which has proposed a national FBI task force on the subject. The time to act is now.
I am a harsh critic of Trump but to pin these acts on him is stretching it. As an immigrant from South Asia I always heard comments about Jews. These comments stretched from admiration to antisemitism with a mix of jealousy over their success in many areas except for sports. If one takes the point of admiration it is an inspiring story of success and it should push others to achieve the same success. To me their success is a source of inspiration to do well and therefore it was easy for me to have many friends who are Jews. Hatred towards them is difficult for me to understand.
4
@SridharC "...a mix of jealousy over their success in many areas except for sports."
Don't tell that to Sandy Koufax and a bunch of other major leaguers. Or Max Baer or the rest of the tough Jewish boxers from the Forties and the Fifties.
1
While my heart is heavy to learn of yet more senseless violence aimed at a specific minority group, I cannot help but notice a trend in coverage that reflects a sort of hierarchy of concern here. One cannot help but wonder why the say consistent yearly increase in murder rates of trans women of color, or say unchecked intimate partner violence that escalates in murder on a daily basis-do not garner the same level of public outcry or headline news coverage that these recent acts of hate violence against the Jewish do. All of these incidents of violence reflect the world in which mass shooting/hate violence has become a daily occurrence now. What is truly remarkable is how unmentioned the demographic statistics that link these random acts of hate motivated violence still remain. Statistics that reflect a majority of Caucasian male perpetrators appear to be conspicuously absent from the editorial coverage about why/where this violence originates, and begs the question as to how long it will truly take for America to actually confront its white male supremacist reality instead of conveniently sidelining the blame onto the mentally ill.
5
When I was a kid about 12 years old, I became friends with a gentile kid in my neighborhood who was a few years older than me.
We spent the better part of two summers hanging around together, going swimming, playing ball, going to movies that you could get into for a dime, walking through distant neighborhoods looking for stores to buy baseball cards from and riding city buses to the ends of their lines to see what was there.
One hot summer afternoon, we were sitting on the curb in front of a drug store and he turns to me all-of-a-sudden-like and apropos of nothing says in a very serious tone of voice, “I’m never gonna forgive you people for killing Santa Claus.”
I was stunned.
Even at 12, I knew he was dead serious, there was no convincing him otherwise and that the best thing to do was stand up and walk away before things got out-of-hand, which I did, and that was the last time in my life I ever laid eyes on him.
A few years ago, I did an internet search for him and discovered that he had had a very successful professional life, was a multi- millionaire, was a beloved business mentor to many young people throughout the country and was extremely well thought of in the high-business and social circles he traveled in.
Whether he ever had any further revelations or a serious change of heart about the killing of Santa Claus is something I can’t tell you, but I doubt it.
5
Culture starts at the top and that is where action on this issue is needed. Will someone please read this column to Trump, who appears to be incapable of reading anything himself? It may even be short enough to fit within his minuscule attention span.
1
James Baldwin:
"When we were growing up in Harlem our demoralizing series of landlords were Jewish, and we hated them. We hated them because they were terrible landlords, and did not take care of the building. A coat of paint, a broken window, a stopped sink, a stopped toilet, a sagging floor, a broken ceiling, a dangerous stairwell, the question of garbage disposal, the question of heat and cold, of roaches and rats--all questions of life and death for the poor, and especially for those with children--we had to cope with all of these as best we could. Our parents were lashed to futureless jobs, in order to pay the outrageous rent. We knew that the landlord treated us this way only because we were colored, and he knew that we could not move out."
5
@mijosc
And your point is?
Yes, a good example on how the poison of anti-semitism drips into the working class. I had similar experiences growing up in the Black community in Philadelphia where most of the corner stores and deli's were Jewish owned, precisely because Jews were relegated to the lowest rung of the capitalist class. Precisely because of the proximity of the exploitative relationship, potential competitors and more backwards elements like preachers in the Black community successfully pushed Jew hatred cloaked as Black nationalism. Today the Jewish owners are mostly replaced by Asian immigrants as the hated exploitative interlopers. Anti-semitism is innate to the ruling rich after hundreds of years promoting and using it against workers. The poison of anti-semitism must be implacably and unconditionally fought by all working people. No freedom struggle will succeed if it is derailed into anti-semitism. Not for nothing were Mandela and Castro implacable foes of anti-semitism.
1
I have never known a reasonable, rational, mindful person to be an anti-Semite. Nor have I ever known such a person to hate another because of the color of their skin. I have never known a reasonable, rational, mindful person to hate another because of who that other loves. I have never known a rational misogynist. Reasonable. Rational. Mindful. To which I'll add another adjective. Sane.
This epidemic of unreasonable, irrational, mindless hatred is as old as our species. It is an epidemic of the atavistic. It is, simply, fear of the other, fear of the stranger. Two million years ago such behavior might have safeguarded the tribe. Today the opposite is true.
How do we excise these behaviors? They are in all of us, to be sure. And yet many of us, dare I hope most of us, have learned to ignore the fear. Most of us, who are of a mindful nature, recognize the aberrant, irrational nature of such thoughts and feelings. With insight we deny them power. The question is: how do we help those who do not have that insight? How do we help those who are so irrational that they don't want such insight? People who are comforted by their hate? Comforted by their unreasonable, irrational, unmindful fears?
Those of us for whom the fear of the other holds no sway on our behaviors are faced with a seemingly dauntless task: how to free our brothers and sisters from the emotional madness that envelopes them?
I don't know. I do know...they can't do it themselves.
3
Referring to an old adage about fish starting to rot from the head I would say that the phenomenon is indicative of a lack of moral leadership.
Exactly. How do we respond? Well expressed and touching many thoughts I have myself on this topic. Thank you Nita Lowey and David Harris.
In my opinion, Jews will not be the only victims of this epidemic of hate and permission to act out on it. Be aware that hate doesn't need to be towards one group. I fear any 'others' can and will be considered. However the hateful person/group identifies itself has no religious/ethnic or economic boundaries to express their seething anger/hate. Creeping darkness ; Find a way to stop it in your own sphere of influence. Take steps ever big or small to snip at the root of this.
I believe that somehow we have lost our American identity. We are way too hyphenated.
Happy 2020 Americans.
Here in France, ten percent of the population is Muslim. They are not insensitive to Israeli-Palestinian relations.
Frankly, I was surprised while reading this opinion piece that Israeli-Palestinian relations was not a reason as to why anti-Semitic attacks might be on the rise (worldwide). Is it because the USA is much further away from that region, physically, than Europe is?
Illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank. This needs to be acknowledged. The horrific summer of 2014 during which a sustained campaign of Israeli airstrikes resulted in the deaths of thousands of Gazans (women, children, the elderly), not to mention the destruction of schools and hospitals. This can cause simmering resentment, not to mention backlash, among some people, worldwide.
3
@Juliet
France is not the United States, not by a long shot. In France, it is popular to conflate the actions of Israel with Jews. Not so (at least not yet) in the United States. In France, there have been riots for over a decade against immigrants in general, and those from North Africa in particular. Not so in the United States. France is definitely a different place.
There is no US equivalent of "Vichy France" which collaborated with the Nazis, sending vast numbers of Jews to concentration camps.
As China kills and incarcerates 10s of thousands of Uighurs in China, why is there not anti-Chinese attacks as there are anti-Semitic attacks in France?
Because the actions of Israel are used by anti-Semites as an excuse to act on their hatred, even when the Jews they attack also abhor the actions of Israel.
2
It is very sad in our former " melting pot" of a country when any group of people is marginalized. I am 80 years old and I have never heard or seen such actions in our country to limit immigrants. When did we ever plan on building a wall to separate Mexico from us? Is a wall between us and Canada next on the agenda? I am not immune to the writings of history and I know there have always been attacks on some foreign people coming here, but now I hear it constantly. Shame on us. Shame on our leaders! Shame on anyone who can't accept differences in religion or color. The melting pot was what made us great. Let us not allow it to be destroyed.
2
A lot of these attacks, be they anti-semitic, against white or black, or race-based, were committed by feeble minded individuals who are susceptible to propagandas and scapegoatism.
If you really want to root out these problems by preventing they ever happen - not by reactive intervention - you should 1) promote unity amongst all groups who want to be good neighbors, not just geographically and physically but and spiritually and emotionally; and 2) stop people from subverting the Constitutions to hide be Free Speech (1st Amendment) and gun right (2nd Amendment) irrespective of content and context.
The first point is obvious. Anti-semitism is similar anti-muslim, anti-black, anti-white, anti-hispanic and anti-what-have-you. If you respect others, you respect yourself. United we stand; divided we fall.
People like Trump like to use divisive tactics to secure their base; but by doing so, they create the us-versus-them mentality, generating the rage within the feeble minded resulting in lone wolf attacks.
The same with the second point. Free Speech has limited. Gun rights too. You don't shout fire in a packed theater without real fire. Your right to own guns should not trample other people's right to live. So on and so forth. This is really basic. Anyone who play mental gymnastics to argue their rights are bigger than your rights, especially when those rights could cause harm to others, must not be allowed.
2
'An attack on any American group is a threat to the pluralistic fabric of our nation' goes to the heart of the matter.
We The People need a stable, steady and steadfast president and a senate to match, to lead us out of this state of hatred and immoral recession that threatens to entangle the country and break its spirit.
Soar high America for you are being put to the test. We thought it could not happen here. Unite for we are seeing the rise of Fascism, and each and every one of us is responsible for restoring and rebuilding the leading Democracy of this world.
3
The moral foundation of our time has been slowly weakened allowing many evils to rise (racism, sexism, terrorism, anti-semitism, etc). The general level of rancor and hatred has mushroomed. There seems to be more than one culprit. While Donald certainly has fueled this, this moral decay existed before his presidency. As is often observed, he is a symptom of the growing rancor and hatred of our time, as are other leaders of his ilk. The internet and technology has also contributed to this moral decay, and many other factors. We used to have a better ‘lid for our Id.’
1
ABSENT FROM THIS ANALYSIS, Is the trickle down propaganda swamp from Trump's manure lake of filth, lies and other piggeries. In a number of mass shootings, the online journals, creedos or writings of domestic terrorists have used language similar to or directly taken from Trump's incitements to violence. Trump was found guilty of incitement to violence during this 2016 campaign by Judge David Hale, a Federal District Judge in Kentucky. The case is "under appeal," because Trump is playing the game of rope-a-dope that the House sidestepped in the process of impeachment. Incitement to violence is NOT a form of speech protected by the Constitution. Trump's contempt for any standards of decency, honesty or integrity will mark is presidency as the most dangerous, deranged, derelict, deplorable and depraved of the modern era. Trump's legacy--that's questionable, because, legally speaking, he doesn't have a leg to stand on. All of this is to start at the top to fight the toxic hatred and violence being spread by Trump's unprotected incitements to violence. I read that there have been 417 mass shootings in the US! That means attacks where 4 or more people have been killed! MORE THAN ONE FOR EVERY SINGLE DAY IN 2019. The economy may be booming, but so are the guns that turn our gutters into rivers of blood. Truly, we are in the best of time and the worst of times, to paraphrase Charles Dickens. The first fight is to uproot the propaganda that is strangling our nation!
2
Vote against hate.
4
The ultimate truth is that where there are Jews there is anti-Semitism. The only place it is not found is in places where there are no Jews! ie. Mongolia....Part of the threat is the more subtle kind, beneath the veneer of normal behavior. All kinds are however bad and need to be controlled. It does not appear after centuries of the existence of anti-Semitism that will ever be eradicated. Lives will continue to be lost, lives will continue to be changed by this social disease.
The only way to stop anti-semitism in the US is for each of us to do our best? Problem solved! Next? Or next time, next week, when 34 police cadets pose for a group picture with a Nazi salute.
Only one thing will work. An audacious move. A moon shot. A pledge to end racism, antisemitism, sexism and hatred in North America by 2030. Not report on it, not allow our families to be frightened, no more saying well, nothing we can do about it. Rather, we honor our mothers and fathers and the generations who lived in fear here before us by ensuring Hate Has No Home Here.
Evict hate from the White House. From the Senate. From all government and school agencies. Refuse to do business with every company that does nothing to eliminate hate in the workplace, like JP Morgan Chase. Delete social apps that profit from hate. Sell your Facebook stock. Reward those organizations that pay women and men the exact same amount for the exact same work. And above all else, listen to your children. Listen for love. Listen for hate and see where it is in our own lives.
Push those who want to lead to do so, to match every opinion piece with social justice action. Mr Harris and AJC do some very brave and innovative programs. They need to be louder. Same with SPLC. Y tambien UnidosUS. HIAC. Refugee One.
Understand that every time a Jew is stabbed, an African American killed by law enforcement, children stolen from their parents at our border, Haters fill their coffers with donations.
5
Paranoia is a diagnostic symptom of schizophrenia. His tortured mental state went to a copy cat crime. Please don’t jump to conclusions saying that entire groups or people or social tensions are the cause of what happened here. Yes there are definitely tensions - well reported and known for over a decade - in Rockland. What happened here is not a symbol or emblematic, it is one individual’s mental illness.
3
@A You know this how, exactly? Are you his doctor?
Horrific as these recent events are, and notwithstanding the fact that Jews were targeted, we should keep this in perspective. Is it really anti-semitism when children chalk up a schoolyard with swastikas? Is it really anti-semitism when a mentally ill woman attacks Jews in Brooklyn. I'm not even sure it is anti-Semitism that underlies the recent attacks on Jews by young thugs. Is it anti-semitism when an allegedly schizophrenic man attack Jews in a Rabbi's home? On the other hand the attacks in Pittsburgh and Jersey City cannot be explained otherwise. But, it does not add up to structural anti-semitism any more than the shooting at a Christian service suggests structural anti Christian attitudes. I am not denying anti-semitism exists, just trying to keep it in perspective. I am much more worried about anti-semitism on campus, and in Europe, and some of the right wing groups, but even they are largely marginal. And, for the record I come from a family of refugees and survivors of the Holocaust and sadly some victims who did not survive.
22
The best exemplars of the world religions motivated by "the better angels of our nature"--invoked by Abraham Lincoln during the horrors of the American Civil War--understand that religions share devotion to the noble values of love, truth, peace, and justice, to name a few. As a Jew grateful to evangelical Christians for their strong support for the State of Israel, I take exception to opinions on these pages that that support is suspect for one reason or another. When former Prime Minister of Israel was once asked how he could be so welcoming to evangelicals, he replied, "If the Messiah will come on my watch, I'll ask Him whether this is the first time He has come or the second." Therein, I think, is embodied a profound paradigm shift. The "Messiah belief" is held in common by both Judaism and Christianity, and it involves Process. Christianity focuses on the beginning, and Judaism focuses on the end. As for the relationship between Judaists and Muslims--an American Jewish high school teacher and a Palestinian Arab student, in particular--I greeted the student in Arabic as he was entering my classroom with, "Nahnu ihwan!" (we are brothers). He smiled in appreciation, and I added that the equivalent in Hebrew, "Anahnu ahim," being completely cognate, we really are brothers.
Thank you for this opinion piece!
I am so grateful to have attended Barnard College, Columbia University where I, as a Pakistani-American, had the privilege of living with a group of Orthodox Jewish women for a year. We were very close friends! I learned that we were more similar than we were different. At Barnard, a culture of respect for all traditions, spiritualities, religions, and practices inculcated the community. Non-Jewish students opened doors, lit candles, and pressed elevator buttons for Jewish students who were keeping Sabbath and other Holy Days. Living alongside and studying with fellow Jewish students taught us important lessons about elevating others’ traditions in ways that made it easier for them to practice rituals and take pride in their heritage. How can this culture of respect permeate our current social climate and what can we do to create the necessary changes?
7
"Our nation has made considerable progress in the social inclusion of minority groups. But that progress also poses a threat to those who are bewildered or angered by these social changes and who prefer mutual rancor to mutual respect."
Thanks for making such a succinct statement. I hope you won't mind if I share this among my friends out here on the left coast.
Our new rabbi here in this small damp city brings such an aura of joy with her. I frequently attend Shabbat on Friday nights with my Jewish friend, just to feel the joy and unity of this synagogue. Though a gentile by orthodox standards, I have many joyful memories of times at temple with my Jewish friends during my growing years.
We've certainly had our troubles here with anti-semitism, but the response throughout the Puget Sound community has always been one of genuine inclusion and love -- and that goes for our Islamic and Buddhist neighbors as well. What I have seen in the past three years scares me deeply, as your statement acknowledges. I don't know how to return to the pluralism we have cherished since the 60's. But we must.
4
We keep focusing on symptoms and ignoring root-causes. The expression of pent-up rage is only a symptom of a much deeper set of sociological/psychological problems that persist in our global society.
Many have suggested that the root-cause has something to do with the fear/dread of loss, that someone, or something, is going to take away something that you treasure, desire or simply need.
If that is a/the root-cause, why do people have the idea that something is being,or will be, taken? Then, once a person is convinced that something will be taken away (or has been taken away) the person looks for somebody to blame and punish.
Social media can, and does, inflame and exaggerate fears that are largely unfounded in reality but resonate with somebody's current situation. That act is only a symptom of the deeper belief that somebody or something is "out to take away" your desired valued possession or idea. Yet, social media is only the amplifier for something much deeper and persistent in our human mental structures.
Turning the amplifier will decrease the volume but it will not stop the source. We really need to address the root-causes because simply going after the symptom never resolves the root-cause.
Daily hours of Television is the problem, not the means of communication, the internet. And what about your call for "Enhanced Information Gathering"? I can read behind the lines and won't ever vote again.
What is missing from the essay is why these people
go and attack people they have never met, people who
never harmed them.
Most of the attackers have severe mental illness
but what help do they receive for their illness
and in what cases should they be separated from
society for their own good and that of their fellow humans.
Educating people about the Shoah can be productive if
they are old enough to understand, taking busloads of
chidden to an exhibition on the Shoah may not always
be for the best as some will mock any and everything
anyone tries to explain to them.
It would help if Internet Sites we closed when they
advocate violence.
1
Let us put blame where it belongs. The hate merchant in the White House who enjoys playing both ends against the middle. Yes, that man has a long list of "attributes" that in no small way explains the crisis, not epidemic (a poor choice of words), we see today. Now we see the open flood gates of hate flooding our country daily. There is no easy answer if there is one at all. I and others are subject to daily "shock treatments" which have no end or purpose. Common sense and platitudes are of little value. Faith offers little in the way of comfort
And meditation has its limits. One phrase comes to mind to illustrate the conundrum, "We have met the enemy and he is us".
4
Too many people in the US have not learned to respect boundaries, be they public spaces or private spaces. There is indeed a giant education gap that contributes significantly to the level of aggression that has become typical of American cities. The reaction of Billings Montana is a good tactic. Transgressions have to be pushed back, all the time, to educate those who erroneously believe that they have a right to everything. If the tone of the discourse changes across the society, aggressors will be less likely to go ahead. It is a long process, but very worthwhile.
1
"Another factor could be the declining confidence in liberal democracy and its core value of pluralism."
Both factors you cited have been hiding in the dark corners of our society for a long time.
In the not so distant past, distain of another simply because of cultural differences was spoken in private, among those of like mind. The public display of Bigotry, 'the complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own' was deemed uncivil and 'politically incorrect'.
In the not so distant past I believed a liberal democracy was the model our country aspired to;
E Pluribus Unum.
2016, djt entered and the darkness, the fear, hate and distrust of which I was not aware of the magnitude entered our lives. One man and those that follow him have managed to create a country that I call home is no longer recognizable.
The only answer I have to offer to end the senseless killing of my fellow human beings and begin to take back our civil liberties and political freedoms of all of us is voting him out.
4
Tribalism on steroids - the “gift” of the internet - click, immediately find similar haters, and watch the group multiply.
Efforts such as Moonshot CVE, a company that seeks to redirect these searches to positive examples of those who saw the evil in these groups and walked away. Positive initially, but wait until the government starts using it for Government use.
A planet that is disintegrating in real time - accelerated time - lack of water, clean air, food - will magnify and accelerate this fear and disintegration.
And the “leader” of the free world - who is the worst amongst us - pouring gasoline on this raging fire.
So many ways this is pulling against the center -
I truly believe 2020 is our last chance - our last gasp - but do we have that leader who can reunite and inspire us - and can we sacrifice to reach that destiny?
2
This is a pretty good commentary, but there is not a word about the larger inclusive context, which needs to spoken to if there is any progress to be made in lowering the incidence of anti-Semitic attacks.
This particular incident involved a knife as the weapon, but the more prevalent and more "effective" weapon is a gun. There are also anti-religious acts committed against Christians, Muslims, and others (generally involving guns). And there are incidents of violence visited upon people of color.
1
Monsey is an example of the need for gun control. If the guy had a semi automatic, there would be more injured and definitely deaths.
It isn't going to work, in my opinion. I don't think socialism works, but I think Warren's point is valid, perhaps even sound. I'm sorry if I'm wrong.
An epidemic is the number of homeless people in our country or the percentage of young men of color in the criminal justice system. I am not sure the relatively few incidents I see reported arise to the level of an epidemic.
There have always been intolerant people and worse, to be honest. Most of us know of at least one person, that if accused of something intolerant would say uh-huh.
We need to return to the practice of teaching civics/citizenship to every student in our country. Notice that less than a generation after such classes were dropped from the curriculum, American politics became far less tolerant and more scorched earth.
Our democracy does not work without tolerance of those different from us.
5
Anti-Semitism has been a mainstay of Western culture since the time of the Crusades. It is essential to understand that relatively minor changes in how hatred of Jews has been justified in different times and places do not alter underlying dynamics or effects. It remains acceptable now to derogate and attack Jews in the U.S., and this is true even when aggressors identify with political or cultural groups that otherwise may oppose one another. The place to begin is with recognition of the problem as something distinct from other hatreds, something that cannot simply be grouped under a larger heading without undercutting a serious and meaningful response. This column is timely and thoughtful, one that admirably situates the problem in broad historical terms, suggests possible constructive reactions, and avoids oversimplifying the problem.
3
Actually, anti-semitism goes much farther back in time. The Synod of Elvira (306 CE) banned marriage, and even social contact, between Jews and Christians. The Edict of Milan (315 CE) got rid of many rights for Jews. The Council of Nicaea (325) said that Christians should not have anything in common with Jews. The Bishop of Milan (380 CE) caused the destruction of a synagogue, which he called “an act pleasing to God”. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE. In 132 CE, Rome denied Jews access to the rebuilt Jerusalem. And much more before the Crusades.
2
The roots of antisemitism are religious differences, and the animus of leaders of more dominant religions against non-believers, or infidels. Given that history, leaders of other religions today could ease the current wave of violence against Jews by speaking out regarding religious discrimination. I hear many voices in the present discussion, but the voices of religious leaders seem to be missing.
3
In times of mass inequality the have nots can lash out at the haves.
That might have something to do with this.
It seems these types of attacks have increased during the last few years and is a direct result of having a president who openly and blatantly spreads hate. People who might otherwise only have these thoughts in private now feel emboldened to act.
4
Why now? Racial or Ethnic Identity, along with Inequality concerns and cries about White Privilege, have become the defining issues in Progressive Democratic politics. This naturally leads to tension and promotes calls for reparation to remove inequality. In those that are mentally unstable this can lead to violence.
The Progressive Dems need to tone down this rhetoric that pits one group vs. another or else it will only get worse.
5
I'm Catholic but not a great one. However it always stays with you. I always remember my mom talking about he "poor Jews," and how much they had been through. I never quite got it, but I do now. What can we all do to help?
4
Growing up in postwar suburban NJ and going to college in Philadelphia, I knew about antisemitism, but mostly from books and newspapers and my parents' recollections. I never heard of contemporary violence. That's what's so horrible today. Trump may be opening the floodgates, but it's too easy to blame it all on him. The BDS movement, with its total emphasis on perceived Israeli evils to the exclusion of anything done by any other country anywhere helps to normalize antisemitism.There seem to be those who think that antisemitism cannot be racist or evil. They are wrong.
2
Two things jump out at me reading these posts: first, does prejudice against one religion require membership in another, and why do we confuse the belonging to a State with belonging to a Religion? If our religious leaders really believed and spoke about diversity and inclusion. would anyone belong to their parish? Let's get real, religions create prejudice to maintain their membership, and the State uses religion as a power base. Solve this, and you've solved the problem.
The authors want us to “ask ourselves how each of us can defend our inclusive vision for this country.” They give standard answers, although the Billings example of people responding with actions that show “We’re all in this together” was new. Perhaps this type of reframing that goes besides the common emphasis of our differences, shows there are still things we have in common.
There are other new things we can try even if they make some uncomfortable.
In response, who really knows what switch goes off in the minds of anyone who would hurt a Jew (or anyone else). So no guarantee any of this will prevent that switch. But as, the authors say, it’s “an epidemic,” you have to try.
Hasidic Jews should make outreach efforts to their neighbors and get to know each other. While isolation is their right, again, setting up a process for a larger affiliation with society could help.
As a longtime observer of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I see it lasting forever unless both sides stop seeing any issue that comes up only from their own narrative. Again, moving towards a larger humanity. When a new Israeli policy conflicts with what I was taught as Jewish values, it will have some unknown impact on the switches in the brains of some who could be tempted to something awful.
As what a couple of relatives had called “a bad Jew,” as for many reasons I rejected synagogue attendance, I’m reconsidering. I found one that mostly overcomes my historical problems. Maybe it’s time for that stand.
1
Choose Jews over Israel and do everything in your power to get Trump and his henchmen out office. Republicans who are loyal to Trump should pay a similar price. And Israel will thrive with Bernie Sanders in the White House.
71
@Skip Bonbright -- Very well said.
And your framing of a successful Isreal with President Sanders at the helm here -- Perfect.
8
@Skip Bonbright What are you talking about, Bernie Sanders is as anti-Israel as they get, and furthermore as a Brooklyn Jew I view him as a straight up traitor to out people. Sanders uses outright anti Semitic media drivers like Linda Sarsour as his surrogates.
And Trump? Say what you will about Donald Trump but he is the greatest friend to Israel and Jewish Americans as has ever existed.
41
@Skip Bonbright Please read this article carefully - it clearly states -
"We must acknowledge that there are multiple ideological sources feeding this paroxysm of hate; it is not a result of a single political outlook. Some critics wish to exploit the issue to undermine their political opponents. That is no way to deal with anti-Semitism. There is no one-size-fits-all profile for the perpetrators of these attacks."
1
Here is how every Jew, and jewish community should respond. Fight back! No one is coming to your aid.
This would never happen in Israel!. The Israelis understand; violence unchallenged is violence released.
NEVER AGAIN, means just that!.
We need to defend our communities and synagogues by any means necessary.
Enough hand wringing, enough philosophy... it is time!
68
@Shp I am a member of a minyan and last Shabbat I instinctively opened a locked door (no window) where we daven when someone knocked on it. I have recognized what a dangerous mistake it was to do that. The building was hardened over the summer and there are usually guards but there wasn’t one this Shabbat. The person knocking forgot the special key all have been given. Guess what: too bad if you are irresponsible that way from now on. It has to be this way.
We all need to be trained on security procedures especially including ignoring our natural instincts to trust. It is tragic but absolutely necessary for the safety of all who gather to observe Shabbat and holidays.
10
@Shp
I would tend to strongly agree with what you're saying, Shp.
Not fighting back is a dangerous message to the offenders, regardless of who they may be, that it's okay to keep doing their dirty work.
3
Exactly. I had just written same though it likely will not see print. I was a bit more forceful. Jews should be armed. Church in Texas. Man with gun killed instantly so more deaths prevented.
2
Elected officials feel the freedom to write:
“Where was all this faith and hope when Black homeowners were threatened, intimidated, and harassed by I WANT TO BUY YOUR HOUSE brutes of the jewish community,” Ms. Terrell-Paige wrote in the post, which has since been deleted. Ms. Terrell-Paige was elected to the school board in November 2018.
. . .
“I believe they knew they would come out in body bags,” Ms. Terrell-Paige wrote of Mr. Anderson and Ms. Graham. “What is the message they were sending? Are we brave enough to explore the answer to their message? Are we brave enough to stop the assault on the Black communities of America?”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/nyregion/joan-terrell-paige-jersey-city.html?searchResultPosition=1
When and why did that feeling of freedom occur? If that's what one elected official felt free enough to write, what do hundreds or thousands think? Mostly empty platitudes about not "hating" is not going to change anything.
Pieces like this in the Times describing the Bible as if it is factual history do not help.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/opinion/christmas-feast-of-innocents.html?searchResultPosition=1
23
There are more than one type of hate, more than one driver as the authors point out.
If hatred comes from community tensions - disagreements about how two cultures share the same space and resources with vastly different ideas about how, we can reconcile the differences, compromise and reduce the impetus towards hate.
If hate comes from an ingrained attitude - religious objection to Semitism; generational racism - we can solve it with education and social communal intolerance of hatred.
If it comes from political posturing, wedge politics - bias against immigrants, Jews, educated people, Christian conservatives - then we have to demand that our politicians stop. That has not happened even the slightest bit. And that impetus feeds the hate, encourages it to grow.
And when it comes from a deep global movement to cause division - a movement towards fascism, oligarchy, the destruction of the liberal order - we are fighting ghosts, just as we are when we try to fight the jihadist recruiters on the web. That hate, floating in the ether, feeds the more prosaic sources, and we start to see hate rise to power.
51
@Cathy
Cathy correctly pointed out 4 root sources of anti-semitism.
The first two have always existed (to varying degrees) wherever Jews have lived.
They only give rise to violence when the second two reasons (+ xenophobia and nationalism) sufficiently inflame those who are racist, resentful, etc.
These four reasons are really the source of all hate crimes, not just those against Jews.
And that is why tolerating hate against any group imperils us all.
6
@Cathy Excellent analysis, but another form of hatred rises from pathological envy or covetousness. It is not necessarily directed at a particular ethnic group, but it is a root cause of violence, be it killing for the better watering hole, a bitter marriage breakup, or a hostile corporate takeover that causes harmful social consequences.
@Cathy
Seriously?
What about crusades, inquisitions, revolutions, civil wars, regional wars, genocides, jihads, holocausts, world wars, ethnic sectarian wars, colonization, conquest and enslavement don't you accept and understand about the biological DNA genetic nature and nurture of African primate apes who began in Africa 300,000 years ago?
The one and only human race species is driven to crave fat, salt, sugar, habitat, water, kin and sex by any means necessary including conflict and cooperation.
There are no 'ghosts' in your image in the mirror or window.
1
The problem clearly has multiple causes. However, as the article states, social media is one of them. The rabid anti-semitism is present all over the internet, especially in apps used most by the younger people. Most civilized readers of the NYTimes are not aware of it, but the extent is chilling.
While free speech is obviously fundamental to a free society, it is not obvious that anonymous hate speech should be protected. The internet is like a public square. People are free to say whatever they wish in public, but the public has a right to see the speech makers.
Here is a suggestion. No hate speech should be allowed to be anonymous. If the social media companies choose to allow this garbage in the public squares of their making, they should ensure that this 'speech' is accompanied by author identification.
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I like the basics of this suggestion, but I’m also aware just how easy it is to get around digital identification.
Personally, I would prefer that social media platforms be banned from publishing hate speech. Period. As a society, we have a choice. Do we want to protect hatred? Or do we want to protect civility and kindness?
I’ve got my choice. And you?
@Alexander K.
There are tons of legitimate reasons that a person or persons might wish to stay anonymous online.
Imagine a Uighur activist who has escaped China and who has built an online following by exposing the evil actions of the Chinese government.
The Chinese government would LOVE to know who this person is so that they could do harm to his/her family or even commit the ultimate sanction on him or her. Chinese authorities say that criticizing China is hate speech. After all, they're being "singled out".
So they demand that twitter/google/facebook let them know who this Uighur critic is.
Do you see a problem with this?
Because I certainly do.
1
Fine.
First, we’ll need a clear, precise definition of “hate speech,” that can easily be applied by algorithms and IT folks.
You got one handy?
What we are seeing is the Balkanization of America. Every sub-set wants to be singled out and acknowledged, and given special status. This is going on throughout the world as demographic changes and immigration have pitted one group against the 'other'. Trump has certainly normalised it in America. Extreme religions have also aggravated this us against them attitude. The solution of course is community integration, but we are getting further and further away from that. I was in the Balkans this summer and saw how centuries old animus can bring on war and mass murder. This sort of tribal mentality is going on throughout the world, it's not just anti-semitism that's on the rise. Even in Scandinavia, the country that took in more refugees per capita than any other country, the whole social experiment has been a failure. There is little integration, in Denmark, they have passed laws that children must be educated in the predominant Christian culture. The US is no longer a melting pot, but a country of silos. Whether it be anti-semitic attacks, or school shootings, this country and others around the world are collectively going crazy as we scramble for the scraps that rich people throw our way. This also explains the opioid epidemic. People have lost hope and humour. Think of all the comedians who won't perform on campuses because their acts aren't PC enough. We've lost normal.
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omg... someone else is paying attention!!!
1
The idea that we can’t live as a harmonious community unless we somehow relinquish our diversity is surrendering to the haters, to Trump’s dystopian vision for us. . The USA has never been a melting pot. Indeed what pot are Jews or others supposed to melt into? Who is the master chef with that recipe? Human beings are, by nature, creative, diverse, searching beings and it is this that gives rise to the multitude of cultures, ethnicities, religions that populate the world. Here, in the USA, we rejected the melting pot, one size fits all from our inception. No official language, religion, or national origin. Instead, our unity is found in a common civic culture codified in the Constitution. Yes, it’s not been an easy experiment. We have struggled (always) to "form that more perfect union", but let’s not give up now.
2
This column ignores what may be the most important element in the increase in large-scale anti-Semitic violence, as well as such violence perpetrated against others: the internet.
The internet, which is essentially cable TV on steroids, allows the one in a million so inclined to control the news of 300 million Americans and untold foreigners for days, if not weeks. That power, the ability to control, the way to say, "See, I really am somebody!" never existed before.
Previously, if someone stabbed or even shot up a half dozen people in Kansas, the national news may have mentioned it on page five a couple days later, while local papers and TV would have probably ignored it, at most giving it a one-line mention. Now, with the guarantee of ongoing universal coverage within an if-it-bleeds-it-leads framework, that rare individual who, for whatever reason, is motivated to do so, gets to act out his or her fantasies of control and recognition.
This is not to say that anti-Semitism does not have an ongoing life of its own. It certainly does, and while America has been low-keyed in that regard compared to most countries, our history has honored and still honors "popular" anti-Semites of our history such as Henry Ford, Father Coughlin, and Werner von Braun.
14
Umm he mentioned it as one of the key reasons antisemitism is on the rise.
1
Some might suggest that when the President of the United States urges people to assault dissenters and protesters it legitimizes these activities. There are, of course, NOT "good people on both sides."
42
@Eugene Please read this article more carefully - it clearly says -
"We must acknowledge that there are multiple ideological sources feeding this paroxysm of hate; it is not a result of a single political outlook. Some critics wish to exploit the issue to undermine their political opponents. That is no way to deal with anti-Semitism. There is no one-size-fits-all profile for the perpetrators of these attacks."
1
@Eugene,After Trump was elected there were numerous protest and numerous acts of violence perpetrated by the liberal left. There are also multiple accounts of unprovoked physical assaults by the liberal left on Trump supporters. Are these also NOT good people?
3
@Eugene But it is not his supporters alone who are killing Jews. Most anti-Semitic crimes in New York, the epicenter of this epidemic, are committed by African-Americans. This is not to say that Trump is not emboldening some of his supporters. But this is not even close to the only cause of his epidemic.
1
I'm Jewish. In my extended family we are Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian. I do a fair amount of praying and learning in churches and Christian communities and am amazed by the number of times that I have heard and read people who are open, liberal, intelligent, thoughtful, caring, who are friends and colleagues who I know are not anti-Jewish, unconsciously use anti-Jewish language and images from Christian texts, having no idea what they have just said or written. How much more often, I wonder, does this happen, in communities of Christians who might actually have anti-Jewish inclinations?
To our good Christian neighbors I say, "Please read your texts carefully. I and we are tired of that old label of 'Christ-killers' still being applied to us about a man who you may have forgotten was one of our own people. Make amends. Edit and please put footnotes in all of your texts informing those who will follow about what they ought to know about those texts, which might otherwise pass them by. " Thank you.
39
Examples, please. What precisely do you have in mind?
1
@dark brown ink
What, exactly, are you referring to? Are you proposing "edits" to the New Testament?
@dark brown ink
Correct. Jesus obviously was Jewish himself. Even though the Romans introduced large scale crucifixions to the area (Jesus was not the only Jew crucified) people don't go around blaming modern day Romans. That would be absurd just as blaming Jews for the crucifixion is also absurd.
The bigotry arrives first. The concocted reasons for the bigotry are invented later and constitute excuses for holding the bigotry in the first place. Other-ising one ethnic group such as Central Americans has the effect of promoting bigotry across the board.
1
In a quest for inclusion, the media demonizes alluding to 'privilege.' But there can be no superfluous races, genders, or creeds in America. Discrimination can't right past wrongs, only recreate them.
4
This article is impressive in its clarity. It draws attention to the social environment we now live in, with millions of isolated individuals spending more time on the internet not for the purpose of self education but as a virtual playground for whatever dysfunctions occupy them. The social sphere is altered and seemingly colonized by random "trends" that should be studied like some virtual virus-like phenomenons. From this point of view, the anxiety created by the antisemitic epidemic described here is similar and related to the new situation where children in schools are being drilled in preparation for the next mass shooting.
7
We’re gong to miss you, Nita. Especially your clear-thinking, common sense, heartfelt commitment to your district and our nation, which is so evident in this piece.
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Yes, always available to her constituents regardless the problem.
Good article: It offers about all words can do for us, viz., point out the problem and possible solutions.
The problem is easy to see. The solution, as usual with big things, is much more difficult.
The author writes: "more needs to be done — including enhanced information-gathering ... "
I agree. To prevent violence, we need information before the violence occurs. How, exactly, though, do we get that? How much, how often? How pervasive must our methods be? Cameras, undercover police, phone taps, red flag laws?
I'm for all this approach -- theoretically. But I really don't want a camera in my neighborhood watching me every time I go outside, or paying Big Brother to monitor my phone calls and email. Or X-raying or frisking me before I enter Walmart or the Church of Christ. Unfortunately, those very methods could be very effective, and most of us agree that one life saved is worth it all.
As it stands, we are naive to think that all people have well-developed senses of ethics and will never snap. Being a social animal in any culture is risky, precarious, and based on hope, not reality; that's a dangerous approach. We read the results.
3
I grew up in NJ but went to high school in Manhattan in the late 1960s.
The walk from the the bus terminal on 178th street to the school on Amsterdam and 186th was like going through a mine field and an obstacle course. Walking on the wrong side of the street or cutting through the wrong side street was dangerous for a kippah wearing adolescent, on a daily basis. No publicity, nobody really cared; it was just a fact of life.
But then wearing a kippah in public at that time in my suburban NJ hometown was not always a great idea either.
Different threats, perhaps, but the threat was always there.
Always.
Some things have changed; the high school now provides a shuttle service from school to bus terminal. The NJ town is touted as the paradise of everybody getting along, but under it all, some things are as they were.
Today what was "normal" in the past gets publicity and theoretically support and empathy.
Underneath it all, not much though has changed.
36
You were smart and moved to Israel. Wish we could do the same.
3
These conventional recommendations are all good and I agree with them. But it is time to pursue the unconventional if we a re really serious about dealing with anti-semitism and all forms of bias.
We have to recognize that these events are deeply rooted in American culture. As cultural phenomena we need a sustained cultural response.
Our children need to learn about the roots of religious and ethnic bias in school. We need to learn them at an early age. We need to have those biases constantly examined and vigilantly police our media. We need to teach our children the kind of media literacy that can combat bias.
And we need to recognize that we live in a world where the personal interactions that help each of us connect on a human level are becoming increasingly rare.
Our schools are segregated. Our work places are stratified and our social spheres tend to reflect those who are like us.
But more recently we have also been told we are not human beings seeking the same for one another, but economic competitors vying for ever scarce bits of everything.
Add to the illogic of neoliberalism the president's constant message of "othering" and you have a combination of social forces that can only be opposed by an equally vigorous and sustained effort to re-establish our common humanity.
As our social commons has been eroded so has our social sense of one another. This is why we need a new vision of America, a new economy and a new politics.
14
You go to the edge, but you do not jump in. Capitalism has reached a socially destructive stage of war and impoverishment. Few now organize for a socialist revolution, but it is still the social transformation we must undergo.
While I don't have a solution, I see these anti-Semitic attacks as examples of a much larger, and slow-growing acceptance of violence as a "normal" part of our culture. Many of us are old enough to remember a time when our schools did not have metal detectors, or armed security staff, because school violence has become common. We never required TSA procedures every time we flew, because the idea of international terrorism was not ever-present. It is only over the last couple of years that synagogues and churches have had to lock many access doors and place armed guards at the few open doors, or to have armed member's security groups as the church in Texas, because houses of worship are no longer safe. Within this larger "commonality of violence" it is easy for individuals to unleash their hatred of whatever group they consider "the other."
10
@Pete
It is not an acceptance of acts of violence but the "Acts of Violence" themselves which are the cause behind the need to change the physical attributes of public places like schools, places of worship and the workplace for our safety.
I do not mean to be rude, however your comment is very misguided and not very logical.
1
@Pete By all measures the US is far less violent than at any time in our history. The observations you make in fact indicate that violence is not normalized as it once was.
1
Last year, in Jewish Sunday school, an eight-year old girl looked up at me, her teacher, and asked, "Why do they want to kill us?"
I asked her if she had asked her family this question. She said she had asked her dad, but he didn't give her an answer; she said he didn't say anything and just looked at her. But would I tell her 'why'?
How does a parent explain this to a small child in an appropriate way. I understood the dad's silence--what do you say when your precious children are involved?
This is a difficult time, with no clear resolution.
I know what I my response was to this child. I'm guessing the dad needed time to reflect before answering this query by his daughter. I presume he wanted to answer it well.
This NYT article begins with two questions: "Why now?" and "What can be done to stop such incidences?
Thank you for this opinion piece. At least we are asking questions. The hard part is finding answers.
21
I believe I can help you with an answer. My late mother said the reason the Jews are hated is that despite centuries of persecution we're still here. Jews are survivors and that is why we're hated and resented to this day.
3
The answer is readiness to fight back. Once would-be attackers know that the intended victims may be cops or armed and trained community members, they will desist out of fear for their own lives.
8
On this last night of Hanukkah, let us all come together in fellowship and love and understand we all belong to the same family.
Some of us might look different. We might worship a different religion, or not worship at all. Some of us might not agree with each other and some of us might be angry, disillusioned, or unhappy, but we must and we will find a way to get along.
Let not one more innocent person be harmed or die because of anger or hate.
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@Pamela L. The last night of Chanukah was actually yesterday.
1
@Pamela L.
Not to take away from your message of inclusion, but Sunday was the last DAY of Hanukkah. The holiday ended Sunday night. :)
2
@Pamela L.
Yes but Donald Trump is President of the United States, Benjamin Netanyahu is the Prime Minister of Israel, Vladimir Putin is the President of Russia and Mohammed bin Salman is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
And Congress just approved nearly $ 750 billion on the American military.
And what does Hanukkah have to do with Christians and Muslims?
1
“Political Correctness” served to nip many generalizations about minorities in the bud. Yes it was tiresome at times but it deprived bigots of echo chambers and served to expose them before they progressed from words to deeds. Now with the anti-PC environment in full bloom, some folks delight in expressing prejudicial ideas and stereotypes as a new found freedom.
The best way to fight bigotry is to confront it at every possible point. Do not wait for it to coalesce and gather steam.
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@Amro El-Jaroudi
It is PC which has allowed a virulent strain of anti-Semitism to fester in a small sub-set of East Coast African-American culture, and it is PC which has resulted in blaming everything other than that on these latest assaults.. PC means that the only hate crimes that count are the ones committed by white supremacists.
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@Amro El-Jaroudi
PC is a good thing, and I hate hearing it disparaged and As a Jew, I was constantly being "stung" by anti-Semitic jokes and remarks --- even guessed were racists --- people I met socially or in the workplace.
They would assume I wasn't Jewish because of my name and looks. They would feel free to come out with whatever they pleased, and not just about Jews, but also people of color, women, Asians, Muslims, anybody not WASP.
As the trend toward greater sensitivity emerged --- "PC" if you will --- the racist talk, jibes and jokes lessened. It was explicitly forbidden in the workplace, which was a relief.
But now, with the "anti-PC" reaction, racists are emboldened. If I object I get a roll of the eyes and "Don't be so PC." I blame the Internet for turning over this big log and exposing the most odious and ugly characters in our society.
7
@Livonian The Anti-Political-Correctness train was one that Trump rode... he may even have begun it.
3
We relearned during the appeasement of Hitler during the 1930s that evil does exist and it does need to be actively opposed. Righteousness and pacifism is simply not enough. Congregations of religious people, schools, etc. need to be protected against the evil that we do know is out there; they need armed police protection and/or voluntary or paid armed guards to protect soft target. That is one lesson I hope we learn from these incidents.
117
As a short term solution armed protection is needed. But our society needs to invest in education for long forgotten humanistic values. No arms can fight ideology for long term.
28
@David
Trump's relationship with the Jewish people seems a lot like his relationship to women: he tolerates them in the room, says some "nice" things about them on occasion, and even hires a few (well, mostly relatives, but whatever). He ALSO makes vile, disgusting comments about them, clearly has a "transactional" relationship with them as a group, and if/when push comes to shove, well, we know who's going down.
This may in fact describe his relationship to most people, but the points still stand. Trump is no "supporter" and you're just sowing racist discord. If you cared at all (you don't), you'd be wondering what is it about racism (perpetrated by white people) that ends up with some minority persons lashing out sideways, instead of "up".
@David These places of worship (and cemeteries) need armed guards with standing orders to shoot to kill. A few dead bodies of these bigots might discourage the other members of that cowardly crew.
2
white evangelical christians need to call out those among them who espouse racism from the pulpit
59
@No name All evangelical Christians, methinks.
1
No name,
You cannot blame white evangelical Christians for this current attack on the Jewish community. They had no part in this whatsoever. As a matter of fact, these people are staunch supporters of Israel and the Jewish people. Many have even made regular pilgrimages to Israel. The blame should be placed entirely on the culprit who committed this crime. He was a mentally ill man who is very disturbed.
1
@No name Unfortunately the perpetrator of this atrocity and the perpetrators of the Jersey City shooting where all black. And when you look at the uptick here in NYC, it's predominantly being driven by other minorities who often live in close contact (and conflict) with Jewish populations in Crown Heights, South Williamsburg, and Bed Stuy.
1
Clearly aggressive anti-semitism pre-existed Trump in the USA. But the increase in the deadly attacks on American Jews under Trump Cannot be ignored.Trump’s Charlottesville equivocation when comparing Neo-Nazis to those opposed set the tone. Trump’s tone deaf remarks emboldened America’s anti-semites.The brutal killing of so many American Jews is a direct result. Trump has put his own immediate family at risk. Moral leadership from POTUS has disappeared! And America’s cultural diversity is under dangerous attack.
55
The difference is that Trump’s immediate family has Secret Service protection, while the rest of us will have to make due.
9
@Milton Lewis Lack of moral leadership, and even worse, Trump doesn't hesitate to show raw emotions, which gives some radicals free pass to aggressive behaviors.
1
@Milton Lewis
Trump's grandchildren are Jewish.
1
You forgot to mention the man at the top who has been spreading hatred for years in our country, namely Trump the traitor. He continues to be the catalyst for the resurgence of ugly hatred in the country and world. Let’s elect a decent and compassionate human being in 2020 and you will see the hatred go back underground
56
@Gary If only that were true - this article clearly states
"We must acknowledge that there are multiple ideological sources feeding this paroxysm of hate; it is not a result of a single political outlook. Some critics wish to exploit the issue to undermine their political opponents. That is no way to deal with anti-Semitism. There is no one-size-fits-all profile for the perpetrators of these attacks."
1
Too many of the comments here shockingly confirm how pervasive anti-Semitism is.
Remove the words "ultra-orthodox" from the comments and replace it with "black" or "Latino" and they'd rightly be regarded as racist.
"As a group they are often (rightly or wrongly) viewed as...Other and...un-American."
The only answer should be "wrongly". People here actually pretend there needs to be "greater discussion" of the validity of anti-Semitism and the validity of anti-Semitic canards before we can say whether anti-Semites attacking and killing Jews is right or wrong.
One justification for anti-Semitic violence offered by comments here is that very religious Jews take "gross advantage of social services". It not just the definition of an anti-Semitic canard, it's the very justification which as a civil rights attorney I've repeatedly heard from racists justifying violence against blacks and Latinos.
Jews are being attacked and killed because they're Jews. The Jews massacred in Pittsburgh were not "ultra-orthodox" and didn't fit any of the insidious tropes mentioned in comments here. They were helping Muslim and Latino refugees, but perhaps if one looks hard enough they'll find someone related to them in finance, and we'll need to have a "greater discussion" to see if the massacre was justified.
Pretending we must discuss the justifications of anti-Semites for brutal premeditated violence and murder against Jews is repugnant, un-American, anti-Semitic, and incredibly dangerous.
150
@Robert B I grew up in the 1950's in Philadelphia where my family was the only Jewish family in an Irish-Italian Catholic neighborhood. I endured (but not passively) many antisemitic slurs from both the other kids in the neighborhood and their parents (which is where they got it from). This was not even 10 years after the end of WWII. While I didn't notice it during my high school, college or graduate school, anti-semitism never left although I thought it had become passe in the crazy 1960's. As one author has said, it is the "Devil that Never Dies". I have always had to look over my shoulder for it and I encourage Jews to fight back, like that congregation recently did in Texas, - make them pay a price.
4
Look it's always been a sad country in terms of hatred. Slavery, never apologized for, the cult of Confederacy, rampant hatred in rural areas for 'outsiders". Anti jewish anti Catholic mainstream thought in south and rural areas. Social media has made it worse, anti semites and racists think they have a Voice and Followers, thumbs up. Only solution is to keep shaming marginalizing all who are haters and the real hope is young people who care what people think about them. Boycott business of people who say nasty stuff from Trump to Chick Filet.
16
AntiJewish mainstream thought didn't just flourish in the South and rural areas. We faced it growing up in Queens. As as early as 5 or 6 years old I heard little kids say "I hate all Jews," and we were called Christ killers. This was in the early 60s. We were often harassed by older Catholic kids. I know it wasn't nearly as bad as what my parents went through in their day, also in good old NYC, but it was clearly still there.
The big talker in the White House of course isn't heard from when these shootings and stabbings are going on during the Christmas season he holds so dear. If he cared about Jews other than using us for a stalking horse to help him suppress speech by Muslim Americans, maybe he'd say something forceful about what's going on. Obviously I don't expect it ever to happen.
1
I'm opposed to civilian semi-autos and I think to own a gun, the 2nd means you must join the National Guard if you want a gun.
But this is so dire, I think Jews should arm themselves, or at least station armed guards. I am, btw, a gentile.
And demand the government and its citizens do something. One is for every ordinary citizen to denounce anti-semitism ON THE SPOT.
Trump is largely responsible for this climate. The next thing to do is to vote OUT every Republican in 2020!
22
@Slipping Glimpser
Whoa!!!
The majority of hate crime victims are Black, not Jewish.
Interesting that you are suddenly in favor of people, at least Jewish people, being armed to defend themselves.
I think that everyone, regardless of their faith, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, should have the right to defend themselves with firearms.
Wait - what:
"How to Respond to the Anti-Semitic Attack in Monsey, N.Y.
We need to recognize the problem for what it is: an epidemic."
Do you people even read your own newspaper, see:
"Authorities Identify Victims and Gunman in Texas Church Shooting."
And - yeah, see:
“We're All Suffering From Anxiety, but Why? Our nation has developed an anxiety disorder – circa 2000. This anxiety effects the way we care for ourselves and our loved ones. It affects how we shop, eat, sleep – vote, and even how we think. I don't know about you, but almost everyone I know suffers from anxiety, and doctors report that the majority of visits to their offices are anxiety related. Most children I speak with – as young as ten years old, complain about too much stress in their lives. Road rage, domestic violence, workaholism, relentless striving for more, are all misguided efforts to pursue security. Anxiety and possessions go hand in hand..." D. G.
Yeah, it's a "rage" issue, not an "anti-Semitism" issue.
Then - when people experience rage, they look for a "scapegoat," see:
“He – Adolf Hitler, was at odds with the world. Wherever he looked, he saw injustice, hate and enmity..." A.K.
13
@MrMikeludo It's not an anti-Semitism issue? Then why are Jews grossly disproportionally the victims of hate crimes in America?
1
Isn't part of the problem that we have come to see "political correctness" as a bad thing? Yet political correctness is merely a form of etiquette that asks—even demands—that people keep their basest instincts under control. Instead, we have a President whom millions of Americans love because "he's not afraid to say what we're thinking"—i.e., a President who gives people permission to indulge their hatreds as a form of free speech. In this way, we perversely equate open expressions of hatred with the patriotic exercise of liberty. Expressions of hatred morph into the acceptance of bans on Muslims, the caging of immigrant children, the pardoning of war criminals, and the increasingly aggressive use of deadly force by the police. Eventually, in private hands, they become murder. Jews, because they are the objects envy and fear, are easy targets. But so are all who are different—Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, Asians, Africans, women, liberals—anyone who is different from the hater.
America is in a rapid period of decline. Our President exploits hatred to increase his power. His entire Republican party is too debased to stand against his evil. His millions of supporters cheer him on in the crass orgies of ignorance and resentment which constitute his campaign events.
We need people to speak out forcefully against all of this hatred. But we are stuck, I'm afraid, with moral degenerates like Lindsey Graham and Devin Nunes determining the fate of our nation.
48
In so many words, we have lost our moral compass. It is a frightening time.
The second amendment has been high jacked by the greedy, power hungry NRA, twisting it to their advantage to endorse and sell guns!
Trump’s lies and bigotry spread hate and division. His rabid followers don’t care. Republicans blind support refuses to see him for the con man he is.
McConnell’s firm, diabolical grip on the Senate has stagnated our progress since Obama took office.
Nothing positive for the people of this country gets brought to the floor, debated or passed.
We are in a pit of distraction that promises no relief.
Vote them out? Sounds good, but then there are the headwinds of rampant voter suppression, the outdated Electoral College, and the “Supremes” misguided Citizens United.
Our moral compass appears beyond repair.
For this member of a Holocaust family who has vowed "Never Again" there is a cause for the rash of antisemitic acts, and it's Donald Trump. When he called white supremacist Neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville in support of a pro-slavery Confederate general, Robert E. lee, while chanting "Jews will not replace us!" as containing "some good people," he gave tacit approval to his white nationalist base to engage in antisemitism. It was only last year when his hysterical racist rhetoric about an "invasion" by a "caravan" of Hispanic immigrants seeking refuge here incited a follower to massacre 11 Jews in their Pittsburgh synagogue because Jews have supported immigrants. Again, Trump did not take any serious action and now I have to pass through security to enter my local synagogue. And more recently, Trump has attacked Jews who support Democrats as being disloyal to Israel implying they're legitimate antisemitic targets. When you have a racist who espouses white racial superiority of this type, we have an incitement to his followers, who are a significant part of his "base," to engage in hate crimes of the kind just perpetrated in Monsey, NY. Jews who support Trump are making the same fatal mistake of my German Jewish relatives who thought they were safe. No one, especially Jews, Muslims, and people of color, are safe as long as Donald Trump is president.
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@Paul Wortman ...and let's also include the concocted and stirred up dog-whistle over not being able to say "Merry Christmas" anymore, which Trump amplified from Fox and the mainstream media treated as a canard and a joke. That went on for a few years until Trump declared that it's now safe to say it again. What changed? He has given Christian Nationalism permission to devalue humanism and to beat its chest.
@Paul Wortman - If only Trump were the problem with anti-semitism please read this article carefully. It clearly says:
"We must acknowledge that there are multiple ideological sources feeding this paroxysm of hate; it is not a result of a single political outlook. Some critics wish to exploit the issue to undermine their political opponents. That is no way to deal with anti-Semitism. There is no one-size-fits-all profile for the perpetrators of these attacks."
4
@John E. Smith Of course, there's always the tinder of racism, but you need the spark of hate to ignite it. Trump is that spark of hate.
1
You need look no further than Donald Trump. Every group is under vicious attack because of him. Gays, blacks, women, Jews. You name it. He has made hate fashionable and acceptable. It never truly ends against any of these groups.
Trump is the scariest thing to happen to America in our life time. (Along with a number of his side kicks.)
We need to figure out how on earth he got elected and make sure it never happens again. Most of all - vote vote vote him out asap.
45
The Right has always had a determined Jew haters, but it is the Left that has repackaged antisemitism as "anti-Zionism" and brought it into political mainstream. Ilhan Omar, who represents my district, is preoccupied with the evils of Jewish money and influence. Whatever else she may yet achieve in the way of promoting social equity will be dwarfed by her efforts to delegitimize Jewish participation in politics.
81
Ill tell you what this is most definitely not.....
This is NOT a "Trump" thing. Each of the 7 antisemitic attacks recorded in NY over the past week were perpetrated by minorities. Hardly a Trump demographic.
The antisemitism graph started its wild upswing during the Obama administration, and hasn't stopped since.
237
@megachulo
If that's true at all (and where's your evidence?), it's because racism spiked up when some very fine people couldn't stand the fact of a black guy in the White House. Anti-Semitism goes hand in hand with those folks' ideology.
86
@megachulo
Trump normalizes hate and bigotry. This absolutely IS a "Trump" thing.
48
Wrong. While anti-Semitism exists on the left as well as the right, Trump has brought it mainstream.
It's true that there have been anti-Semitic advisors very close to the presidency -- James Baker, for example, and Pat Buchanan.
It's also true that Reagan liked Nazis enough to honor them.
But Trump has legitimized anti-Semitism in a way that no other president has done.
54
Any group is as likely to channel the hate that Trump stirs. Last summer it was immigrants, today it's Jews, next it will be Muslims, or actually anyone that anyone with a gripe and access to a gun decides on the spur of the moment to act their rage upon. The problem is the disease that American society is incapable to cure itself of: frustrated hateful outsiders with access to guns. Guns guns guns and no way of curing the disease. It's not a political problem, it's a societal problem without a cure. It's an incurable disease. America's system of governance is broken; it doesn't allow some problems to be solved. There will never be consensus on banning guns and ammunition, or do away with carbon fuels or even on the scale of things, solving relatively simple problems like health care. The system is broken. Some problems are to hard to solve by consensus.
26
@Blue Sky White Clouds:
You may be right in your observations overall. The inability to find consensus on major challenges to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in this country is destructive to the concept of democracy and democracy itself.
3
@Blue Sky White Clouds,
You are deflecting. If it's not fun s it will be knives. Timothy McVay didn't need a gun. You definitely are using this tragic event to deflect.
BTW, a hero with a gun ended this in six seconds. Compared to other mass shootings?
@Blue Sky White Clouds
Stop blaming Trump!
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
—Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemoller (14 January 1892 — 6 March 1984), a Protestant pastor and social activist who was supportive of the Nazis in 1933.
Sermons in Erlangen, Marburg, Gettingen and Frankfurt, Germany (January 1946)
1
“Why now?” the writer asks, and the omits one of the major reasons: a white supremacist in the White House whose vocal supporters include neo-Nazis, David Duke, the anti-Semitic website The Daily Stormer, and many more.
President Trump can claim to be “the least racist person in the world,” but his refusal to distance himself from virulent anti-Semites (“There were very fine people” he said of the Charlottesville crowd that chanted “Jews will not replace us”) is one of many indicators that Donald J. Trump has Jewish blood on his hands.
Bad news, Trump: your disgraceful presidency will be limited to one term.
43
All of this is true. But thank you, Billings Montana. I did not know this story. Important.
37
The fabric of our pluralistic and secular society is being shredded as the writers say,
"...the progress also poses a threat to those who are bewildered or angered by these social changes and who prefer mutual rancor to mutual respect."
The rancor that one sees, even in the civilized pages of the NYT comments section, demonstrates that our nation is afraid of the other, and are ready to say whatever will advance their views.
What is sobering is that some individuals are ready to do anything to advance their cause.
9
25 years ago, before Internet, I shared shoulder to shoulder commute from Brooklyn with mostly African-American crowd.
the level of anti-semitism expressed in the locally-printed (before Internet) newspapers read by my co-commuters would be hard to replicate.
Left never discussed or acknowledged the level of hate and anti-semitism in African-American communities. Farrakhan is considered as acceptable figure.
243
@Maria
It is simply not true that the “Left never discussed or acknowledged the level of hate and anti-semitism in African-American communities. Farrakhan is considered as acceptable figure.”
Farrakhan is rejected and condemned by the clear majority of liberals and progressives for Farrakhan’s blatant and repeated anti-Semitism, anti-white racism, homophobia. Name a single, major Democratic Presidential candidate who personally supports Farrakhan? There are none (the best you can do is guilt by association that someone who supports a major Democrat also has expressed some support for Farrakhan). Farrakhan and his version of Nation of Islam has a genuine track record of black empowerment and saving the lives of black individuals. So some African-Americans, and some liberals (a definite minority), will express some level of support for Farrakhan’s and NOI’s positive work in the most impoverished portions of the black community. They overlook or minimize Farrakhan’s hatred and bigotry as Farrakhan just being Farrakhan. It perfectly mirrors Trump supporters overlooking or minimizing Trump’s overt racism and misogyny and sexual predator acts, crimes as Trump just being Trump because Trump defends whites/Christians, supports Israel, is good for Wall Street, cuts taxes, puts in judges that they want. The difference is that Farrakhan is no one. Trump is President.
Both should be condemned for the hatred they spread. Trump’s is far more dangerous.
4
"Why now?" Its a random act it happens when it happens.
“What can be done to stop such incidents?”
Vote the GOP out of existence and repair the government so that it serves the people again. The disaffection and lostness that leads loners to these desperate acts and fuels the anger that gets fed into these delusional ideas of correcting some great wrong is directly connected to the republicans destroying our government and taking away the last thing most people in the US used to be able to count on, that Their government was Theirs.
10
In our multi-cultural democracy, we must continually educate each other about our heritage. Ignorance breeds hatred and misunderstanding.
I am proudly in Congresswoman Lowey's district. Thank you for writing this column.
Either we come to grips with how we will live together and understand that our different religions, colors and languages are our common heritage or we will perish as a democracy.
I hope voters will reject Trump who is a demagogue. For those who see him as a friend or ally, it is like having a home run hitter on your team. Yes, he scores some runs and wins some victories, but that bat is wild and endangers us all. It is not about political parties, it is about sanity. More pulpit, less bully.
23
As I expected, there are already comments sowing discord, pointing fingers at other at-risk minority groups. This is exactly what Putin and his henchmen have been working toward. Don’t fall for it. We all need to maintain solidarity against the racists and the interests that are fostering racism, including not only Putin but all his new allies in the U.S.
30
@J. Gunn Coolidge thank you! As bob dylan said, "Both our forefathers were slaves"--this splitting apart of minority peoples breaks my heart.
If we "truly" wish to make America friendly to "inclusiveness" the conversation must include the eradication of the Republican Party. It seemed hate groups and their misguided, unproductive and baseless passions were shrinking into insignificance as their practitioners ages and dies, until the equally shrinking and frightened Republican Party sold what was left of their souls to expand their base to win elections and pack courts with unqualified hate-favoring judges. Conservative talk and their elected hacks have conflated racism with politics, obscuring them both to being the same shade of gray. Racist-based hate must be separated, isolated and extinguished, not used to pad the vote count to achieve a political end at the expense of a unified country.
14
@David But it's coming from the Left, too. Eradicating the Republican Party will not stop the followers of Farrakhan, the Hebrew Israelites, etc.....and let's not forget how very left of center Jeremy Corbyn of England fomented and promoted (and did nothing to stop) Antisemitism in the Labour Party.....and finally, let's not forget that there are some fairly anti-Semitic people in the Democratic party.....the extremes of both parties are filled with Jew haters! No party, sadly, is exempt.
44
@Hexagon
Let's not dabble in false equivalents. Of course there are always going to be folks singing different tunes in every party, but to attempt to conflate the few within the Democratic Party (e.g., "Nation of Islam" really???) to the many swelling the ranks of the GOP is misleading and dismissive.
1
As to any government response, our leaders in NY fumbled away the opportunity to keep us safe when they liberalized bail laws. Most of the perpetrators of these vile attacks will be released without bail. As much as many New Yorkers detest and hate Pres. Trump and AG Barr, the federal government is in the best position to prosecute and incarcerate the perpetrators. Let’s hope that they step in to fill the void left by New York’s current elected officials.
29
@Mike
Everything you have said was rank speculation.
This is a case of a mentally ill man.
In any case no one has or will just be put out on bail for trying to murder a random group of people.
How not to respond, especially for politicians like Governor Cuomo, is to say things that will later be proven to be untrue. The knife attack in Monsey was by someone with documented long-standing mental health issues. His attack was neither coordinated nor part of some kind of effort against the Jewish community.
How not to respond when Trump incites more violence by making statements that are obviously designed to? For newspapers, especially, stop giving Trump billions of dollars of free advertising. I know it is difficult now that he's president, but there are smart ways to do it.
The media can help in many ways, and that includes giving readers information on how to combat propaganda within their communities and especially online where the cesspool is bottomless.
Remember, waves of attacks by unrelated people are more a symptom of the atmosphere of siege we are under, with our democracy under attack and crimes against humanity being perpetrated on people of color by our own government. While most people would keep their wits about them in these times, people with mental health issues may not.
The last few attacks we saw reported in the media are nothing like Charleston, San Diego, Pittsburgh or Charleston. We need to remember that and not allow the hysteria created by our politicians to curry favor with voters to rule the day.
168
@Rima Regas The report today said that the perpetrator of the Monsey attack did have anti-Semitic materials and writings, found by investigators. He did not just attack the Jews gathered just because he has a mental illness; he went out of his way to go there and target those people.
110
@Rima Regas
I'm sure these were arguments at the beginning of violent events in Nazi Germany.
A dozen years before Trump, an American, teenage Jewish boy asked his grandfather who survived the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, "Is it possible for that to happen in America?"
He replied, "Yes."
The boy asked again, "When?"
The grandfather answered, "Tomorrow."
An old American Jew told me that in 1979 he had asked a German Jew the same question “if it could happen here.”
She replied, "You don't understand. The Germans always had the highest culture in literature, music, art, etc. Every town had an opera house. And look what happened to them. American has is the lowest form of culture today (1979) what can you expect of it? It will be even worse."
It will be much, much worse.
Since that time American “culture” has reached beyond the bottom of the barrel.
“It happened, therefore it can happen again. It can happen everywhere,”
—Primo Levi, Auschwitz survivor, who eventually committed suicide
147
@Rima Regas One of the best comments I've ever seen in the NYT, and that's say a lot. Thank you for your thoughtful and intelligent suggestions about how to combat this. I am in 100% agreement.
14
Holocaust education is only mandated in 10 states. I think the start of working toward supporting Jewish Americans like myself is to legally require it in all 50. Hopefully the next president will do better than this one.
71
@Mandy Feuerman "Hopefully the next.... Are you kidding?
BO worked against Israel and in fact did contribute to the international uprising of anti-Semitism . He worked against the election in Israel of Bibi. He spoke out against police before he even knew if they were wrong in several situations. He has done more for American-Israeli relations than the past three Presidents.
I do agree that Holocaust education should be mandated in every state like we have here in Illinois.
14
The next president could hardly do worse than this one.
@Armand Bendersky
So when Black people want everyone to be educated about American slavery, Jim Crow, racism, etc that's brainwashing, white guilt tripping, political correctness, etc. But when Jewish people want everyone to be educated about the German Holocaust, which did not happen on American soil that's ok??
In America we are sitting on a land which saw a successful Holocaust. Native Americans were deliberately wiped out almost in total. And no one wants to talk about that other than to say these things happen..
1
The blight of political correctness is showing inevitable results. The recent horrific attacks on Hasidic Jews by mostly Black assailants brings us to the dilemma of researching cause and effect of abhorrent behavior. An honest discussion about the what, when, where and how these poisonous attitudes develop will require intense investigation and can bring uncomfortable issues to light and for those reasons it will never happen.
121
@Robert Mescolotto What you are suggesting is abhorrent and racist. And has no empirical backing.
1
Rep. Lowey and Mr. Harris, yes, the present phenomenon of anti-Semitism is alive in America today. Anti-Semitism is one symptom of our trumpian times of ignorance about past centuries' dictators treating minorities as pariahs and "infestations" in their countries.
Paroxysms of hate crimes have been engendered by President Trump and his people; a social media conspiracy against certain groups of Americans. It's unacceptable that Jews in America are taking steps to hide their Jewish identities after the many horrific mass shootings against people praying in synagogues in America in the past few years and today.
There are two Jewish candidates running for our 2020 presidency now, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Mike Bloomberg, former 3 term Mayor of New York City. What are the chances of Mr. Sanders or Mr. Bloomberg being the nominee of the Democratic Party in 8 months? The scourge of anti-Semitism has risen unabated in our divided and angry American society. What will end anti-Semitism in our country? Hopes and prayers are less important than our duty as American citizens to fight against this cancer of hatred.
27
In the meantime, while everyone is debating how best to respond to these attacks, let's consider at least one practical approach. An example of this is the church shooting in Texas. The gunman was shot within seconds by an armed church member (there were several other armed members). In New York, with over a hundred people present, a man wielding a knife injured several before escaping. Had he used a gun the death toll could have been staggering. You are not going to discourage deranged people like these by education, by "mental health" counseling. Simply put, in todays world we need to take more responsibility for our own protection. A good place to start is re-visiting gun laws to allow responsible people to arm themselves. To those opposed to my approach I ask one simple question. What would be your response to the next home invasion? This isn't the world any of us want, but it's the world we have to live in.
36
@Steve
More guns is not the answer.
Our country has the most guns per person than any other country. It has not reduced gun violence. In fact, more guns = more gun deaths.
23
@Steve
Fewer people died in the Hanukah attack because a gun wasn't used. More people died in the church attack because guns were used.
I live in Canada. We have fewer guns. We have fewer gun deaths.
Arming everyone with guns is simply a recipe for more shoot outs. That's not a good outcome.
42
@Steve although I deplore guns, your question is valid. These are the gray areas that people seem so unable or unwilling to negotiate in our constant, increasingly polarized, and ultimately futile efforts to separate the "good guys" from the "bad guys." It doesn't help.
Yes, ideally I would like to see guns eliminated entirely from the face of the earth. But also yes--if someone came into my home and threatened me or--more importantly--my beloved son--I would regret not having sufficient means to protect ourselves.
If we can listen to each other, maybe it will become easier to find nuanced and effective policies in many areas.
Of course we need to start with, "How can we define 'responsible people'?" And under what circumstances can a responsible person turn irresponsible, and even dangerous, with the overwhelming power of a gun in his or her hands? "Normal" people are being pushed to the brink every day.
6
Why are most media ignoring the fact that many of the recent attacks against Jews have been committed by African Americans, not white supremecists (though they are responsible for many previous attacks)? It seems that since this "president" took office, he has condoned or even encouraged racism and other hatreds (such as of women, of "the other"), and he has uttered not a word about these newest attacks. Sadly, no matter what happens to him, it will be tough getting those bad genies back into the bottle.
108
@mimbrava The Democratic Intersectional Politics Machine is in full gear promoting the Minorities can not be racist unless they are Jews, and then it is anti Zionism which is good and deserved.
79
@mimbrava Trump has faults but being anti-jewish is not one of them.
15
@mimbrava
While Trump's critics are busily piling on, the real culprits get a pass.
15
This column ignores what may be the most important element in the increase in large-scale anti-Semitic violence, as well as such violence perpetrated against others: the internet.
The internet, which is essentially cable TV on steroids, allows the one in a million so inclined to control the news of 300 million Americans and untold foreigners for days, if not weeks. That power, the ability to control, the way to say, "See, I really am somebody!" never existed before.
Previously, if someone stabbed or even shot up a half dozen people in Kansas, the national news may have mentioned it on page five a couple days later, while local papers and TV would have probably ignored it, at most giving it a one-line mention. Now, with the guarantee of ongoing universal coverage within an if-it-bleeds-it-leads framework, that rare individual who, for whatever reason, is motivated to do so, gets to act out his or her fantasies of control and recognition.
This is not to say that anti-Semitism does not have an ongoing life of its own. It certainly does, and while America has been low-keyed in that regard compared to most countries, our history has honored and still honors "popular" anti-Semites of our history such as Henry Ford, Father Coughlin, and Werner von Braun.
31
This will no doubt come out wrong (I'm not Jewish), but it was only today that I consciously thought, "These anti-Semitic attacks are becoming something to be truly alarmed about." Not that I wasn't horrified and saddened by the attacks preceded by the one in Monsey (especially the one in Squirrel Hill, where I spent a lot of time with my friends while in high school), but something just clicked today, falling together with the many incidents over recent years that have grieved me greatly, into something whose ugly sum could be even bigger than its horrific parts.
As Americans, I think we've been led to believe that, regardless of the evil and cruelty and bigotry that has happened time and again, "it" will never actually happen here. But now I see that the country we know could become a place where just about anyone except those in power live in constant fear and dread--like the ones--elsewhere--we read about every day, grateful that we live here and not there.
But we also need to keep in mind that anti-Semitic terrorism comes from a place in the human psyche that I constantly struggle to understand--the same place from where racism, attacks on LGBTQ people, anti-Muslim sentiment, etc., and the small cruelties we perpetuate against each other every day come. Trump and his minions are fanning the fires. But, in addition to taking away their power, I think we all need to look within as well, and see what--for better or worse--we're all capable of...to nurture our better angels.
108
@NGB It came out right. Thank you.
3
@NGB Thank you for your thoughts. As I explained at the beginning of this administration to my non-Jewish friends, we Jews are the canary in the coal mine. What all the other minorities can agree with each other about, and agree with white supremacists about is their hatred of the Jews. I don't care what reason, as there is a plethora of them. But beware, as the attacks continue and increase against us, think about who is next.
5
@NGB Trump is innocent this time.
1
Ms. Lowey and Mr. Harris,
I applaud your efforts here. For what it is worth, I think something might be missing in your identifying the problem and how to combat the hate. JPP in the comment section also mentions some of the issues.
I grew up in Monsey, NY (Remsen Ave.) in the 60s and 70s. My father was the chief of the Monsey Fire Department for many years. I still have family in Rockland County. Ignoring the fact that their is a serious culture clash in Monsey is dangerous I think. It is more, much more, than antisemitism.
Keep up the good work. Only open minds and open hearts can help this.
40
@Jim Greenberg Culture clash yes -- but that does not warrant a machete attack. People are free to live where they want in America, whether or not their neighbors like it.
26
@Jim Greenberg
Thank you for being one of the few willing to bring up at another potential source of discontent other than our president (no matter how much he deserves it).
Of course anti-Semitism is deplorable. Anyone preventing others from practicing their own religion is a problem. Also a problem is when religious groups (of any religion) start unreasonably affecting the lives of others. I wonder if there is some legitimacy in the fear some groups feel about growing clusters of religious fundamentalists interfering with the quality of life of nonreligious people. Any review of the incident at the East Ramapo Central School District (where Monsey is) can provide some evidence of tension between the ultra-religious and the non-religious. The fact that all of the other towns who try to prevent a repeat of this incident automatically get labeled as anti-Semitic only intensifies the problem.
I am not absolving this man for attacking worshipers, What he did certainly constitutes as a hate crime. However, I am merely trying to provide a remote explanation for apparently growing discontent.
20
@An Infrequent Gardener
So are you saying that if blacks, Latinos, Asians etc move into an area and people there are uncomfortable with this they have the right to attack and try to kill them? Or is this only ok if we are talking about religious Jews being attacked?
4
Let me get this straight, this is an epidemic, but there are multiple ideological sources. Hmmm, generally an epidemic has a root cause. Here, apparently not, but it's bad enough that it can't be a new "normal". Bad enough that we need to enhance spying on the general public, start locking more people up and increase indoctri... er, public education. I don't want to diminish the impact of this tragedy, especially upon the victims of it, but sometimes hotheads advocate for cures that diminish us as a people. I don't have a magic wand to wave that will eliminate anti-semitic attacks for all time. The best that we can do now is to find and hold the perpetrators of these attacks accountable.
Let's not turn the country into a police state.
12
@The Woodwose The root cause is intolerance or phobia or projection re "The Other." Just happens that certain parts of right, left & center have this illness.
1
@The Woodwose
"Let's not turn the country into a police state."
Impure hyperbole!
Racist or anti-Semitic acts break the law and deserve to be dealt with in a court of law.
1
My menorah remains in my window day and night. Hiding is unacceptable.
259
@David I live in the liberal bastion of BERKELEY and have, for the first time in fifty years, considered not putting the menorah in the window. It has gotten to be a dilemma and an act of bravery - and this is not good.
19
@Bjh - I am crying reading this,. The answer is for all your neighbors ALL YOUR NEIGHBORS to put a Menorah in their windows. Best to you.
9
thank you.
3
I would imagine close to the same way we responded to the lone gunman in the Las Vegas shooting. It might be more appropriate to react as we did to the murder of MLK or the dead little girls in that long ago church bombing, but no one was killed this time, and that's good. He had a machete.
3
Others have noted the "Trump permission" factor. In addition to specific antisemitic tropes in his remarks, there are the more general appeals to prejudice against minorities, xenophobia, and white supremacy. The consequences include a perception among many of his followers that acting violently out of hatred is permissable. One of the worst factors in Trump World is the continued support he receives from certain Jewish individuals who are blind to the degree that giving hin a pass when it comes to bigotry and rabble-rousing will lead to danger for all elements of the Jewish community.
109
@arp This was African American who committed this crime, where did you find this white supremacy stuff?
82
@arp .. fyi, Jews voted in higher percentage for Hilary Clinton than any other ethnic group outside if African Americans. So there's actually quite few Jewish Trump supporters.
8
Trump unleashed this. He demonstrates, every day, that it is acceptable to lash out and seek to injure or set the rabid dogs upon those you hate. Witness his recent throwing to the well-armed NRA supporters the identity and address of the brave Whistleblower.
72
We sadly lack moral leadership, both in the Presidency, and more specifically inside the walls of NY's City Hall.
16
Yes it is an epidemic. A mental health epidemic. As much as people want to categorize this as a racist incident or a hate crime, the simple fact is that the perpetrator is clearly mentally ill and not capable of formulating racist or hateful thoughts.
12
@William
Wow. You sure do have a lot of mentally ill murderers in the US. In fact, it seems like ALL of the mass murders in your country are committed by mentally ill white men.
Must be something in your water or in the air, because that isn't the case in other countries.
14
@William
How do you know he is incapable?
2
@William
It's not true that "mentally ill people "are incapable of formulating racist or hateful thoughts. "
Abraham Lincoln was mentally ill, as was Winston Churchill.
Some of the greatest writers, composers, musicians, artists and other brilliant individuals have suffered from or do suffer from mental illness.
A mentally ill individual won a Nobel Prize in Physics.
Mental illness does not cause people to grab machetes,
enter the homes of Jews, and start stabbing people.
It is anti-semitism that drives people to commit violence against Jews.
19
I know what the United Nations thinks is the proper response to anti-semitism: "Both sides are urged to exercise maximum restraint."
34
@Jay Orchard
Dear Jay,
As usual, while the admonition from the UN has the antiseptic quality of offending no one, it also has the stench of ignoring the disaster that confronts us.
1
We cannot address this issue in politically partisan terms. Anti-semitism thrives both in right wing and left-wing circles. While Trump has done damage. he alone is not responsible for this. In fact, the rise in antisemitic incidents predates Trump. And BDS has also stirred up much anti-semitism.
128
@UU
BDS is just a trope for anti israel.. it is supported by the american palestinians, and worse, liberal american jews.
They are complicit in this release of violence, and will be the first victims
60
@UU It predates Trump right back to the Obama years, its excoriation and abandonment of Israel, its support of BDS, its appeasement of Iran, and the Palestinian terror network, and its actions in the waning hours of the administration at the UN to wound Israel, and Obama's failure to attack Antisemitism with action rather than limp words - e.g. his closeness to Antisemitic figures. The Democratic Party has more to do with the rise of Antisemitism through its Jew-hating junior members who are hell-bent on making hating Jews a part of the Party's platform, than anyone else. I will never vote Democratic ever again, though a party member since the 1970s. My Party abandoned me. It is so clear, there is no debate.
46
That’s correct. But Donald Trump has indisputably made the problem worse.
9
And we need to call it out when we hear it or see it and not let it linger unchallenged. Elie Weisel said, "Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim." He is correct.
96
@Leah
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
—Edmund Burke
It seems that's what most of these comments are doing.
6
Let's face it the internet is the platform of hate. Content weaponized and targeted to personal identification (PID) whose only intent is to incite or agitate. The velocity of hatred has accelerated since our hyper connectivity with mobile devices and the internet. Social media (another platform/channel) is just a petri dish for spreading misinformation weaponized and targeted to user personal identification. We need as a country to demand our privacy, we should have to opt in to any sharing of personal identification (PID), as well as location. Privacy guarantees inclusiveness, think about it,
12
"...but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides."
31
These attackers are mentally ill. It’s not really societal anti-semitism. It’s just what they have fixated on today... making a splash attacking religious people. My uncle had schizophrenia and his particular obsession was being anti-abortion back the 1980s. He did all kinds of inappropriate things to protest and was arrested repeatedly. No one would say he had a hatred for people who got abortions... they would say he was nuts. And that is the response here. Talking about anti-semitism isn’t going to deter these attackers. Good luck.
17
@Neildsmith
Mental illness is not an excuse for their actions and this is a symptom of underlying pathology in the culture where Jews are scapegoated and reviled. It’s the acceptability of these anti semitic thoughts in society that feed the obsessions of unstable violent mentally ill persons.
1
@Neildsmith
Really now. He wasn't ill enough to plan which synagogue/rabbi's house to attack, drive the 20 miles to get there, drive even more miles to run away from the crime scene. Premediated, not spontaneous. Don't blame his hatred of Jews on schizophrenia.
Most mass attackers are mentally ill, as was likely the case of the man who shot dozens in Los Vegas a number of years ago. But, all these sick people carefully planned their escapades. They knew exactly what they were doing.
1
@Neildsmith It's anti-semitism and history teaches us that denying the existence of hate allows it to flourish. We've seen this before.
1
If you cannot worship without an armed guard outside your place of worship or being armed yourself, your religious liberty has been infringed.
299
@L. L. Nelson
OUR religious liberty, my friend. OUR religious liberty.
7
@L. L. Nelson
Dear L.L. Nelson,
Well said.
4
@L. L. Nelson
I agree. Good point and thanks. It's really helped me put several things into perspective.
Recently there have been articles about Evangelicals voting for Trump because he's on the side of religious liberty. Really?
Also, if a shooter goes into a church and kills 2 people, and a knife holder goes into a Rabbi's home and stabs 5 people. besides the weapons, what's the difference? One is a "hate crime" but the other isn't? How come?
They are all infringements of religious liberty.
2
Dehumanizing words, hateful rhetoric or violent acts against anyone is a strike against full, free human flourishing of all. Murder! This is wrong, however and whatever ugliness created the violence.
I missed this year's lighting of the Public Menorah in our city; I will take action today to show support for our city's Jewish communities.
May God bless them with peace; I'm praying the same for the church in Fort Worth, Texas.
34
Thank you to the two (2) authors on this on point essay.
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I am a Jewish American and was born in 1950, five years after World War II ended and the world learned about the Holocaust and the murder of six million Jews, of which one million were children.
I grew up in Philadelphia, Pa and all throughout elementary school used to be taunted by Catholic schoolmates constantly hearing the fantasy that "the Jews killed Christ." I was in junior high school when the Second Vatican Council stated that it was no longer permissable to continue to teach the lie that my people killed Jesus.
I have lived for sixty-nine years and as a young adult and now as someone whose tomorrows are much lesser than my yesterdays continue to hear the poisonous lies that "Jews control the economy, Jews control Congress, Jews control the White House, and Jews control foreign policy."
Just like racism is as American as apple pie so is anti-semitism.
The election of Donald Trump changed everything. By his constant demonizing of minorities he has made people who have hatred in their hearts for Jews, Blacks, Hispanics, and Gays to feel emboldened and empowered to openly express their bigotry and be proud to do so. Anti-semitism has increased by 150% in America since Trump was elected.
The evil of anti-semitism must be confronted and fought with everything in our power. White supremacists must be marginalized, not empowered, and the best way we can return our country to a nation where all races and religions are respected is to vote Trump out of office in 2020.
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@Mark Jeffery Koch I don’t plan to vote for Trump but what are you going to do, who will you blame when he is gone and it keeps going? When it gets worse? Republicans? In NY?
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High grades and test scores are neither the only, nor the most important, determinants of a competent physician. They are one of many criteria used to select a medical school class. The "unqualified or less qualified Black" applicant, who you feel "stole" your slot, earned his/her place in medical school as much as any applicant.
@Mark Jeffery Koch That might be a start but how do you put the genie Trump let out back in the bottle?
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Thank you for this piece.
I'd like to note that the NYT has, in the past few weeks, contributed to this surge of "othering" Jewish people. First, it opened its pages to Jared Kushner, so he could promote the administration's policy of classifying being Jewish as a race/nationality, paving the way for Jewish Americans to be officially considered as something other than American. More recently, it allowed Bret Stephens to write an article espousing the view that Jewish people are genetically different from other people (which it tried to walk back shortly after--too little, too late)--again, laying the groundwork for Jewish people to be considered as "others" who can then be persecuted.
The NYT has a responsibility not to contribute to anti-semitism, and it is not taking that responsibility at all seriously. Clearly the administration is fostering this climate of anti-semitism, but the NYT is also supporting it by publishing anti-semitic click bait. Shame on you, NYT.
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The NYT unintentionally contributed to the problem by constantly ignoring that there is only one true race: the human race.
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@Kristin H .. I know your heart is in the right place, but Jews have been othered for 2000 years regardless of how they are presented or try to present themselves. It's a fact of life when being a minority no matter what country you are in.
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@Biz Griz
Exactly. Jews are the "other" and always have been.
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Actually, as long as people don't fight back, these thugs will continue to feel safe to bully, assault and kill Jews, Muslims, LGBTQ, POC, and anyone who isn't what they are.
THIS is why they want President Trump to declare the LEFT-wing groups, Antifa, Redneck Revolt, Socialist Rifle Association, and any other non-white supremacy group as "terrorist organizations", while leaving Atomwaffen, ANM, Identity Evropa alone.
Because when people fight back, bullies back down. We saw this in Charlottesville when Trump's "very fine people" ran from them, or had to have a 3:1 advantage.
Yet not one person has been killed by these left-wing groups, but you can't say that about the racists, who, from the Klan in the 1870s to this year, have murdered THOUSANDS!
Candle light vigils and paper menorahs are a start, but they aren't an end.
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When you ask “why now” but fail to mention the words “white supremacy” it is an answer ringing hollow, and politically safe.
Perhaps eight years of openly racist political attacks on Obama, followed by an openly white supremacist, bigoted campaign for president has something to do with the resurgence in anti-semitic action? The orange man is not the root of all evil; but the force of white supremacy in this country has woken up with a fury in the past decade. Fascism, white supremacy and anti-semitism are peas in a pod.
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@Jared Hoffman
Most of these attacks are "minorities" and for that read blacks. So stop with the white supremist nonsense. It's all over Europe, England, the Middle East, Russia, Eastern Europe and Here...
You are either Naive, ignorant, or unaware of the real facts and statistic. Attacks against Jew should be stopped with action, not politically correct words. We know better now, don't we?
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@Craig Where do you think these minority attackers are getting their information (fuel) from?
@Jared Hoffman "White supremacy"? You are aware that all but one of these attacks have been carried out by African Americans, and the murders in Jersey were committed by Black Hebrew Israelites, right?
I guess that would make them "Black White Supremacists", like in the old Chappelle show skit?
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Until we recognize the real cause, we will not solve the problem. Five years ago, if someone in our congress would have made an antisemitic tweet or statement, they would have been denounced faster than you can say Ihlan Omar. Today when congressional leaders tweet or denounce Jews or Israel, our Democrat congress is afraid to speak out. The Jews have become the one minority group where discrimination is both permitted and condoned. We are now seeing the results.
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@Howard Wolf
Denouncing Israel isn't the same thing as denouncing Jews. Israel is a theocracy that has more in common with Saudi Arabia than it does with traditional Jewish teaching.
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@Richard Israel is not "a theocracy that has more in common with Saudi Arabia than it does with traditional Jewish teaching."
Most Jews in Israel are somewhat secular, although they identify as Jews. Having just returned from a volunteer trip where I helped outfit young IDF recruits, I can tell you that probably about one in ten is Orthodox/Ultra-Orthodox (they wear kippahs/aka "yarmulkes").
The main aspect of Jewish life in Israel which is controlled by rabbinic authorities (other than some things like some public transit not operating on Shabbat, a compromise which goes back to the nation's founding, or restaurants being open on Shabbat not being certified as kosher, not that they can't be open) is that the Rabbinate is allowed to control religious weddings which creates some problems for couples who want a religious wedding and right to citizenship.
That restriction, while widely complained about, is typically avoided by the couples getting married overseas - Cyprus being the most typical - in which case the civil marriage is recognized for legal purposes, like immigration/right of return.
It's nothing like Saudi Arabia.
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Why doesn’t BDS target Saudi Arabia for beheading those that dare to disagree with the regime?
Why doesn’t BDS target authoritarian regimes in North Korea or China?
WHY does that group target the only Jewish state in the whole world?
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When (and how) are we going to separate hate speech from freedom of speech? Hate speech incites people. And, the first amendment allows it to happen. Isn't it time we look at that fact?
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@Perplexed Would you be ok with such a separation if Republicans were the ones responsible for determining what constitutes hate speech? If not, I hope that fact spurs some empathy for those of us who don’t trust anyone to define hate speech.
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@Perplexed
No it is not time for us to look at that fact. One person's "hate speech" is another person's "telling it like it is".
There is no "hate speech" exemption to the first amendment. Nor should there be.
To understand semitism one needs to look at it from every perspective and not automatically apply the conventional headline grabbing labels.
What often rankles people is when they see the secularism that is so apparent in a society that preaches diversity with unity.
The creation and active development of these Hasidic communities and the manner in which public policies and rules are perceived as being disregarded at many levels are in itself very troubling. Contrary to assimilation, this type of activity breeds contempt and anxiety at many levels. Isn’t this obvious but conveniently being overlooked?
Every day the news are filled with stories of muggings, murders, theft and social prejudices. Most of these victims don’t have the community blocs to sound a cry of terrorism. Nor can they demonstrate the financial muscle that always carries a big stick.
All that aside, in a city like New York with its diverse population and extreme have vs have nots, can anyone really be surprised that we’re seeing these twisted minds wreaking havoc? Does anyone really believe it will stop? And how and when?
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@Nick
"Nor can they demonstrate the financial muscle that always carries a big stick."
I don't understand how financial muscle would operate for those you see as defenseless. The police, publicly funded institution, is the big stick for those who are victims. And they should be speaking out for all, regards of religion, race, sex, gender, Creed, etc, who are impacted by criminal behavior.
I can understand you point, but to discuss the self-segregation of the Hasidic communities doesn't mean they deserve to be attacked any more than black communities that were forced to segregate.
If anything, society needs to have a stronger conversation about mental illness, and exposure to more differences so "odd" become the norm.
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@Nick I guess the creation and active development of Amish communities also breeds contempt and anxiety?
DON’T BLAME THE VICTIMS.
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@Lawyermom I am not aware nor knowledgeable about Amish development to argue your point.
However true it may be, I am secure in my knowledge of the Hasidic community and it’s extensive development in the NY/NJ regions.
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The writers do a pretty credible job of pointing out the root cause of these problems, but it may be far less specific than the abysmal levels of knowledge cited in polls, it is just general ignorance about any one of the genocide epidemics that occurred in different countries over the past one hundred years. A large segment of the public that has retreated to their cable news and talk radio echo chambers have lost any tether to both history and the truth in current events, and it wouldn't be a stretch to talk a number of them into believing that recent and past attacks were fake news and Pol Pot wasn't a mass murderer, he was the genial spokesman for a brand of frozen foods who has been miss-characterized.
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It is not entirely a coincidence that there has been a dramatic rise in attacks on ethnic , religious and other minorites during the Trump administration largely due to the president's fostering of divisiveness. What we can do is advocate for a full and fair impeachment trial in the Senate, and if he is not removed, to vote him out of office.
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@Alan J. Shaw
There is no evidence that any of the attacks in the New York area were motivated by the ideas of the President.
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@Alan J. Shaw Sir, with all due respect to you (I have NO IDEA who you are), bringing up POTUS Trump is a red herring. [Yes, I agree that he is an uncouth boor.] Please re-read this essay and you'll likely be reminded that anti-Semitism has existed for eons.
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@Alan J. Shaw Our headline president has opened a Pandora's box of hatred.
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Jews are one of the targeted groups, but not the only one. Many news reports, reporting on FBI statistics, document the increase of domestic terrorism and hate crimes. The larger picture is that intolerance and cruelty are now actively promoted by Trump himself and key figures of his administration, silently acquiesced to in the Senate, and trickle down to ever more crude, vulgar, and violent expressions among the "base".
Count, not exhaustively:
- A transactional view of Jews as Israelis who got they wanted (so why are they complaining?)
- No space for refugees and immigrants
- "Religious liberty" = the right of religious nationalists to impose their zealotry on those who don't believe the same
- No tolerance for identity minorities such as LGBT
- Womanhood reduced to "must have children"
- Contempt for science and expertise, including the denuding of the US govt and a very Holy Inquisition attitude about scientific research.
The GOP bears many key features of fascism:
- The idea that the group (here, Trump and supporters) are in constant peril from enemies
- That they must come together under the leader who, alone, can save them
- That, because of the existential nature of the threat, the ends justify the means
- That enemies are lesser/evil/subhuman
- A pseudo-historical narrative that explains the present as a corrupt fall from a golden past, and believes in a new golden era under the leadership of the leader
- The mafia-like corporate cleptocracy.
It is all there.
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