Israel and Jews in the hot seat

by Steve Kramer 

Photo courtesy of the author.

Not for the first time, Israel is the favorite punching bag for left-wingers and the far right. We remember how good it was to be Jewish in the aftermath of WW2. It turns out that it was an aberration. Before the war antagonism against Jews was at a high point, with Americans of German descent at the forefront, especially the German American Bund. On the radio in those pre-television days there were anti-Jewish propagandists like  Father Coughlin, who broadcasted antisemitic commentary. See NOTE below.

“Initially, antisemitic displays in the United States did not increase with the onset of the Great Depression. But after 1933, when a Nazi-led government came to power in Germany and Franklin D. Roosevelt inaugurated a New Deal at home, the deepening economic crisis contributed to an explosion of unprecedented antisemitic fervor. Fueled also by the rise of Protestant and Catholic demagogues, deeply entrenched Protestant fundamentalism, and the widespread expression of antisemitic attitudes by respectable social and religious leaders, they illustrated how centuries of denigrating Jews culminated in the most savage accusations, and in some urban areas-especially New York and Boston-violent physical attacks. In the 1930s American antisemitism was ‘more virulent and more vicious than at any time before or since’ as rabid antisemites, almost without exception, envisioned an international Jewish conspiracy aimed at controlling the government of the United States. They believed that unless maximum vigilance was exercised, Christian America would be lost.” Leonard Dinnerstein

(https://academic.oup.com/book/47473/chapter-abstract/422363405?login=false&redirectedFrom=fulltext)

In the last decade, social media has become a potent force promoting Jew hatred. TikTok in particular has become a popular (about half of all Americans use it!) conduit of memes against the Jews. Populating TikTok are a plethora of bots engineered by China, Iran, and Russia. In addition, the algorithm TikTok runs on is much more susceptible to anti-Israel positions than pro-Israel ones. This has a direct impact on the younger generation, its most impressionable audience. For more on this, see (https://voz.us/en/technology/231027/8298/tiktoks-algorithm-is-fueling-misinformation-against-israel-and-anti-semitic-discourse.html).

Following the Holocaust and WW2, the 1950s and 1960s were good times for most of the Jews in America, who by that time numbered about 4.5 million in a population of 150 million (compared to 7.5 million in 350 million today). Jews were prominent in many fields, especially finance, law, medicine, education, and business. By the time I applied to college in 1962, the idea that I might be discriminated against as a Jew never crossed my mind. My college class was roughly a quarter Jewish.

Sorry to say, that’s ancient history. Schools that previously welcomed  20% or 30% Jewish students may now be down to 10%. The student populations, in many cases egged on and brainwashed by Jew-hating professors, make campus life a fearful proposition for many Jews, who often conceal their Jewish identity. I can’t imagine how that makes young Jewish students feel about themselves.

My readers, whom I assume are mature adults, most likely haven’t had to deal with this type of animosity and prejudice. They are for the most part successful people, which I believe is one of the major causes of Jew-hatred, the price we pay for being successful. Jew hatred may be just starting to impinge on their – your – existence, possibly in subtle or more blatant ways. If you live in a gated community in Florida it’s probably not a problem. But if you’re a younger family in an urban environment, you may have to be careful about walking in certain neighborhoods, even your own. Or the school your children attend may be full of anti-Jewish propaganda, from teachers or text books, plus fellow pupils who have already been indoctrinated.

Jews are accused of having power over media, banking, government, the courts, you name it. If so, we’re doing a lousy job of running things. The mass media is almost daily aimed against Israel, which reflects on Jews in America. (In the West, Israel and Jews have become synonymous.) Israel or Judaism may not be particularly significant in your life, but that’s no defense against the animosity that is aimed wholesale against Israel, or the Jewish community – its proxy. This is now a prominent part of American politics on the national and even the local level.

I’m complaining about this situation, but what can be done about it? Since we live in Israel, it’s not our problem to try to fix. But you should be looking into this, if not for your own sake, then for your grandchildren. They are the ones applying to college, perhaps joining a dicey organization, trying to get a job, or opening a professional practice. Will their choices be tempered by the climate of Israel and Jew-hatred? I certainly hope not, but that may be wishful thinking.

NOTE: Father Coughlin was a supporter of some policies of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. His broadcasts mimicked some of their Fascist agenda applied to American culture. Coughlin touted “Social Justice,” to be applied to political and economic targets. Ivy League schools and others used strict quota systems to limit the admission of talented Jewish applicants. The acclaimed pilot Charles Lindbergh was considered by some a potential American presidential candidate, buoyed by his affinity toward German and Italian fascism. (He later flew 50 combat missions in the Pacific Theater as a civilian consultant.)