THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR AND ANTI-SEMITISM

The Jewish people are well-acquainted with anti-Semitism. They have been subjected to it in one form or another for some 5,000 years. Sometimes it has been overt, such as the violence and torture that characterized the Spanish Inquisition and the wanton, horrific and indiscriminate murders of the Holocaust, and sometimes it has been covert in the form of harassment, snide remarks and crude jokes, and/or restrictions in daily life. Many times, Jews lived peacefully in a particular country for hundreds of years before being evicted usually for no good reason other than the whims of the country’s ruler. For example, Jews had enjoyed a largely peaceful co-existence in Germany for some 500 years before the rise of Hitler and the Nazis.

With no homeland, oftentimes, it was a struggle to find another place that would welcome them. For thousands of years Jews had longed for a homeland of their own, a Jewish State where they would always be welcome and from which they would never be evicted. Finally, in 1948 they got one, although it was a small spot of land in an area surrounded by hostile enemies who hated Jews and did not want them there on land that they viewed as theirs. Thus, the Jewish State of Israel was victimized by anti-Semitism and embroiled in war before it was even an official country.

Some religious scholars and historians have suggested that rulers permitted Jews to live in their country because they were handy whipping-boys if problems caused unrest among their subjects. If crops failed and the people were starving, or if there was a plague, or an enemy invasion or the people were frustrated with their everyday life the ruling class claimed it was not at fault; blame the Jews.

In my view, historically, anti-Semitism has been and is a constant. It has always existed. As I said above, it can be overt, such as the pogroms in 19th century Europe or covert in the form of restrictions on daily life, quotas and snide jokes and remarks. Sometimes it has been dormant, bubbling just below the surface almost like an inactive volcano. It surfaces in times of stress, such as in times of economic hardship or a war.

So, it should not be surprising that it has reared its ugly head now in the wake of the Hamas invasion of Israel. It has been omnipresent on social media platforms, in public demonstrations, in newspapers and on tv. People have been brandishing swastikas and spewing vile, hateful language, such as “gas the Jews.” Some civil rights organizations have called out the techies that control social media for being incapable or unwilling to quell the hateful language displayed on their platforms. A few examples just from the past week:

• In Times Square a demonstrator brandished an image of a Nazi swastika.
• Other demonstrators called Jews “Zionists,” “fascists,” “colonizers,” “bigots” and worse.
• In Irvine CA a man was seen waiving a large swastika flag on a freeway overpass.
• Also in CA various cities have reported they were forced to cancel remote public forums due to a plethora of anti-Semitic comments.

Incredibly, out of ignorance, misinformation or blind prejudice many people are blaming Israel and the Jews for Hamas’ attack. They refuse to acknowledge the truth. They refuse to acknowledge Hamas’ extreme, wanton brutality. A Fox News reporter was taken aback when one demonstrator emphatically refused to accept the veracity of what we all are seeing on tv, and insisted Israel was to blame, not the terrorists. It’s like “my mind’s made up; don’t confuse me with the facts.”

The US is supposed to be a haven where people are free to practice whatever religion they choose. Freedom of religion is an integral part of the Bill of Rights. However, anti-Semitism is flourishing in the US. According to a report released by CNN anti-Semitic incidents in the US have nearly tripled in the last six years and are at their highest levels in the last 50 years. This includes instances of harassment, vandalism, assault, and other similar crimes against Jews, which are now at record highs. As reported by USA Today and various other media outlets anti-Semitism was surging in the past week even before Hamas’ attack.

The Anti-Defamation League has reported that crimes against “visibly identifiable” Orthodox Jews increased 69% in 2022 compared to the previous year. It added that “every fourth American Jewish adult” had been the target of an antisemitic incident “either physically or online.” In the view of Oren Segal, VP of the ADL Center on Extremism, “the brazenness of these attacks, sometimes in broad daylight,” seemingly without fear of consequences, represents a dangerous escalation and is a “huge concern.” In addition, ADL records indicate that the actual number of hate crimes countrywide is more than three times what the FBI’s records show. Furthermore, historian Robert Williams opines that there is a significant disconnect with respect to the mindset of Jews and the general public regarding antisemitism. Whereas some 80% of Jews think it has increased over the past few years less than half of the general public think so.

Most disturbing is the trend on college campuses, for example:

1. According to Wikipedia there is a general trend toward enforcing quotas and higher admission standards with respect to Jewish applicants, increased violence and ostracism toward Jewish students, slanted course material, and discrimination with respect to the hiring, promotion, treatment and retention of Jewish professors. These are widespread and well-entrenched despite existing anti-discrimination laws, hard to prove, and have been a staple at many colleges for a long time. In 2021 Dr. Charles Petersen published “letters and documents” that detailed Stanford University’s “Jewish quota” policies as far back as the 1950s.

2. In September The Hill published a survey that reported 57% of Jewish college students had witnessed or experienced anti-Semitism.

3. According to CNN last October a student murdered a University of Arizona professor he thought was Jewish.

4. Earlier this month Stanford University commenced a formal hate crime investigation after antisemitic drawings, including a likeness of Hitler were found in a student’s dorm.

5. In recent years administration bias and pro-Palestinian campus activism have become more blatant and have fostered an atmosphere of hatred and violence. The Israel-Hamas war has exasperated the situation.

6. The anti-Jewish bias has even been permeating secondary and elementary schools with the effect of influencing the opinions of young kids. For example, in NYC the DOE is offering students programs that downplay or even justify Hamas’ terror attacks.

7. The foregoing are just the tip of the iceberg. My research disclosed many more examples, too many to list them all.

CONCLUSION

Recently, it has been revealed that Robert Malley, the Biden Administration’s chief envoy to Iran and head of the US negotiating team, is a strong supporter of that regime and has been for many years. He and his family have deep ties to Palestinians. It has been reported that Malley is Arafat’s godson and has characterized Hamas’ [actions and goals] as “logical.” Worse, he is suspected of aiding and abetting Iran and Hamas by providing them with classified information. His actions may even rise to the level of espionage. He has been removed and is under FBI investigation. Better late than never. Some of us are not surprised that such a person would have been appointed to such a sensitive position by the Biden Administration.

Finally, we are seeing some pushback from fair and sensible people against some universities and students, most notably the Ivy League, which, in my view, has long been a major source of far left, anti-US, and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Some donors have expressed their displeasure and have threatened to reassess their donation policies. In addition, CEOs of various prospective employers, rightfully appalled by the overt antisemitism noted above, have threatened to withdraw offers of employment to the students who have engaged in vile, antisemitic rhetoric. Evidently, even if one possesses a degree from Harvard defending rape, murder, and beheadings and advocating another Holocaust are not viewed as acceptable character traits in the real world. These students need to vacate their protective bubble and face reality.

By the way, I would like to denote that I am not suggesting that all Palestinians and Muslims are terrorists like Hamas, Hezbollah, and other similar groups. On the contrary, I believe 90% or more of them are peaceful, tolerant and would like to be left alone to live their lives just like you and me. In point of fact, there have been and are many examples of Jews and Muslims co-existing peacefully.

Those who know their history are very familiar with the current situation detailed above, and it is frightening. The current events that I have outlined above have given “cover” to the bigots and antisemites among us. Make no mistake, those who criticize Israel are also criticizing Jews. In their view, it is morally and socially “acceptable” to express their feelings both verbally and physically. They manage to justify the disgusting and wanton slaughter and even beheadings of women, children, the elderly and the infirmed. In my opinion, they should be made to watch the raw news footage of Hamas’ atrocities over and over. They are hateful, ignorant, subhuman, bigoted troglodytes, and they need to crawl back into the sewer from whence they came.