Comments on: “The Jew” as “Other” in America

By: David Ben-Ami

David Ben-Ami — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 16:57:37 +0000

By the way, it was I who provided the "Like"

By: David Ben-Ami

David Ben-Ami — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 16:56:08 +0000

I appreciate the depth of your response, offpeak34. But it misses the historical context of the place of the Jewish people throughout the Galut, including, unfortunately for our dreams of acceptance, the United States. In or need for acceptance we have a tendency to cling to the appearance of normalcy surrounding us as present and future; all the while ignoring the past.

I have discussed to some extent Jewish Denial in articles on TOI. I also author a blog, Antisemitism and Jewish Survival which takes hard look on the situation of Jewry in the Diaspora from the first century forward. Twenty-plus articles already on-line and perhaps an equal number to appear. Visit it at, http://blogs.jpost.com/users/anti-semitism-and-jewish-survival

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 22:42:13 +0000

I think that's deeply cynical and I really don't agree with very much of it at all…I think of the question quite differently. There are two Americas, the deeply accepting, atheist spirit which puts democracy and equality above all else, and the puritan, deeply religious and moralist America which thinks of our version of democracy as divine in origin. And even that's an oversimplification. There are many factions here, and other ethno-religious groups have been at least as mistreated as Jews historically and today. That's the real problem with the country today: these competing images of what the "real America" is and you have to break this question down almost on a state-by-state level. It's also why I think it's INSANE that any Jew would support the Teabagger/Republican/Romney conception of what America is/should be. That's not the America that truly accepts a plurality of ideas and religions.

By: Richard Cornell

Richard Cornell — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 22:18:42 +0000

Gee can I comment. If you feel you are an outsider you will always be one. If you decide to stay with the old countries ways you will always be in the old countries.
I was told that when my ancestors were sent from the old world to America they could not speak English. They learn as fast as they could. They adjusted their religion as not to make everyone mad at them. We dress as Americans, learn to eat as Americans or not to eat foods that were weird. We vanish into American society became one of them to a point, yet still believe in our religion, took the good and bad of this new country took parts of the good and bad from other religions also.
You believe in a God that is your problem consider if you came from India?
Think what America has done in 200 plus years when you look at the rest of the world in the last 6000 years.
It is a country that has freedom of religion for everyone and they can worship a rock to a Easter Bunny.
Freedom of the press is still being debated around the country and it is still up in the air about what is freedom of speech, press, or what is on the Internet.
Mayor Bloomberg of New York City says that no citizen has the right to have a firearm and he has set up what would be called his own personal Gastapo to back him up.
There are freedoms that unknown in other countries, where you can vanish into the country cities without the fear of the police. Illegals can drive cars, in other countries they would be shot. Illegals can vote, march, protest, complain without the fear of being shot. They also rod banks.
Hamas can hold meetings openly in America as can the Muslim Brotherhood even throught they are both consider terrorist groups in America.
What people around the world can do in America would get them killed back home.
If you feel you can not fit in as a person in America then you have the right to go somewhere else.
For being a Christian nation, there are over 5500 Christian denominations listed by the IRS in the USA not one of them are better then the other.
Maybe you do belong some where else.

By: El Elx

El Elx — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 20:02:06 +0000

well you could try to write intelligibly, or at least edit less superficially.