God Bless America? Confessions of a Self-Loathing Jew

For well over a century, the United States has been seen by Jews worldwide as a promised land, a safe haven for the persecuted masses of Eastern European Jews that fled the pogroms of the old country, and a protector of Israel. Though the doors of immigration were effectively sealed by the extremist, xenophobic Immigration Act of 1924, amidst a growth in isolationist, antisemitic political movements, the Holocaust ultimately vindicated those Jews who had successfully left everything in the old world behind and fled. Millions of American Jews watched in horror as the Nazis annihilated their European brethren, and they consequently embraced the sanctuary that America offered them as a messianic godsend. The following “Golden Age” of American Jewry reinforced their identities as Americans and fostered in them a fervent patriotism.

As this “Golden Age” wanes and the threat of Western antisemitism returns, many Jews have begun to reassess their communities’ sense of security in this increasingly volatile environment while seriously reconsidering their support for both Israeli and American governments. Though community leaders continue to insist on equating Israeli and American interests, many Jews now call into question not only the disingenuous benevolence of some of Israel’s staunchest supporters, who often seek to use Israel to their own ends, but of the manipulative, anti-Semitic undertones that now generally characterize Jewish-American government relations. The superficial platitudes, unrealistic promises, and sometimes outright threats (!) of phony, corrupt elected officials do little to ease our existential fears and only serve to reinforce in us a sense of hopelessness, dependence, and anxiety as we attempt to navigate these troubled waters while maintaining personal and communal integrity.

The American government’s reluctance to even acknowledge the significant presence of medieval, pre-Zionist antisemitic elements in our society by conflating the term with any political criticism of the Israeli government, regardless of how legitimate it may be, blinds us to the resurgent threat of Western antisemitism from “unconventional” sources. The true nature of this antisemitism is both amorphous and archaic, but it presents a real danger. It is inherently uncontrollable, resists traditional political pressures, and thus presents a challenge much more insidious and subversive. Predating modernity itself, it has quietly infested the very fabric of Western society.

The manipulation of these prevalent antisemitic pressures for the benefit of the Western political establishment is most evident in the cynical way in which Jews are forced to play the role of cheerleader, and, at times, direct enforcer, of Western interests. It seems inconsistent that Jewish representatives tend to complain vocally about the lack of security for Jews in the West, while, at the same time, they take upon themselves the absurd role of defender of the society they wish to critique. How can the Jews be both victims and advocates of the same system? This flawed logic demonstrates an opportunistic, abusive dynamic that aims not only to maintain total political domination over the Jews of the West, but to coerce us into actively supporting the interests of the ruling elite, transforming us into submissive, sacrificial pawns. Such abuse is not unprecedented, as the Jews have often been designated as scapegoats and manipulated by their rulers into defending the status-quo (e.g. through the press and banking industry). Unfortunately, history repeats itself, and the Jews are now being forced into a compromising position as the American empire attempts to compensate for its decadent corruption and its inevitable decline. We have once again been recruited to serve in a war against the ‘anarchy’ of a multi-polar world order—a truly lost cause.

The undercurrents of anti-Western political movements in Europe are beginning to gain traction in the U.S. Far-right and far-left actors have started to coordinate with their counterparts from across the Atlantic in ways that would have been unthinkable mere decades ago. America’s warm embrace of Europe, with all the baggage of the world wars, contrasts with the ageing, fraying relationship between America and Israel. While still dominant militarily, America has ceded much ground to European companies and institutions, undermining its own political autonomy in many key areas such as finance, manufacturing, diplomacy and culture. Most Americans see no real conflict of interest with Europe and have thus accepted an evolved ‘Western’ model that barely distinguishes between the two. However, for many Jews, this warm embrace of Europe, especially post-Cold War, presents a moral dilemma that is not easily overcome.

I often find myself conflicted over the intuitive reaction that I feel towards the local authorities as I travel through Europe. Though I truly believe in forgiveness, and have made a concerted effort to interact with groups and individuals on a human level, I struggle with the overwhelming social pressure to “move on,” sensing its dismissive, self-serving overtones. The apathy (or, alternately, obsession) exhibited by fellow American tourists towards my people’s traumatic history equally alarms me. The ease by which America reneged on its moral obligations towards the Jews by recruiting former Nazi operatives and scientists and prematurely ending the process of denazification, along with America’s initial recognition of Hitler’s regime (formal diplomatic ties were maintained until well into the war!), arouses the suspicion of my Ashkenazi-Jewish conscience and begs the question as to the authenticity and reliability of the American utopia that we have been promised. Furthermore, the populist isolationism that has returned to our political discourse causes me great concern, as I am forced to recall the time that Jews like me were denied asylum by the U.S. government for antisemitic reasons, and were thus abandoned to their eventual doom.

I must temper any frustrations that I may have with the behavior of my fellow Jewish Americans with an acute awareness of the tremendous pressures to which they are subject. Having to decide between faulting our leaders for the systemic corruption affecting all of humanity and taking pity on them for their pathetic, coerced act as superficial poster boys for “Western Civilization,” I usually choose the latter. I generally prefer to see our leaders as victims of a sophisticated form of antisemitism rather than as petty megalomaniacs. However, sometimes the lines are just too blurred and I find it tremendously difficult to distinguish us from them. Ironically, even describing this struggle could be construed by some as antisemitic, evidence itself of the power of the threat. Must I, then, hate myself?

My cousin from the old country came over here.
She was beautiful as gold, the “greenhorn.”
Her cheeks were rosy like blood oranges;
her feet were just begging to dance.

She skipped instead of walking;
she sang instead of speaking.
Happy and merry was her demeanor.
Such was my cousin.

I went to the lady next door,
who has a little millinery store.
I got my greenhorn cousin a job there—
so long live the Golden Land!

Many years have since passed.
My cousin has turned into a wreck.
She slaved away for many years
until nothing was left of her.

Under her blue, beautiful eyes
black bags have appeared.
The cheeks, those ruddy oranges,
have aged and lost their greenhorn glow.

Nowadays, when I meet my cousin
and I ask her, “How are you, greenhorn?”
She answers me with a crooked expression:
“Columbus’s land can burn in hell!”

(“My Green Cousin,” 1921)

Lyrics by Jacob Leiserowitz/Hyman Prizant; Translation from Yiddish by Eliyahu Mishulovin & Adam J. Levitin