How to be an Anti-Semite

Jewish contributions to society are so pervasive and foundational
that anti-Semites are hard put to accept them.

In his 1959 novel, Soviet writer and journalist Vasily Grossman penned the line:  “Tell me what you accuse Jews of—- I’ll tell you what you are guilty of.”

This description of psychological projection rings true. But it left me wondering, “What are the other anti-Jewish strategies in the anti-Semite’s toolbox? Here is a list.

–Describe an actual event but alter its details to create a false accusation against Jews.

Some time ago I was told that Israelis have sterilized black Ethiopian Jews in Israel. The truth is less sinister.

In the 1990s tens of thousands of black Ethiopian Jews were airlifted from the African continent into Israel, where they were granted citizenship and provided with housing and social services. While the refugees were waiting transport they remained in transit camps in Africa. The Israeli government sent doctors and nurses to help them. Along with medical exams, some women received an injection of Depo-Provera, a long-acting birth control medication. After their arrival in Israel, some of these women complained they were not informed of the nature of the medication they were given. A subsequent study found that all of these women were able to conceive after the medication wore off.

The anti-Semite’s accusation never made sense. Why would Israel bring tens of thousands of Black African Jews to Israel, grant them citizenship and benefits, and then, inexplicably prevent them from procreating? Still, I hear this false accusation from time to time.

-Find one Jew with an undesirable trait or history and pretend that trait or history applies to all Jews.

The anti-Semite’s complaint: “Jews rip off poor people by being unscrupulous landlords.” This one irritates me.

I was raised by two Holocaust survivors who came to the US in their thirties, penniless, with no skills and no ability to speak English. I have vivid memories of the landlord of our tenement apartment. I remember the infestations of cockroaches and mice, insufficient heat in the winter, the dangerous wiring and the building’s disrepair. Our landlord was not a Jew. He was black. Yet it never occurred to me to blame “black people” for the abuse of one black person. Unfortunately Jews are often not accorded the same consideration.

-Claim that Jews victimize vulnerable groups.

For example, friction between Jews and other groups is associated with the false claim that Jews defraud these groups. The supposed victims of Jewish exploitation are routinely depicted as having no agency.

For decades, Jewish shopkeepers in minority neighborhoods were forced to increase prices to compensate for shrinkage (theft), vandalism and the need for security measures. What looked like victimization to minority shoppers was in fact due, at least in part, to the behavior of local residents in these neighborhoods. In the end, Jews fled these neighborhoods and new groups—-Koreans, Cambodians—became the target of minority anger.

-Claim that Jews are disloyal to the wider society.

A related claim is that because “Jews look after their own interests” they undermine the wider society. In reality, American Jews are often self-denigrating and more eager to help outside groups rather than their own. Thus we see many Jews condemn Israel. Others volunteer for every conceivable cause but their own.

–Claim that all Jews are the same.

Steeped in his hatred, the anti-Semite is unable to see Jews as individuals—some good, others bad and most in-between—like members of every other group.

Invariably, the common characteristic of the “Jew” is a negative one. We all know the drill: Jews are greedy, dishonest, manipulative, disloyal, cowardly……the list goes on.

-Discount Jewish contributions to society.

In an earlier Times of Israel blog, I wrote about the 1965 civil rights marches in Selma Alabama. An iconic photo appeared the newspapers of the time depicting civil rights leaders assembled at the head of the march. Prominent among those leaders was Rabbi Herschel, recognizable by his long white beard. But in the popular award winning film, Selma, Rabbi Hershel was oddly absent. In my blog I called this rabbi-washing.

The historical record is clear. Jews played prominent roles in the black civil rights movement from the time of the anti-slavery movement through the civil rights era of the 1960s, to the present time. But by the time of the film’s release a new woke ideology taught that Jews were “privileged” and “white supremacist.” So Rabbi Hershel had to be erased.

Jewish contributions to society are so pervasive and foundational that anti-Semites are hard put to accept them. Instead they weave conspiracy theories. These theories claim that the reasons for Jewish success are illegitimate. So anti-Semites regularly promote such recognizable theories as: “Jews control Wall Street;” “Jews control the media;” and “Jewish money buys influence in Congress” (“It’s all about the Benjamins” complained Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.) On the other hand, Jewish contributions to society are minimized or omitted.

-Hold all Jews responsible for the actions of Israel.

            It is unthinkable that all Chinese would be held accountable for the excesses of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, or that all Muslims would be held accountable for the September 11 attacks on the US.

With Jews, things are different. On today’s university campuses Jewish students are often required to denounce Israel as a requirement for membership in student organizations and clubs.

-Accuse Jews of being arrogant on the claim that they believe they are the “Chosen People.”

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that this biblical cornerstone would be used to denigrate Jews. But the phrase is widely misinterpreted.

In the Old Testament, the “chosen” status of the Jewish people refers to the idea that God chose this tribe to receive the Torah as a history and moral guide. The phrase in no way implies that Jews are superior to others or that their lives have greater value.

The Old Testament reveals a God that values all human life equally, explicitly extending this value to the lives of our enemies. Thus, for example, God condemns those Jews, fleeing from Egypt, who celebrated the drowning of the Egyptian army which had been sent against them. “Are not these also my children?” implores God. God may have chosen the Jews to receive the Torah. That does mean that Jewish people believe their lives are superior to those of others.

-Claim that Jews created the idea of antisemitism in order to gain unearned sympathy.

This accusation is buttressed by far-left ideology that depicts Jews as “privileged. According to this view, Jews cannot be victims of prejudice or discrimination and claims to the contrary are evidence of Jewish manipulation.

If we understand how to be an Anti-Semite we will be better able to counter the lies and distortions of Anti-Semites.