Pluralistic Anti-Antisemitism. A Minifarce

Penelope is visited by a pluralistically conceived action group tasked by the local council with helping to combat antisemitism by going door-to-door.

One group member: Hallo, we’re a pluralistically conceived action group tasked by the local council with helping to combat antisemitism by going door-to-door, and we’d like to talk to you about antisemitism.

Another group member clears her throat and mumbles: well, actually…

Penelope: I see, well, do come in.

One group member: Obviously, everyone opposes antisemitism and there is no place for antisemitism in our society.

Penelope: So, when people do or say antisemitic things, they are not part of society?

One group member: Exactly.

Penelope: In that case, where does antisemitism come from in the first place?

Another group member: Precisely, this is why I disagree. In fact, society constantly reproduces warped, antisemitic perceptions which are woven deeply into the fabric of our culture and evidently allow people to make sense of the world around them and their position and the challenges they face within it in ways that reasoned consideration does not. You might say that it is precisely their deranged perception in this one area that allows them to at least keep up the appearance of being well-adjusted in all other areas.

Another group member: That’s one way of looking at it, but I do think we should be honest enough to admit that Jews have historically been forced into certain roles that have made them unpopular, and this has given them a bad name and now they’re stuck with the bad reputation. And the conduct of some Jews today hardly does them any favors.

Penelope: So, people make bad experiences with Jews and then think all Jews are like that?

One group member: Yes, exactly.

Another group member: Hm, no, not really. In fact, antisemites project negative stereotypes onto Jews that have nothing to do with what Jews actually are or do.

Another group member: No, no, no. Sure, the antisemites overstate the case, but they are responding to actual Jewish conduct and characteristics.

Penelope: So why do they overstate the case?

A long silence ensues.

One group member: If only we knew.

Another group member: We don’t really need to know anyway, because that’s antisemitism, which goes against Jews, and that’s no longer our problem. Our problem now is antizionism, which goes against Israel or, to put it differently, against Jews not as individuals but as a people.

Penelope: Hold on for a moment, why don’t Jews just behave better? If what you’re telling me is true, this would surely solve the problem.

One group member: It’s not that simple.

Penelope: I’m not simple either, so explain it to me.

One group member: Most non-Jews just don’t know enough about Jews and hold on to prejudices, if they were better informed…

Another group member: Meeting real-life Jews would help a lot, people would see that Jews are human beings too.

Penelope: So, if Mr. Corbyn had tea with Mr. Netanyahu, he would see the error of his ways?

One group member: Yes, absolutely.

Another group member: Hm, this may be a special case, because Corbyn does seem particularly set in his ways and Netanyahu is a particular nasty Jew.

Penelope: So, people need to meet nice Jews if they don’t want to be antisemites?

One group member: I wouldn’t put it quite like that, but…

Another group member: In essence, yes.

Another group member: This is all nonsense. Just as all of us, to varying degrees, distinguish between the rule and exceptions that confirm the rule, antisemites, even if they did meet a Jew they liked, would simply dismiss the nice Jew as an exception from the rule.

Another group member: Unless, of course, the Jew in question is also antisemitic and confirms the antisemite’s claims.

Penelope: So, Jews can be antisemitic too?

One group member: Yes, of course.

Another group member: Rubbish. It would go against their Jewish identity to be antisemitic.

Penelope: The people who run the convenience store on the corner always say, we’re Semites too, so how could we be antisemites? We just support the resistance against the occupation.

One group member: That’s one of the oldest nonsensical claims in the book, it’s like saying “some of my best friends are Jews” and thinking this will get you off the hook.

Another group member: Well, they’re right actually, they’re not antisemites, they’re antizionists.

Penelope: So, those Hasidic boys who were harassed by other pupils and mocked by one of their teachers…

One group member: Yes, that is definitely antisemitic.

Another group member: But it’s a distraction from the real problem, which is antizionism.

Penelope: So, can I just ask, my neighbor, she’s a born-again Christian and keeps saying she’s suspicious of Jews because they killed Jesus. Is this true?

One group member: This is a central tenet of what we call traditional antisemitism, the accusation has been around since the fourth century.

Another group member: Exactly, so it’s antisemitism, not antizionism, don’t worry about it.

Another group member: I think it’s important to look exactly at the facts, the Jews were involved, but ultimately it was the Romans who crucified Jesus, so one shouldn’t overstate the case, but neither should one whitewash the Jews, to avoid seeming biased.

Penelope: Hm, ok, I think I understand. May I ask something else?

One group member: Yes, of course.

Penelope: Is it true that Jews have a special relationship to money and commerce?

One group member: Yes, absolutely. I can show you at least one thousand examples of wealthy Jews doing well in commerce.

Penelope: More so than non-Jews?

One group member: Well, that isn’t really the point. The point is that people see rich Jews and draw their conclusions, and antisemites get a bit over-excited in the process.

Penelope: But if there aren’t more rich Jews than non-Jews, how does this explain antisemitism? Are there no poor Jews?

One group member: Yes, of course, in fact, looking at the broad historical sweep, most Jews have been poor, often more so than even the poorest non-Jews around them. So, a negative obsession with Jews needs to be there first for antisemitic assumptions to arise.

Another group member: We’re wasting our time here, it really doesn’t matter either way, it would matter only if antizionists were preoccupied with this issue in a big way.

Penelope: You know that there was an arson attack on the synagogue in our neighborhood, and two worshippers died of smoke inhalation?

One group member: Yes, this is one of the reasons why we’re going door-to-door around here.

Penelope: I was really shocked, I mean, whatever problems one may have with Jews, this surely goes too far.

One group member: Yes, I couldn’t agree more.

Another group member: Personally, I would have thought it goes too far by any standards.

Another group member: It’s hard to say, one would need to know what the arsonists’ motivation was before passing judgement. Do we know?

Another group member: Surely, it was critics of Israel’s policy against the Palestinians. Even as someone who is highly critical of Israel’s policy, I feel strongly that an attack like this goes too far.

Another group member: I recently spoke to the head of the police team investigating the arson attack, and they’re pretty sure that the arsonists were anticapitalist campaigners, because they left a manifesto blaming the Rothschilds for the financial crisis and poverty in the developing world.

Another group member: Ah, so it may have been antisemitic, but it wasn’t an antizionist attack, so let’s move on.

The phone rings.

Penelope: I’m sorry, I need to get this.

One group member: Fair enough, well, I hope we’ve been able to help you understand the problem and get some sense of what needs to be done.

Penelope: You’ll let yourselves out?