The Jewish Odyssey of Confronting Antisemitism
Jordan Perry, the manager of Lake Theater & Cafe in Lake Oswego theater in suburban Portland, Oregon, is attempting to defend a cryptic marquee message about Jews and The Odyssey. Emblazoned in plain sight it reads, “Before there were the Jews, there was … The Odyssey.”
Historians and scholars quickly pointed out that the statement was not merely historically inaccurate; it reflected a familiar tactic employed by antisemites throughout history—the erasure or minimization of Jewish history and identity. The Jewish people trace their origins to the ancient Israelites of the second millennium BCE, centuries before The Odyssey was composed and long before classical Greek civilization reached its height.
Rather than acknowledge his ignorance or simply apologize for an indefensible message, Perry doubled down. He declared, “I believe modern-day antisemitism is exaggerated, mostly as a defense for Israel’s actions in the Middle East and its involvement in our politics.”
That statement did not merely reveal poor judgment. It exposed a mindset steeped in some of the oldest and ugliest antisemitic tropes. Perry trivialized the unprecedented surge in antisemitism that has exploded across America and the Western world. He suggested that Jewish concerns over antisemitism are little more than cynical propaganda designed to shield Israel from criticism. And he resurrected the poisonous conspiracy theory that Israel—or, by implication, Jews—exercise undue influence over American politics. These are not novel observations. They are recycled slanders that have been peddled for generations by antisemites on both the far right and the far left.
About the only canards Perry neglected to invoke were the medieval blood libel accusing Jews of murdering Christian children for ritual purposes and the fantasy that Jews secretly “control the world.” His rhetoric is disturbingly reminiscent of the themes relentlessly propagated by Der Stürmer, Julius Streicher’s notorious Nazi newspaper, whose purpose was to normalize hatred of Jews until it became socially acceptable.
Perry’s comments are made even more reprehensible because they fly in the face of overwhelming evidence. Jews comprise two percent of the American population, yet according to the FBI, year after year they are the victims of a grossly disproportionate share of religiously motivated hate crimes. Since the October 7 Hamas massacre, antisemitic assaults, vandalism, intimidation, and harassment have surged to levels unseen in generations. To describe this reality as “exaggerated” is not merely false—it is a grotesque insult to every Jew who has been threatened, assaulted, or forced to hide symbols of their faith out of fear.
History has taught us a painful lesson that people like Perry either fail to understand or choose to ignore. Antisemitism rarely begins with broken windows or burning synagogues. It begins with words. It begins with intellectuals, public figures, and self-appointed moralists insisting that Jews are exaggerating their victimhood, manipulating public opinion, or exploiting prejudice for political gain. Those lies were told in Europe before the Holocaust. They are being told again today.
No one is required to agree with every policy of the Israeli government. Legitimate criticism of Israel, like criticism of any democracy, is entirely appropriate. But dismissing antisemitism as a fabrication or exaggeration while simultaneously invoking classic conspiracies about Jewish political influence crosses a bright moral line. That is no longer political commentary. It is the language of prejudice.
People like Jordan Perry deserve more than criticism—they deserve public condemnation. Individuals who traffic in antisemitic myths should not be sanitized as merely “controversial” or “provocative.” They should be identified for what they are: willing participants in the normalization of anti-Jewish hatred. Whether motivated by ignorance, ideology, or malice matters little. The effect is the same. Every time someone with a public platform trivializes antisemitism or recycles ancient slanders against Jews, they embolden those who hate Jews and make society less safe for them.
Based on Perry’s own words, he has forfeited any presumption that he simply misspoke. He chose to repeat some of history’s most enduring lies about the Jewish people. He deserves to be judged accordingly.
