They should not, however, be
surprised.
Since the end of World War II, most
of us have been under the illusion that Jew hatred has been in recession;
relegated to the fringes of society, there to wither and die. That belief has
proven to be wrong. Hatred of the Jew, whose roots reach back to Greece and Rome merely
went underground. It did not wither. It lay dormant. Now, as a result of
multiple forces, Anti-Semitism/Anti-Judaism has reemerged in Europe, in North
America, and in Arabia..
The trouble is that we have become
used to a world wherein Jew hatred was absent. Hence, its return elicits
turmoil and pain. Part of the turmoil is because, in contrast to our forebears,
we have lost our ‘sea-legs.’ We don’t know what to make of Antisemitism. We are
constantly shocked to encounter it. So, we struggle to understand. We blame
Anti-Zionism. We blame White Supremacists. We viciously blame each other, in
the somewhat naïve belief that if Jews would only behave properly (each from
his own point of view), Jew hatred could be defeated.
Yet, even if we grant that Jews are
obligated to constantly improve their behavior, we will still miss the point.
Anti-Semitism is an historical phenomenon that transcends all explanations. It defies
reason and rejects logic (despite the best efforts of historians,
philosophers and psychologists to explain it). How else can we understand that the Jew is
dangerous because he is both Right and Left, Capitalist and Socialist? How else
can we explain that Antisemitic images and prejudices pass easily from the
Atheist Left to the White Supremacist Right to Jihadi Muslims? Antisemitism
possesses one common denominator, the abiding hatred of the Jew and of Judaism.
So, what are we to do?
First, we must acknowledge that we
are under attack from multiple directions. Making excuses for one side’s
Jew-hatred encourages all. We must unhesitatingly acknowledge the fact that Jew
hatred comes from different directions (even those with which we identify on
other issues). Jews and all people of good will, uncompromisingly fight every
manifestation of Antisemitism: Right or Left, Progressive or Conservative,
Muslim or Christian.
Second, in order to fight one needs
that for which to fight. I learned how from a beloved teacher. His name was
Rabbi Isaiah Wohlgemuth. In the mid-1930’s he was rabbi of the German town of
Kitzingen. He fondly recalled those years as a ‘Golden Age’ for German Jewry. Why?
Because the Jews responded to their dire situation by deepening their
Jewishness. They studied their heritage, and sought out each other in communal
solidarity. In brief, they answered their adversaries and became meaningfully
steadfast by becoming better Jews.
In this old/new situation, if we do
not come to understand that for which we exist as Jews, the consequences will
be nothing if not fraught. Fatigue, despair, or even self-identification with
our adversaries could result (as they have over the centuries). Engaging the
hydra of Antisemitism together, based upon profound Jewish knowledge and
identification (which, of course are best achieved in the Jewish Homeland), is
a proven path to its subjugation (even if not its slaying).
Over my desk, hangs a cartoon. In it, a Professor tells his
student: ‘Those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it. Yet those who do
study history are doomed to stand by helplessly while everyone else repeats
it.’ In these few lines, I have tried to share what I’ve learned from Jewish
History. Let us learn its lessons, and not repeat them.
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