Antisemitism is so prevalent, persistent, and perennial that it can be overwhelming to consider the scope and ways of its ideology and methods. In any given time and place the ideology of antisemitism functions as a theory-of-everything that is used to blame the Jews for society’s problems.
Ideology is a necessary ingredient of antisemitism, but it can only work if there is a congruent methodology – i.e., an engine that spreads its ideological poison. The engine that drives antisemitism across the globe includes governments, unions, and educational systems. These institutions use laws and practices, and curricula to put antisemitism into action.
There have been various theories of antisemitism. In How to Fight Anti-Semitism [2019] Bari Weiss summarized some of the major scholarly opinions. Weiss was galvanized to examine the growing antisemitism in the US after the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting. One particularly cogent theory is that the Jews become the lightning rod for the guilt of any particular culture. The antisemitic narrative of each culture takes on the character of said culture. Thus, medieval blood libels turned Christian society against the Jews during the Black Plague. The Nazis were obsessed with racial purity, so they blamed the Jews for infecting the world with racial impurity.
Much has happened since 2018, yet little has changed. If anything, things have gotten dramatically worse for Jews, and for Israel in particular, since 7 October 2023. In addition to the physical violence directed at Jews and Jewish institutions worldwide, there has been a dramatic increase in antisemitic hate speech. This has been coupled with widespread advocacy to secure the right to speak hatefully of Jewish identity, nationhood, and self-determination. Activist faculty, guided by political and union actors at a national level, argue that their “academic freedom” is threatened when they are not allowed to praise Hamas in classrooms, or teach students that Israel is a White, European colonizer of Palestinian indigenous people of colour. This is consistent with Weiss’ critique of the extremes of US politics; here a society obsessed with race theory and colonialism turns against the Jews and Jewish State as racist colonizers.
Today, colleges and universities across North America are beset by faculty activists in union executive and “antiracism” committees over union contracts and legislation about “academic freedom.” This diverts attention away from other issues. It acts as a Trojan horse that wittingly or unwittingly spreads fear and hatred, sometimes in the guise of social justice and sometimes in the name of workers’ solidarity. The practical result of this methodology is to make it easier to promote hatred of Israel in classes, regardless of the curriculum or expertise of the instructor.
It is hard to deny a pattern that manifests over such varied and diverse scenarios. The perennial question is, what are we to do about it?
The Megillah offers us answers. There is a debate in the Talmud in Masechet Megillah as to whether or not the Scroll of Esther is even to be counted among the books of the Bible. However, this book holds a unique place in Jewish history and the annals of antisemitism.
The Megillah describes how antisemitism worked in ancient Persia through a cryptic combination of ideology and methodology. Haman’s hatred for Mordechai appears to be a personal grudge; Mordechai refused to bow to Haman. One might think that Haman would have had the same hatred for anyone who refused to bow to him. However, Haman’s projection of this hatred onto the entire Jewish people is a very different matter. The Megillah gives us insight into this through Haman’s own voice as he argues to Achashverosh (Xerxes) that the Jews should be exterminated.
Haman then said to King Ahasuerus, “there is a certain people, scattered and dispersed among the other peoples in all the provinces of your realm, whose laws are different from those of any other people and who do not obey the king’s laws (the Hebrew word דת here means both laws and customary practice]; and it is not in Your Majesty’s interest to tolerate them.” (Esther 3:8).
Scattered and dispersed says that the Jews have no concentrated power; they will not rise up in revolt with such a geographic profile. It also says the Jews are hidden and hard to identify. He argues that Persia’s Jews from Ethiopia look Ethiopian, the Jews from Rhodes look Greek, and the Jews of Hodu (India) look Indian. He points out that they are scattered and hard to identify, and they do not follow the laws or even the customary etiquette and practices of the kingdom. In other words, he is saying that the kingdom’s Jews are a secret fifth column.
Creating an enemy is a very galvanizing force in the consolidation of political power. Hitler used Jews and communists to galvanize his power. Stalin used Trotsky and Kulaks – peasant class farm owners – to galvanize his power. Joseph McCarthy gained power by denouncing communists. In all of the above cases the enemy was weak, dispersed, and disorganized enough so as to pose no real threat.
Today’s antisemitism misappropriates the language and demeanor of social justice to ostracize Israel, the Jewish State. By comparison, there are sustained efforts in many countries to commit ethnic crimes. The mass deportation, re-education and forced remarriage of Uyghur Muslims in China is one example. Another example is Turkish suppression and atrocities against its Kurdish minority. In Nigeria the Boko Haram’s crimes against Christians have been premeditated and lethal. The Iranian policy toward women and political dissent has been among the most brutal of any nation ever.
Today’s lack of outrage against these groups compared to the violence and hate speech heaped against Israel is really an old story. It follows the same combination of ideology and methodology as Haman’s scheme to eliminate the Jews of Persia. For example, when Daryl Morey, an NBA coach, tweeted: “Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong,” the Chinese Communist Party applied heavy pressure. The NBA in its Chinese language channels said it was “extremely disappointed in the inappropriate comment” (translation courtesy of New York Times). China is a big market and Morey and the NBA are a relatively small – therefore easy – target. The NBA, like other leagues and products, very much want to expand to the Chinese market. So, they caved in and Morey walked back his comment. Similarly, Israel’s market is little more than a rounding error compared to the Chinese market. So, the world feels righteous in venting its rage over alleged race crimes and colonialist ambitions pointing the finger at those who are not large enough to truly be a threat.
The charge of colonialism – which is based on the rhetoric of “occupation” – rings false given that the core ideologies and methodologies of every Khalifate from the Umayyads to the Ottomans was expansionist. But for a few failed military maneuvers, the Muslims might have colonized all of Europe. Judaism, by comparison, is the only religion that is not trying to conquer or proselytize. Judaism commands discouraging the convert. It does not sanction an expeditionary force of any kind; the military is for defense. [See Devarim 17:16, “he shall not have too many horses.”]
The Megillah provides one recipe for survival: gathering together. The Persian communities of Shushan and the other 126 provinces needed more than just the charms of Esther, the wisdom of Mordechai, and the permission of the king. They needed to band together; the word is ויקהלו. The antidote to our relative minority in the diaspora is to have strong centers, organized communities with devoted members. As Brent Stephens recently said, the fight against antisemites and antisemitism is “mostly a wasted effort.” It is not our responsibility to change them. However, to act sensibly we must understand the ideologies and methodologies that seek to destroy us. It is our responsibility to use that knowledge to make ourselves a stronger and more mutually supportive community.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rosenblatt and Dr. Terry Neiman
