Is anti-Semitism becoming fashionable in high places?

In recent days, the issue of anti-Semitism in high places is making headlines in the world, thanks to a group of wacky British politicians from the Labour Party who – as Vox defined it – has “a problem with which the British left has been struggling: a perception that it is having trouble drawing the line between acceptable criticism of Israel and outright anti-Semitism.” Leaders of this party repeatedly make comments that are A. dumb, B. vile, and C. clearly anti-Semitic. Their party then rushes to “investigate” these comments, to “expel” members that were really out of line (apparently, Holocaust denial is currently still out of bounds), or to make it all look like political skirmishes and an attempt by other parties to “smear” the Labour Party.

Anti-Semitism is, of course, a bad thing. It is bad for Jews, and it is bad for non-Jews. It is bad in Britain, and it is bad elsewhere. But the case of the Labour Party raises a different kind of concern from those raised by many other cases of anti-Semitism – say, the violent attacks on Jews in France, or terrorism directed at Jews in Belgium, or the thwarted plan to attack synagogues in Florida.

Of course, violent acts are worse than words, and every Jew would much rather be the target of idiotic comments from Ken Livingstone (“Hitler was supporting Zionism”) than the target of violent terrorists armed with knives, rifles, or bombs. Yet the real danger for Jews comes from two sources: a hostile public that is no longer controlled and subdued by a vigilant government – or a hostile government that engages in discrimination and persecution of Jews.

The danger in places such as France and Belgium is currently mainly of the first type. Statements and actions by the French government clearly show that the authorities in France have no patience for, and no toleration of, anti-Semitism. The growing fear of anti-Semitism in France originates with certain publics – you know who, and you know why – who see the country’s Jews as a target. It then moves to the fear that at some point in the future, the government will no longer be able to, or will no longer have the needed vigilance to, deal with these publics. Either because of political reasons (‘many anti-Semites vote in elections, and we need their vote’), or because of sheer exhaustion of willpower and resources.

Last year, when I wrote about the Jews of France following the deadly attacks, some readers took issue with my arguments by reminding that in Israel Jews also have to be guarded against attacks – hence, their situation is no better than that of France's Jews – to which I responded by saying: “if we have to live behind guards, I prefer Israel’s guards. Why? For two reasons: first, because I believe they are more determined to defend Jewish institutions. Second, because they will never tire of defending Jewish institutions – that is their core mission. I have no doubt that the government of France also truly wants to defend its Jewish citizens and institutions, but I am not sure for how long it is going to make it a high priority and not tire of it.”

So these are the worries I have when thinking about France. They might change in the future and become more similar to the ones I have with Britain, but at least for now they are limited to the population and to the ability of the government to firmly defend the Jews. With Britain the story is different. What we see in Britain is anti-Semitism in high places – among leaders of one of the two main parties. We see an anti-Semitism that does not hide in the shadows – an anti-Semitism that is not apologetic. An anti-Semitism that seems almost – well – fashionable. An anti-Semitism that is not quite acceptable, but also not much more than a naughty disposition.

And it seems to be rapidly spreading among members of the Labour Party – a party that could one day be in power. A party that could soon be tasked with having to defend the Jewish population of Britain from violence and vitriol and discrimination.

Last year, the institute I work for – the Jewish People Policy Institute – initiated a new integrative measurement of European Anti-Semitism, from which it learned, among other things, that “while the scope of anti-Semitic incidents in Great Britain is higher than in France (for every 1,000 Jews), French Jews are more worried about what is happening around them.” That is certainly a curious phenomenon: why would a Jew in France feel more threatened than a Jew in Britain, if Britain has more cases of “incidents?” The answer is manifold. Some of it is because of the nature of the attacks – the more violent and deadly they are, the more worrisome they become. A case of murder is an “incident”, and a case of harassment, or a nasty graffiti on the wall, is also an “incident,” but these are not quite the same.

Yet perceptions and fears also depend, to a large extent, on the response of the government, of elites, and of the general population, to those “incidents.” They depend on whether the Jews feel isolated and abandoned, or loved and appreciated, on whether they see an country that is becoming weary of worrying about them, or a country that seems determined to defeat all evil forces that threaten the Jews. Evidently, up until fairly recently, the Jews of Britain did not feel that they share the fate of the Jews of France. But the more they see anti-Semitic politicians come out of the closet and feel comfortable enough discussing their feelings in public, the more they live in a place where being anti-Semitic no longer kills one’s hope for a high position in public life, the more worried they ought to become.

As for the rest of us – those Jews who do not live neither in France nor in Britain: We should also be worried (aren't we always?).

If anti-Semitism becomes fashionable in a place such as Britain, if the dangerous mix of leftism and anti-Judaism becomes more common in a place such as Britain, we should not fool ourselves into believing that this will not have impact on the US. In fact, many Jewish leaders in America believe that it already has impact on the US.

And if Israelis think that all this has nothing to do with them, because they are safe in their safe haven – they also ought to remember that Israel doesn't dwell alone in a separate universe. Relations with France are important. Relations with Britain are important. Relations with countries in which anti-Semites might no longer feel the need to hide are important. That is a concerning situation to handle.