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Anti-Semitic apprehension in America: Four conclusions

[additional-authors]
August 22, 2016

Let’s parse the various reasons for which Donald Trump, or the Trump “campaign,” has been called anti-Semitic in recent months.

1. Because he lets allegedly anti-Semitic people advise him or play a role in his campaign – such as Josef Schmitz, who is “accused of boasting about firing Jews and downplaying the Holocaust,” and such as the person who posted an anti-Semitic tweet.  Or the general who retweeted the “not anymore, Jews” tweet.

2. Because his proposed policies and blunt rhetoric promote an atmosphere that makes anti-Semitism possible.

These are two slightly different allegations.

The first one is simpler to deal with: if Trump employs or is advised by such people, he can easily make them go away – if he wants to. If he does not tolerate anti-Semitism – and I believe he does not – then he can make it clear by cleaning his house and removing all people who smack of anti-Semitic tendencies, assuming there are such people in his political house.

The second allegation is harder to deal with. That is, because the Trump campaign is all about the need to be blunt (truth telling) and about the need to change course, including on issues that are quite controversial. If Trump believes that no people should have the ability to enter the US unless they conform to a certain set of standards (including not being anti-Semitic), then expecting him not to promote such policies because of the fear that they might give some people the wrong idea is problematic. Trump is entitled to say: my policy on immigration is this, and if because of this policy some Americans feel that anti-Semitism is now permitted, I will deal with them separately when the time comes.

There are also two different types of claims concerning the alleged anti-Semitism:

1. Trump promotes anti-Semitism by negligence. Namely, he does not act boldly and forcefully against anti-Semitic incidents because he does not understand how serious and problematic this has become.

2. Trump benefits from anti-Semitism and hence promotes it.

The first one is a serious allegation, but is cautious not to alienate the candidate and his camp. It assumes the candidate does not want to see a rise in anti-Semitism. It assumes Trump – with all his faults – does not endorse a policy of hatred.

The second one is dangerous. It is going as far as assuming that one of the two main parties has placed as its standard-bearer a person who hates Jews. If one becomes convinced that this is the case, what does it mean for the future of Jews in America?

Imagine that: three years ago, when the comprehensive report by the Pew Research Center of Jewish America was published, anti-Semitism was mentioned in it once – and the context was Israel. That is: The Pew report makes it seem that anti-Semitism in America does not even merit a question. The only context in which Jewish Americans could mention anti-Semitism was the question “What Do You Think is the Most Important Problem Facing Israel?” 11% answered this question by mentioning “General threats (anti-Semitism, survival, unspecified groups, etc.)”. That’s it. Search the report for anti-Semitism and that is the only mention you are going to find.

There were later reports that dealt with anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses. But all of these reports had one thing in common: they also dealt with Israel-related incidents of anti-Semitism. The hateful language and action came from the left, and it was directed at Jews who were supportive of Israel. In fact, as one of the reports mentioned, “connection to Israel was the strongest predictor of perceiving a hostile environment toward Israel and Jews on campus and to a lesser extent a predictor of personal experiences of antisemitic verbal harassment.” Supporters of Israel were either more exposed to anti-Semitic remarks or more conditioned to interpret more remarks as anti-Semitic (or, most likely, both).

The new anti-anti-Semitism campaign in America is not about the left and is not about Israel. It is about the right, and it is about Jewish Americans. In one way, it makes the campaign much easier: anti-Semitism on the right does not confuse the politics of most American Jews – it is easy and natural to denounce. In another way, it makes the campaign more difficult: There is no longer a way for anyone to say that this is not really about “us” Americans but rather about the policies of Israel that we do not even support.

Four conclusions emerge from the current wave of anti-Semitic apprehension in America:

1. The ice is thin. The tendency of Jewish Americans – especially in meetings with Israelis – to boast about the unprecedented level of integration of Jewish Americans and about the unfeasibility of hostility toward Jews in America is not completely genuine. Sure, America is great. It is unprecedentedly hospitable to its Jews. But Jews – who, according to Pew, say that “remembering the Holocaust (73%)” is “an essential part of what being Jewish means to them” – are easy to irritate.

2. Jews are much quicker to use the anti-Semitic label on their political rivals. Many of those who feel uneasy about using it in reference to Black Lives Matter or to other BDS hacks show no such hesitation in using it against every tweet of anyone related to the Trump campaign.

3. It is painful yet necessary to acknowledge that Israel – while being a comfortable excuse for some anti-Semites – is not the reason for anti-Semitism in America or elsewhere – Anti-Semitic Trump supporters prove that. But make no mistake, anti-Semitic BDS supporters are no better.

4. Amid all the pride concerning Jews being on the cutting edge in social activism and being “the most” liberal group in America – the inherent interest of the Jews lies in moderation. A moderate, calm America, is good for the Jews. A boiling, raging America, on the right and on left, is bad for the Jews.

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