We have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in recent decades trying to fight antisemitism, and has anybody ever asked: Why does it seem to always get worse? I’ve never once seen a report that says “we’re winning” the war.
Here’s my theory for why we keep failing to make an impact: we’re always defending ourselves. Exposing and condemning and complaining can only go so far. Eventually, we just look weak. We think we look strong because “we’re fighting a war,” but it’s the opposite. If we were strong, we wouldn’t need to yell and fight so much.
Underneath our efforts to combat antisemitism is an implicit cry to the world to “stop hating us.” But seriously: Do we really think fighting, exposing and condemning Jew-hatred will get fewer people to hate us, even if we win the occasional legal battle? All this fighting is designed more to make us feel good than to make an impact.
To make a real impact, we need to lose our obsession with combat and look at the bigger picture. Jews are a unique and ancient people with a lot to give to the world. We’re winners, not whiners.
We are not a cowering people petrified of every swastika that shows up on a synagogue wall. We are a unique and ancient people with a lot to give to the world. We’re winners, not whiners.
Instead of asking the world to stop hating us, we should invite them to join us.
Joining us doesn’t mean converting to Judaism (although for some, it may). Joining us means becoming an “honorary member” of the Jewish tribe and learning more about Jewish values and the fascinating story of the Jewish people. It means learning how Jews have succeeded through the millennia despite impossible odds. It means picking up life lessons and wisdom from those who have learned them the hard way.
This is not “interfaith kumbaya” – it is an invitation to learn about Judaism and the Jewish people and partake in its universal teachings.
Who’s to say we can’t attract 10 million friends of Jews to sign up around the world through an innovative website and social media campaign? Those honorary members can become our biggest and most loyal supporters; our ambassadors to the world at large.
But here’s the crucial point: The mere fact of launching a “Join the Jews” campaign makes an instant statement to the world and to Jews about who we are and who we are not.
We are not a cowering people petrified of every swastika that shows up on a synagogue wall. We are a confident people who have given plenty to the world and continue to do so, and are worthy of joining.
It’s clear that virulent Jew haters will hate us no matter what; it’s not rational. We’re never going to win them over. But how we handle Jew hatred makes a huge impression on others— and, most crucially, young Jews. They deserve more than to associate being Jewish with weakness and victimhood.
Yes, we should continue to protect and defend ourselves with all the means at our disposal. But in the long run, it is a positive, winning image for the Jews that will make the most difference to the Jewish future– and the world.
