If fighting antisemitism were a bagel business, we’d be in Chapter 11.
It’s both simple and sad: The more money we spend fighting antisemitism, the worse things seem to get.
Despite hundreds of millions devoted to the fight in recent years, “the number of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. has surged almost 900% in 10 years, and last year reached its highest level recorded in nearly half a century,” according to an ADL survey released earlier this year.
Despite hundreds of millions devoted to the fight in recent years, “the number of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. has surged almost 900% in 10 years, and last year reached its highest level recorded in nearly half a century,” according to an ADL survey released earlier this year.
These numbers are alarming.
We’re alarmed when we hear about another despicable act of Jew-hatred, whether it’s the assault on Jews in front of a Pico synagogue or the burning of Jews at a peaceful rally in Colorado or the harassment of Jewish students on a college campus.
Those acts against Jews have nothing to do with what Jews do and everything to do with who they are. They’re Jews.
Let that sink in. All they did wrong was to be Jews.
The Jewish community has invested enormous resources over the years to build and nurture strong Jewish identities, and then, one day, that identity becomes a cause for being assaulted.
We teach Jews to be proud Jews while Jew-haters do the opposite. They want Jews to hide and fade away.
The question, then, is not whether we should be alarmed about the rise in Jew-hatred. Of course we should. The essential question is always the same: What should we do about it?
So far, we have fought Jew-hatred logically and directly: We expose it, we condemn it, we punish it, we correct lies, we go to court, we release statements, and so on.
We make noise.
By all means, let’s continue that fight. Let’s continue to protect Jews against harassment and hate crimes, inflict consequences on Jew-haters and fight anti-Jewish discrimination in education, among other things.
But let’s also recognize the limitations of our loud war against Jew-hatred.
It’d be one thing if the Jew-hatred was declining, but if anything, it just seems to get worse. Sure, maybe without all this fighting things might have been even worse, even worse than antisemitic incidents surging more than “900% in 10 years,” as per the ADL survey. But is that really enough of a consolation?
This is painful to admit, but all the noise surrounding Jew-hatred is conveying a perception that “America hates Jews.” In other words, the more we clamor about the rise of Jew-hatred, the more we may be unwittingly spreading the poison.
The hard reality of communication is that no matter how people hear about Jew-hatred, their takeaway is that people hate Jews. People who don’t know much about the subject might hear all this noise and wonder: Why do so many people hate Jews? Am I missing something? Should I hate them too?
The tragedy of people concluding that “America hates Jews” is not just that it could encourage new haters. That’s bad enough. The tragedy is how far it is from the truth.
Indeed, with all the alarming news about antisemitism, it’s easy to forget that Americans generally have a positive view of Jews. In a 2023 Pew survey, a higher percentage of Americans expressed very or somewhat favorable attitudes toward Jews than toward any other religious group.
With all the alarming news about antisemitism, it’s easy to forget that Americans generally have a positive view of Jews. In a 2023 Pew survey, a higher percentage of Americans expressed very or somewhat favorable attitudes toward Jews than toward any other religious group.
That is remarkable.
Of course, you won’t hear any of this good news on social media or in fundraising pitches. Our fight against Jew-hatred, direct as it is, has by necessity associated Jews with the poison of hatred. Whether we’ve realized it or not, we’ve paid a price for that association.
Which brings us to a radical idea: What if we associated Jews with something more positive — like love?
On the surface that sounds absurd. How can we fight hate without ringing the bells about that hate? Without telling the world that this hate needs to stop?
What’s love got to do with it? Where is there room for love when all there is to call out and expose is hate and hate and more hate?
But that’s how communication works. People hear things and it enters their consciousness. In recent years, people have heard that more and more people hate Jews, which is another way of saying that Jews are worthy of being hated.
That’s where love comes in. Instead of associating Jews with the idea of being hated, it’s time we associate Jews with the idea of being loved.
What’s a good way to connect Jews with the idea of love? Start with the simple and powerful idea that Jews love America.
Think of it as a movement called “Jews Love America.”
At a time when more and more people are going in the other direction, we would show America why so many Jews love this country. Not a blind love that doesn’t recognize the country’s flaws, but a love of deep gratitude that has made us eager to give back in return.
Imagine a campaign on social media with hundreds of short video clips showing what Jews have given back to America and ending with “Jews Love America.”
Imagine a campaign on social media with hundreds of short video clips showing what Jews have given back to America and ending with “Jews Love America.”
Our love for America and our contributions to this country represent one of our most compelling assets against Jew-hatred. It’s time we use it.
I’m not naïve. It’s clear that the world’s oldest hatred is not going away. And it’s clear that it’s gotten worse in recent years, especially since Oct. 7 and the ensuing Gaza war.
So yes, groups fighting the scourge of Jew-hatred must continue their fight.
What I’m proposing is to add a new weapon to the fight. This new weapon is more indirect. It calls for injecting positive ideas about Jews into the atmosphere, to enter the notion in people’s consciousness that Jews are worthy of being loved. We’re more than people who are hated, who are afraid and who need protection.
“Jews love America” gives us back our mojo. It’s the ideal antidote to “America hates Jews.”
The ones who deserve to be hated are the haters, not those who are hated. A strong, Jewish, pro-American campaign will put some of those haters into Chapter 11.
