Nick Cohen, in a must-read column for The New Statesmen, examines left-wing anti-Semitism. He may have forgotten that this is an old tradition.
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The left generally is OK with Jews, as long as they are meek victims who toe the party line. It’s when Jews actually stand up for themselves (by, perhaps, desiring a state of their own, among other things) that the left gets bent out of shape.
We’re just not “oppressed” enough anymore!
To Mike Silverman,
Beautifully said! I think your comment is right on target. Left-wing anti-semitism is only a half-step removed from “traditional” anti-semitism. The “traditional” anti-semite can’t stand Jews, period. The left-wing anti-semite can’t stand Jews as anything other than victims or saints (like Einstein). Yet both forms of anti-semitism have the same result; the denial of the basic humanity of Jews.
Roger:
The level of primal hatred of Israel and Jews by the left resembles the non-thinking hatred of African Americans in the post civil war south. The left loves to point to it’s embrace of logic and reason, as oppossed to those moronic “God people” but bring up Israel into any coffee house discussion and their faces redden, the foaming of the mouth appears and not only does a one sided critique of Israel pour out of their mouths but the mind numbing “Protocol Of Zion” style conspiracy theories about all Jews spill forth and are accepted in a quasi religous fervor that is only matched by the disgusting filth of skin head deviants. “It’s the Jeeeewwwwwwsssss!!!!!!!!.” It goes beyond passion and goes directly to the simplest and most base human hate that is animal like in it’s Pavlovian response.
Kevin Peters
David, Islamofascism is a nationalist movement. They want to restore the Caliphate to unite the ummah and lead it to war against the unbelievers. Only the particular group is different than the Nazi dream of the Aryans uniting against the lesser races.
It’s more than anti semitism or anti zionism.
Look at our population under the age of 40. Born in 1965. maybe politically aware of world events from 1975 or 1980. What do they know? Hiroshima? There was a war and the Americans decided to kill off 100 000 Japanese mercilessly to end the war. Hitler? He was bad. The Sudetenland? Huh? That some hundreds of Nazi troops marched unhindered into the Sudetenland while France had the largest standing army in the world. The Cold War? Huh? And on and on. The under 40′s really know very little of the history of the twentieth century.
Oliver Stone is their professor and the endless hate America pronouncements become fact.
Now there are “problems” in the world and it seems that Israel is the cause. Why? Seems they won’t give the poor Palestinians back the land that Israel stole from them. The Palestinians only want their rightful land , a chance to build a nice country. All these terrorists are just mad because the Israelis and the US won’t give them their country back. The actual history of what went on from 132 a.d to 1973 is lost.
Sure, the anti semites use this. But there is a large contingent of nice people here, your friends, maybe your relatives and coworkers who buy into this. They aren’t anti semites. They have Jewish friends, even Jewish in-laws. And sooner or later, the words spill out of their mouths, “why don’t you people give the arabs back their land so the terrorism will stop?” I love that “you people”. It sends a chill up my spine.
And little by little the pressure builds.
I have said for years that the peace process is bankrupt until the Palestinans have a government and a leader who actually controls the people. Abbas may be well meaning and want peace, but unless he can deliver there is no “process”. And he can’t deliver as long as Hamas and Islamic Jihad control large segments of “Palestine”. For obvious reasons, Abbas can’t face down Hamas. Until he does or Hamas rules, there is no “partner for peace”. Because we want peace, we always delude ourselves into believing that there is a peace process. And, it always ends the same way. Is there hope? I doubt it.
What is more confusing to me about the whole subject leads back to intelligent design – or lack of seeing?
For example, which intelligent being ever said that Judah would be persecuted in the first place, for how long and for what reason?
Its a difficult subject to approach because of total objection by many to anything remotely considered supernatural. Supernatural as seen by intellectuals as keyword for someone who is either illiterate, ignorant, or dumb to believe in such a reality.
Although today there is hardly anything supernatural about IVF, 2000 years ago, it would’ve seemed that way. Yet we are willing to consider without hesitation with same laughter and ruse that some type of ferrel rat was our ancestor.
At what point in a man’s life as a secularist, agnostic, or even atheist does he not at least remotely consider the possibility that the Torah, the prophets and Yeshua were correct in regards to the suffering of Judah and Christians?
In multiple places it is stated clearly that Jews and Christians will be persecuted, that Jews in particular however will receive the brunt of aggression in all nations that they walk. I think its as worthy an explanation as any other with regards to the plight of the Jewish people. I have not seen another theory offerred up as of yet to why there is so much anti-semitic problems within all cultures and nations from the far left to the far right. It has happened in all settings except within a nation that is strongly based on Christian faith. Even America had its problems, fortunately nothing like those across the pond.
I am very curious if game theory such as it is today can be related to not just national conflicts, but to religious boundaries and beliefs in a supernatural being which unfolds a story of a people that is so far coming true. I doubt game theory allows for outside influence, sigh.
I am very curious to note if game theory would predict the fall and rise of Israel again after 1948 years and the fact of the single greatest impact by one race seemingly belongs to the Jew.
I wonder if game theory could predict that words written 2000 years ago could predict the impact on each nation from the Jewish people?
Especially in America are benefits reaped and now Israel as it pulls in its greatest minds around the world to begin a new technological advance from such a tiny place in the globe?
Its not just in one area of science, but in every single area in music, arts, math, literary, etc., to the point that in my estimation game theory results of such measurements would seem well ordered to an ending in favor of one tiny population.
Could game theory predict that the nations which abhorred with disdain the Jew, mistreated, maligned, tortured and killed the Jew would end up either itself destroyed, or as leaders of oppression? Or as some of the most backward nations in the world?
This takes into consideration the influence of the Christian doctrine of faith as well built upon Judaic principals and law.
These are just some wide observations of course and not researched, maybe even far-fetched and completely off base. Who knows?
But is it not interesting that darkness envelops countries around the world in many ways, politically, socially, morally, economically, health, wealth and otherwise to extents that are mindfoggingly clear?
Is it not interesting that in history as nations, cultures or organizations systematically oppressed the Jew, then one after another they fell over time?
Am I being to general here? Maybe so.
It would be interesting if PJMedia could bring on biblical scholars to discuss such wide ranging issues in a higher level of critical debate and interviews with such theoretical masters in the secular sciences. It does not all need to be secular news does it?
Just another recommendation, try to bring some theological and philosophical writers on board with energetic outlooks on such topics of historical significance, as well as present and future.
It would prove for great debate, insight and wisdom in many ways. As opposed to clap trap, we might get a higher degree of discussion amongst some heavyweights in the field. One never gets to hear the greater debates between materialist and non-materialist on a level of philosophical reasoning within a quorum such as this without inane personal attacks.
The question is not only why, but ‘who said it would be’ and never forget the ending result as to Judah’s return.
I guess maybe I am just see things from a childlike perspective sometimes and I realize many will scold me for such ramblings, but when written material over 2000 years ago states something that will happen then it does happen I would at the very least start reading it to determine why and what it says will happen next. Especially since the same text is the building blocks upon which this nation is built and to which our founders looked for such inspiration as moral authority and rights.
Game Theory… can it predict what will happen to Israel in 3 1/2 years from now? Oooh, now that is a good question – maybe they’ll shine the light on this subject for all to see.
One correction… before I get hit with European history and neglected to include.
Exception of Christian nations which turned against the Jewish people, as in the Catholic Church and Protestant Europe who looked to replacement theology as their base.
Yeshooroon:
Why the Jews? God only knows for sure. I havw a few simplistic idea’s. Up until the 19th and 20th century embrace of secularism(And I mean the religous form of secularism, not the general idea of freedom of religion or the right to be non-religous) the Jews refused to abandon their principles and beliefs. Nothing makes the majority power more mad then a group of people who won’t submit and that are happy to stay as they are.It didn’t make any difference that on the whole they were net positive contributors to the communities that they lived in,sometimes contributing beyond what they were legally allowed to do.And when some Jews rejected their faith and tried to become part of the crowd(Soviet Communism, where some of the Jewish Communists were fierce critics of the idea of religion) they found that their zeal for the rejection of their Jewishness did them no good. No matter how correct their parroting of the Soviet dogma was they were still seen as Jews by Stalin and the bulk of the power structure. Centuries of hate don’t go away quickly.
Catholic and Protestant Europe must be seperated from American Christianity. There was a hangover residue of anti-semitism in America but because many of the Christian groups were also attacked in Europe the anti- semitism in America, sometimes extremly foul, never reached the same levels that were reached in Europe. It is no suprise to me that many of the groups that are pumping out the rising anti-semitism in the U.S. have direct or indirect European or non-western roots.
Dennis Prager wrote an op-ed for the L.A. Times this weekend on Liberal anti-semitism and the odd quirk that very conservative Christians have a better relationship with Jews and Israel then a large portion of the left. Of course their are Christians who hate Jews. But if you look at the general trends Jews who are looking for support, or are trying to decide who will shoot at them next, will find much more support coming from the churches then they do from academia and the left.