anti-semitism in Europe

[Baruch]

I'm due to read the book again. It's been several years since I read it. I do remember a part about it where he says that a rise in antisemitism should be an alarm to everyone. It means that hate is growing at a certain pace. It ends up effecting more than just Jews. But we seem to be first on the list.

[Channalee]

I'm due to read the book again. It's been several years since I read it.

I noticed that the edition I bought has been updated since the book was originally published in the '80s.

I do remember a part about it where he says that a rise in antisemitism should be an alarm to everyone. It means that hate is growing at a certain pace. It ends up effecting more than just Jews. But we seem to be first on the list.

Jews are like the canaries in the coal mines.

[Dana]

This is a great book: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Jews-Antisemi...0743246209

It may be a bit late to mention it. But I recommend it to everyone.

Thanks, Baruch.  I just bought the Kindle edition on your recommendation.

I've read the book and found it keenly insightful, accurate about human nature, and applicable today. Well worth a second read.  Thanks Baruch!

[Channalee]

This is a great book: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Jews-Antisemi...0743246209

It may be a bit late to mention it. But I recommend it to everyone.

Thanks, Baruch.  I just bought the Kindle edition on your recommendation.

I've read the book and found it keenly insightful, accurate about human nature, and applicable today. Well worth a second read.  Thanks Baruch!

I finished the book this morning.  Authors Prager and Telushkin explain the roots of antisemitism with clarity – especially in regard to many people's mistaken concept about what the term "chosen people" actually means.  That "...the Jews' chosenness confers neither privilege nor superiority, only obligation and frequent suffering..."  Those who misunderstand this concept, as being some sort of declaration of superiority, use it to fuel their Jew-hatred.
 
I especially liked not only that the authors cited, and provided sources for, historical examples of antisemitism in pagan, Christian, and Muslim society throughout the ages, but also how they debunked many of the myths about modern-day Israel that are held by antisemites. 
 
And, what I found to be most important of all:  The authors provided a concrete plan of action for combating outbreaks of antisemitism, with four points:  1. How we need to make a case against both antisemitism and anti-Zionism.  2. How American Jews, for our own sake, should not "identify with only one brand of politics."  3.  How secular American Jews "should not equate the death of religion with Jewish security."  4.  How we need to affect society's values, so that society will view antisemitism with the contempt that it warrants. 
 
The epilogue of the book speaks to non-Jews especially, explaining how antisemitism isn't only a Jewish problem. 
 
This book was a great recommendation – many thanks, Baruch and Dana!

[Ronnie740]

It is very threatful, I experienced it myself. Stones were thrown through my windows. I live in Holland

[a_Sarah]

Baruch, thank you for the recommendation! I started reading as well and as cruel and horrifying the content and topic is, it is  a valuable source, especially for people like me who don't know much about the history of anti-semitism before 1930. For example, I did not even know about that chmelnitsky massacre. It is painful to read, but necessary to know.

As promised, here is my impression of the talk and discussion on anti-semitism in a post-migrant society I attended on Monday. The talk aimed to shed some light on the question if the recent influx of refugees, but also if the growing part of migrants with a muslim background is responsible for a growing antisemitism. It also adressed the question what actions could be undertaken to counter anti-semitic beliefs. Guests were a researcher working at the centre for antisemitism research, an associate of a movement trying to offer integration help and the head of the local centre for political education.

The researcher pointed out that there are currently two columns of anti-semitism, one stemming from the far-right and Neonazis, the other from predominantly arab-identifying migrants and/or refugees. 

She conducted a study with n = 25, asking recent refugees (maximum of two years after entering the country) about their attitude towards Jews and Israel. She wanted to find out the sources of those prejudices (school, religion, family) and if the interviewees had a consistent antisemitic attitude or a fragmentary one. Out of the 25 participants, only one had the consistent attitude (a palestinian woman), whereas others had more mixed conviction, meaning they held antisemitic beliefs in certain topics, but not in others. Such as, for example, believing that Jews control the media and have too much influence, while not hating Jews (and being indifferent instead). The one person with a consistent attitude was cited to have said "I hate all the Jews. I don't know any, but I just hate them". 

Sources for anti-semitism were identified as family or school (for example, in certain countries, the Protocols of Zion are taught as historic fact), but not as religion. The participants uniformly stated that they were not subjected to any anti-semitic teachings by religious institutions. The researcher therefore classified that kind of anti-semitism as "mainly non-religious antisemitism".
Some participants also reported that they were anti-semitic once, but aren't anymore. Some said that they had learned more about political conflicts, shifting from a belief of Jews and Israel as main enemy (which they were taught in school) to understanding that it was in fact Hisbollah that was their enemy, not Israel. Some also stated that getting to know some Jews, for example during their language classes, helped them reduce their antisemitism. 

As counter-measures, she emphasized how important it is to offer possibilities to talk about attitudes, especially in a non-judgmental manner. She talked about a high need of talk groups in refugee camps, where freshly arrived people are offered the option to enter a "fear-free room for discussion", where ressentiments and attitudes are allowed to be discussed without fear of moral judgement (which should not be omitted, just held back at that time, to be discussed later). 

Another thesis she introduced was that of potential alliances, in which anti-semitism is the connecting factor, allowing for example different streaks of far-right politicians to collaborate with other groups in which anti-semitism is prevalent. The far-left is also likely to hold anti-semitic beliefs, less focused on religion and more on the denial of Israel's right of existance.

The talk concluded with "yes, there is antisemitism, it is on the rise, the held attitudes are mainly fragmented and open to change if given the chance, and religious teachings are not likely to have influenced the beliefs, so islamic antisemitism doesn't play a substantial role in the rising numbers of attacks of Jews (physical or verbal/other)".

The following discussion was more about current youth work and the potential of integration classes. 

However, there had been some criticism and it was basically ignored:

- one teacher, working in integration classes agitatedly pointed out that the findings of the study were fundamentally different from her daily experience. She said that she was old enough to have a frame of reference regarding the attitudes and proneness to violence in her pupils over the last few decades and stated that the current situation is no where near comparable to the previous years. In her experience, the amount of open hatred has skyrocketed, not only for Jews, but especially for them, the bullying in schools has increased drastically, 'f-ing Jew' is a slur again and it is not safe for children to display their Jewishness openly.

- she also said that the number of more far left-leaning teachers is especially high in integration classes and comparable institutions. With that, the likelihood of Israel-based anti-semitism is higher in those teachers, while at the same time the awareness of what constitutes as anti-semitism is low. She said that those teachers are less likely to criticize open anti-semitism if it is aimed towards Israel, thus establishing that a display of such attitudes is acceptable. 

- she told about how she visited a memorial with one of her integration classes. Those with the highest display of antisemitism simply did not come that day. Others showed subtle disrespect, such as demonstratively and elaborately throwing paper tissues on the ground  there. 

- another teacher was fired because she toured her pupils through a quarter with strong Jewish history, also passing a synagogue. Her pupils and their parents complained. They did not want to be subjected  to the sight of a synagogue. The school bowed to the parents. The teacher was fired because her pupil's parents deemed it unacceptable that she showed their children a synagogue. 

There was no reaction from the speakers ("we let that stand as it is") and the discussion round was closed thereafter.



To be honest, I have mixed feelings about the whole event. 

I think that the study is a good attempt to get a first glimpse on the attitudes of recent refugees ( with 25 participants, a study cannot be more than that), but this is only a small part of our society and one should not leave out the fact that many refugees are fleeing precisely because they are a marginalized group themselves (homosexuals, atheists, non-muslim religious believers etc). The main risk group (besides the neonazis) are not the young refugees that are or were fleeing IS and often aren't religious themselves, but those turning to nationalism (regarding their historic countries of origin) and fundamentalism. 

It came across as downplaying the current increase in hatred. The gist was "we just need to do more, people are approachable and want to talk", but that forgets how the current situation is much more diverse than that- There is also a certain tendency of the open discourse to downplay the threat coming from authoritarian, muslimic institutions and groups (ties to groups inviting radical imams or to IS are sometimes only admitted reluctantly and downplayed, too, with the public turning a blind eye). I had hoped for a more critical discussion, but since the conclusion was basically a "religious movements don't play a role in recent Anti-semitism", this left me a bit sceptical. I am not assuming the opposite, but the lack of criticism, the evidence of journalists pointing out that there are anti-democratic and anti-semitic topics in services in a small subset of mosques, and the lack of a response to that lady pointing out her own, different experiences leave me a bit baffled. 

[Edit: I edited out a portion where I wasn't sure if expressed exactly what I wanted to due to English being my second language and I didn't want to leave it in ]

I apologize for the wall of text, but it was a very weird experience, because I feel the root of the problem is ignored or tackled from a wrong angle, and I did not want to omit any details.

[Ledi]

Anti-Semitism takes on new forms in Europe. You can read more about this here https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jew...e-builder/ What are your thoughts on this?

[searchinmyroots]

Ledi,

I took a quick look at the article and I don't see where it talks much about anti-semitism.

Seems like Vladimir is saying good things about Israel and what it needs to do to continue on a good path.

Is there something specific you are referring to?

[Alan_Boskov]

 
But I know that I don't live in a utopia, and antisemitism is on the rise even where I live, making up two-thirds of all reported hate crimes in New York City...

Assuming that the following forensic video features one of the attackers, the person filmed appears to be of Caucasus origin. Perhaps, Chechen?:

https://nypost.com/2021/12/27/jewish-man...metrodaily&utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20211228&lctg=60a05d06cc957c4540206329&utm_term=NYP%20-%20Metro%20Daily

...“They asked us what we were doing in their neighborhood,” Zavadsky said. “They called us ‘dirty Jews.'”

He said they took particular issue with his hoodie that featured the emblem of the Israeli military forces...

[Alan_Boskov]

Amazon enjoys tax privileges, in Europe. Look at how bold they have become:

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/us-news...022/01/11/

...“Can you imagine how proud Goebbels is?? To think that the work that he was involved in, is being celebrated by people all over the world, thanks to Amazon??...