It has become a truism that Jews are history’s “canary in the coal mine”. Across cultures and continents, where Jews have flourished, so have the societies around them. Where Jews have faced persecution and expulsion, it is usually a sign that darker forces are taking hold that will degrade, diminish, and often, destroy the broader society.
The examples of this phenomena are numerous and profound. Spain’s golden era of Jewish achievement brought unprecedented success to the Kingdom. Its expulsion of the Jews resulted in the country’s ultimate decline. Jews were central to Germany’s vibrant intellectual, artistic, and economic life in the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries. Hitler’s evil and irrational hatred not only decimated European Jewry, but it also destroyed Germany, and tens of millions of lives across Europe as well.
With these history lessons in mind, how should we view the rising anti-Semitism in America today? As an inevitable reality that Jews have faced since Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? As a specific threat to our Jewish-American community that we have to fight for our own sake? Or as a danger to America – and the core values that have been the bedrock of this country’s rise?
It is all three of these things, however the most concerning is the last one. We should approach this fight – first and foremost – as Americans concerned about the way in which anti-Semitism reflects broader dangers to our way of life.
History of Antisemitism
The four main drivers of anti-Semitism in America – on the radical right, on the radical left, among radical Muslims, and among black supremacists, such as Louis Farrakhan—all happen to also hate America. These groups and their supporters all seek to undermine its core values of free speech, democracy, individual rights, equality, and religious pluralism. And they all see Jews – who have long championed these values – as easy prey. We are a useful target in their bigger struggle of changing America beyond recognition, in line with their extreme ideologies.
While Jew hatred from Black supremacists is a recent American phenomenon, the radical right, the radical left and the radical Muslims have hated Jews for hundreds or thousands of years. Each one of them promoting its own version of classical antisemitism which resulted in blood libels, pogroms, massacres and the holocaust.
Following the Holocaust, Antisemitism was politically incorrect in America for about 30 years, but a new kind of antisemitism started originating from Campus leftism of the 1960’s just after Israel’s miraculous victory in the 1967 Six-Day-War and the new military alliance it formed with America, which transformed the Jewish state, in the leftist mind, from David fighting Goliath into a Western imperialist and a colonialist over-dog.
From the moment Israel became the Goliath and an ally of America, the left also hated Israel because of its resemblance to America.
The New Anti-Western Religion
In the 1970s, Radical Left movements started forming alliances with radical Muslims groups because both positioned themselves as fighting against Western values and imperialism.
Despite the fact they are naturally completely misaligned in their belief systems and ideologies, this strategic partnership known as the red-green or Islamo-Left alliance, is based on anti-Western, anti-American, and anti-Zionist principles. While it emerged in Europe and the Middle east, this alliance took hold in America in the 1980s, primarily in institutions of higher education.
Critical Race Theory (CRT), rooted in Marxism, began to form around the same time, claiming that white people are inherently and irredeemably racist and benefit from various systemically racist “power structures.
CRT aligned organizations began pushing efforts to erode the core principles that make our country exceptional, replacing America’s commitment to individual rights and equality, meritocracy, rule of law, tolerance, pluralism, due process, freedom of speech, and free-market capitalism with policies centered on a racialized and violent world immersed in conspiracy theories and political polarization.
As a new bedfellows, the Islamo-Leftist alliance joined forces to promote radical ideologies in America including Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the theory of intersectionality, which argues marginalized and oppressed groups must come together to fight against oppressors, which included Israel and the Jews.
The New Antisemitism
The modern rise of antisemitism also known as the New Antisemitism kicked off at the start of the 21st century with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement. With the Islamo Leftist alliance behind it, BDS, with its agenda to demonize the Jewish people and destroy the State of Israel, quickly moved from the fringes of our society and into the mainstream. Civil society organizations, American universities, and far-left politicians would come to endorse the BDS ideology.
Behind BDS, there has always stood a burning hatred of America, its exceptional liberal democratic and capitalist character, and worldwide influence, which is why it has been embraced by the far left and radical Muslims.
With American Jews unable to mount an effective defense against BDS due to our small numbers, division, and aversion to conflict, a door was opened for BDS to get incorporated into the Left’s radical ideologies as they have gained popularity over the past twenty years, normalizing antisemitism as an integral part of anti-Americanism.
Antisemitism is Now Part of the Left Radical Ideologies
BDS and CRT are now intimately intertwined through the left-wing theory of “intersectionality”, and are being aggressively implemented in the workplace and school through CRT-adjacent policies like DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and Ethnic Studies Curriculums. Americans from an increasingly early age are being indoctrinated to view America as intrinsically evil that must be totally remade according to racialized and socialist ‘Woke’ standards.
Although Jews are a major target of these groups, the struggle is not really about us—the ultimate target has always been America.
American Jews need to create alliances with other Americans focused on helping the public to understand that anti-Semitism spreading BDS, CRT, Ethnic Studies and DEI are first and foremost a threat to our core American values. Nothing less than the future of America – and the Jewish American community – is at stake.
This article was originally published in the The Jerusalem Post on January 16th, 2023, written by Adam Milstein.
Adam Milstein is an Israeli-American “Venture Philanthropist.” He can be reached at adam@milsteinff.org, on Twitter, and on Facebook. This op-ed is published in partnership with a coalition of organizations that fight antisemitism across the world. Read the previous article by Marc Greendorfer.
CRT is a profoundly antiSemitic ideology
As in Iran, the Muslims use the Leftists as ally and then will hang them first. BTW, what happened to those AWAN bros.
It’s worse than you thought. There is a “Replacement Theology” movement within evangelicalism, to sum it up in a word, the Church gets all the Old Testament blessings and the Jews get all the curses. You have to torture scripture to read it that way.
Yet when considering sources of non-Jewish support for Isreal, evangelicals are among the first to be mentioned. E. Michael Jones, a Catholic, is one of the biggest replacement theologians out there. Do you think he represents a “movement” within Catholicism?
The Jews have long championed “free speech, democracy, individual rights, equality, and religious pluralism.”
Which Jews? Some of the biggest and most radical Leftist’s are Jews. Over 70% vote Democrat. Can anyone tell me one Jew in politics that has conservative values? I have friends that are Jewish, and yes, they are all for free speech, rights, equality, etc. But, they are the exception and not the rule.
You have swallowed the anti-Semitic MSM hook line and sinker and believed them with your rather black heart.
Hollywood and DC are corrupt and the Christians in them are corrupt as are those of Jewish descent there too, by and large.
I only know conservative leaning, President Trump supporting Jews. There may be leftist Jews remaining, but not in my circles or in my family.
Why not learn something before you post another accusation against Jews as if Jews are monolithic (look it up) and that with our tiny numbers affect much. We don’t. I only wish I did control media money politics. But I don’t.
I have a dark heart? Because what I said is true? Sorry if that struck a nerve with you, but are you going to sit there and actually deny that some of the most radical Leftist’s are Jews? I didn’t caste dispersion’s (look it up) on all the Jews. You and you’re family might not be, but you are in the minority.
Am I lying when I say 70% or more Jewish folks vote Democrat? Can you tell me one Jewish Republican? Obama and Biden’s cabinet were filled with Leftist Jews. Is that a lie?
Yes, Hollywood and DC are corrupt and there are plenty of Leftist so called “Christians”, but that doesn’t take away from what I stated.
I never said Jews were monolithic, but 70% or more vote Democrat. So, that’s pretty close to monolithic for a group of people that makes up 2% of the US.
You can try to insult me all you’d like that just shows you couldn’t refute a word I said.
“I only wish I did control media money politics. But I don’t.”
Good projection. Did I ever say that trope that Jews control money and the media?
It only takes one person from any group to end up defining that group. The more power that group has as a percentage of the groups population, the more careful they as a whole and as individuals have to be about upsetting the dominate culture. Jews have dominated the American culture over the last quarter century. They are now facing the inevitable blowback that they always do when they have disregarded or hold in contempt the dominant culture. See Russian Pogroms and the Holocaust as examples over the last two centuries. Douglas Rushkoff said it best:”The thing that makes Judaism dangerous to everybody to every race, to every nation, to every idea, is that we smash things that aren’t true. We don’t believe in the boundaries of nation states, we don’t believe in the idea of these individual gods who protect individual groups of people. These are all artificial constructions and Judaism really teaches us how to see that. In a sense our detractors have us right. We are a corrosive force. We are breaking down the false gods of all nations and all people because they are not real and that is very upsetting to people.” It’s called hubris and it afflicts those who have the most intelligence.
Unfortunately, there is a lot more than one that defines a group, when that group votes 70% and upwards, for a party that is for gay marriage, unfettered abortions, socialism and anti social behavior.
Right now the dominant culture is Leftism, socialism, CRT, defund the police, etc, which they are a large part of. The Jews aren’t facing any blow back because of that. They are on the same side. Every Jewish senator is a Democrat and every Jew in the House is a Democrat except two.
The Russian Pogroms started because the Jews refused to convert to Christianity. It had nothing to do with them “dominating” the culture.
Judaism doesn’t smash Christianity. To the contrary.
I guess you are trying to to show us that you aren’t really a Jew Hater because you say things so politely…..just like all of the other anti-semites popping up at other conservative sites.
You are a smarmy excuse for a bigot because you don’t have the guts to speak plainly. Just say what is really in your heart and mind.
So the real question is what are you personally going to do about all of these Leftist Jews? My guess is nothing because you are a coward.
Speak for yourself. Your ideas about nation states are true perhaps of left wing Jews. But to this Israeli, such notions are by no means acceptable.. We believe very firmly in our boundaries, and we have fought wars and lost gems of Jewish humanity to defend those boundaries. Try telling the average Israeli he or she is not entitled to his or her own nation state. See how far that gets you.
I agree to a certain extent, Rachelle. How long have you been in Israel?
The Bible says God sets up nations and determines their boundaries.
True, but there is a big gap between Jews who move from the USA to Israel and Jews who stay in the USA.
From my experience, the majority of American Jews who immigrate to Israel are doing it for religious/spiritual reasons, they have a strong grasp on why Israel has been resurrected, and that translates politically as conservative. Liberal Jews don’t have much incentive to leave America. At least not so far….
Lee Zeldin, you jacka$$. And I love the “some of my best friends are Jews” remark.
Well, you’ve proven what a moron you are. Lee Zeldin? Did you see where I wrote “Every Jewish senator is a Democrat and every Jew in the House is a Democrat except two.” That included Zeldin.
That’s 2 out of almost 40. See how ignorant you are?
I grew up in NY and NJ so I have plenty of Jewish friends, and many of those Jewish friends are fed up with the Leftist Jews who are the majority. Are those Jews “antisemitic” to?
People like you are hypocrites are the highest level. If I said blacks commit crime wildly disproportionate to their numbers, or addressed the 74% out of wedlock birthrate in the black community you’d nod your head and clap like a trained seal, but if I say Jews vote overwhelmingly Democrat and almost all in politics are far left zealots then here comes your faux outrage.
Sit down, shut up and open your ears. That’s how you learn. Talk about coward.
Anti-Semitism has going on for Centuries its just today we have Islamic Radicals blowing up themselves along with Jews thinking their going to Paradise and end up in a hot flaming place
Sebastian, you mean aspersions, not dispersions. But other than that you’re probably correct. The majority of Jews in this country do indeed vote democrat. There is a ripple of a sign that this is starting to change, but that change is not yet significant. Why do American Jews vote for a party that harbors people who hate them? Good question, and I don’t know the answer. To some degree I have given up trying to understand why this happens. But it is also true that we comprise perhaps 2% of the total US population, so our impact is not significant as far as voting is concerned. The problem of course is that so many virulent leftists are Jews in positions of influence and power. Schiff, Sanders, Feinstein, and so many others are a major problem. And what they don’t seem to grasp is that when it comes down to the wire, they will be branded as enemies regardless of their politics. I’d rather be branded as a proud, conservative thinking Jew .who makes no apologies for being who I am.
Yes, I meant aspersions (typo) thanks for the correction. I know you’re a conservative and are prob a wonderful person.
Deuteronomy 32:8, Acts 17:26
While reading this article Revelation 12 screams out to me about how the dragon hates the woman with child and those that hold the testimony of Christ.
This is a spiritual battle at its core. That old serpent the devil, the dragon Satan hates God and hates God’s people.
In fact, the devil hates all of humanity! He is an arrogant rebel who wanted and still wants God’s throne and deceived one third of the heavenly hosts to rebel with him. And, anything leftist, or Marxist, or supremacist, and the like is a reflection of his blackened heart. Those that think and live this way have been deceived by him.
Let’s get to the very core of the issue! In Matthew 24:22 God is clear that unless He stops Satan and all those deceived by him no flesh will survive! When we see Satan going after Jews we can be fully confident he’s after Christians too, plus the destruction of all humanity. God says He stops him for the sake of His elect! Pray people, pray and serve the Lord with gladness of heart!
Jew and Gentile, we are all God’s creation and God wants to save us all! But, God will destroy the wicked no matter their ethnicity, including Satan and the fallen angels.