Antisemitism Does Not Have A Political Party

You might think that the title itself says it all and I don’t have to expand on something so obvious. The problem is that we have become too self identified with our political beliefs. The identity is so strong, we feel we must protect it at all costs. The cost here is that while we are sniping at each other, antisemitism wins.

People on social media spend an inordinate amount of time trying to prove that antisemitism really comes from the opposing side and that side is the more dangerous one. Antisemitism on the Left is found more in the political arena. Some believe that is more dangerous. Antisemitism on the Right expresses itself more noticeably in the physical world. Dead Jews at the hands of extreme Right Wing White Nationalists in the US proves this. And we are so busy flinging mud at each other we fail to notice who is actually winning and what happens if they do. At some point extremists, traveling far enough in any direction, will arrive at a point where their extreme views meet with opposing extreme views in agreement. That’s a recipe for a perfect storm.

While we fling dirt on the opposing side we also excuse the antisemitism coming from our side. Too many people were willing to accept Ilhan Omar’s fake apologies. After the third time you would think we’d all be able to admit we have a problem. Same on the Right. There are eleven dead Jews because of Trump’s immigration policy that the shooter was defending but the Right doesn’t seem to have a Jew hating problem according to them. It’s the other side.

Where do we place Islamist antisemitism? That’s something we keep tossing back and forth. On the one hand it is a mirror image of White Supremacy, just with a twist. That puts it on the Right where White Supremacists like to live. On the other hand the Left makes way too many excuses for it. Some, like the UK’s Jeremy Corbyn, embrace it. That would make it a Leftist illness. So much ammo to shoot each other with!

We must fight antisemitism as if it does not belong to a political side because it does not, and we must fight it in our own political parties as if it is a member. Non Jews may carry on with mud slinging. All that really is, for the most part, is a kind of virtue signaling. We as Jews should not lose our focus by joining. They will be on to the next thing soon enough.

As we know, the arc of justice is long and it is up to us to bend it. We do that by standing together. I will stand with Republicans and Democrats, with Likudniks and Avodah supporters, with Reform, Haredi, Orthodox, Conservative, Atheist, Mizrachi, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Ethiopian, Gay, Straight or Trans Jews. We must take a stand. Not everyone must be on the frontlines but everyone of us must stand on one of the lines. We have over 3000 years of history and civilization standing with us. Wear it like you would your favorite outfit. And wear it like six million people are watching you.

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