American Jews Alarmed By Surge in Anti-Semitism

[Behind the Aegis]

Reports of anti-Semitic vandalism and other attacks have risen since the election

American Jews gathered Thursday to wrestle with how they should confront an election-year surge in anti-Semitism, a level of bias not seen in the U.S. for decades.

At a national meeting of the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish civil rights group, about 1,000 people listened to talks expressing shock at the hatred expressed during the presidential campaign and questioned what they thought was a high-level of acceptance by other Americans.

“I’m struggling right now in this American moment,” said Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, an education and research organization, in his talk at the event. “I wonder whether I have been — and I think the answer is probably yes — a little bit naive.”


During this past year, anti-Semitic imagery proliferated on social media, Jewish journalists were targeted and longstanding anti-Jewish conspiracy theories got a fresh airing. Much of the bias originated with the alt-right, or alternative right, a loose group espousing a provocative and reactionary strain of conservatism. It’s often associated with far right efforts to preserve “white identity,” oppose multiculturalism and defend “Western values.”

more...

[hr]

This American Jew wasn't surprised by this news, not the increase in anti-Semitism, nor the acceptance of it or the lack of concern. It started early in the process and got worse as time went on, and now...Bannon. Yup, sadly, it was almost what I expected might happen.

[tenderfoot]

1. As a shiksa, I am absolutely blown over by it all.

I'm glad your bringing this up and wonder what your opinions are concerning people like CBS's Les Moonves when he states that Trump may not be good for democracy but he's great for ratings. The silence from Jewish network heads has been deafening as of late and are you disturbed by this? And I apologize if my questions are out-of-line.

[Behind the Aegis]

2. I am not distrubed by their silence.

They are entitled to their opinions, even I find them reprehensible. They are as "representative" of the Jewish community as Ben Carson is for the African-American community or Corey Lewandowski is for the gay community, or Kellyanne Conway is for women. Their silence is actually no more deafening than any other minority under attack and certain "venues" aren't "representing" the way some believe they should.

[tenderfoot]

3. I was thinking that they're in the garden of the Finzi-Continis

So wealthy and detached that the hatred couldn't possibly touch to them.

[Behind the Aegis]

5. Impossible to know.

I am sure there are many minorities who have "representatives" facing something similar. The anti-Semitic tropes about "Jews running the media" are so common, I am sure some are in shock "we" haven't shut down the media, and because "we" have haven't, it either demonstrates collusion with the incoming president or indifference. Undoubtedly, there are those Jews who see this incoming administration as a "good" thing or at least not something for which warrants any real concern.

[KittyWampus]

26. It always does, though. After all the others are caught and disposed of... they come for you.

[JI7]

4. exactly, there are always going to be certain ones who will only think of themselves

and often these people are bigoted towards other groups including their own . like the hispanic guy warning about taco trucks. i think most of these types are just people who are usually angry and hateful at everything and so the party of hatred appeals to them. or they just don't care or think about anything beyond their own personal world.

[ericson00]

6. you do realize the word "shiksa" is considered to be derogatory

right?

I think a lot of people know why the Jewish community is less than unanimous about Bannon; that is because the left has lost a lot of its anti-AntiSemitism cred in the last 8-15 years.

[tenderfoot]

7. What I have noticed is that islamophobia and anti-semitism go hand in hand.

eom

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

16. From you link:

Writer Menachem Kaiser argues in his essay "Anti-non-Semitism: An Investigation of the Shiksa" that "the pejorative connotation of 'shiksa' is fuzzy at best" because "'shiksa' today is used as often as not in winking self-reference".

Content aside, seems to me someone needs to fix the punctuation in that sentence.

[marybourg]

31. same article:

"the pejorative connotation of 'shiksa' is fuzzy at best" because "'shiksa' today is used as often as not in winking self-reference"

[kebob]

8. Trump's America

Published on 10 Nov 2016

[LeftishBrit]

9. Horribly scary.

[Aviation Pro]

10. Time to take stock

And get that last box. Don't underestimate the situation.

[brer cat]

11. "...the lack of concern."

I worry about outrage overload, BtA. I haven't watched tv "news" for over 10 years, and I now find myself dreading my morning look at newspapers online. OMG Bannon...OMG Pompeo...OMG Flynn... OMG Sessions.

Running in circles with my hair on fire, wanting to bury my head in sand. Can't do that, stand and fight; but who, where? We are surrounded and they are going to move very quickly to shut down even the smallest avenues we have. I am having so much difficulty finding focus. Wearing my safety pins and sending virtual hugs to the most vulnerable won't cut it.

[workinclasszero]

12. Why are people surprised by this?

Trump and everyone he surrounds himself with are open racist, white power fanatics.

They haven't hidden this fact at all. His rallies are mini Nuremberg rallies. The KKK and neo nazis are overwhelmed with joy that he won! Trumps senior advisor is anti-Semitic as hell.

The next 4 years are going to be hell on non white people, non rich people in this country. The barbarians are not at the gates any more, they are inside the gate with unlimited power to do great harm and you can bet your life that's just what they are gonna do!

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

17. Who's surprised?

Total fking unimformed morons: check.

Who else? Not me.

[workinclasszero]

18. The news media is trying mightily to normalize the Trumpenfuhrer to the public

So are some democratic figures unfortunately.

So I guess some section of the public is going to be surprised by what Trump/Bannon unleashes on the country in his first 100 days.

Not many here because we are all political junkies in the first place.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

19. If they even get and understand what's happening. If the general MSM is lame,

the RW media outlets Trump supporters get their news from will make it all seem tremendous! The best ̶d̶i̶c̶t̶a̶t̶o̶r̶ leader ever!

[RKP5637]

27. The news media is often complacent with whichever power group is in, because they will always

get their paychecks. I don't have the link, but a long time ago I read a dissertation on this, that media types, organizations sometimes go with the power flow, good or bad, because it is more career building to go with the flow. Additionally, M$M generally also sees better profits when going with the flow. I think we're watching the "Stockholm syndrome" in play. I find it revolting. The cast of characters Trump is assembling is a horror show.

[A Brand New World]

13. The vast majority of Trump supporters probably have

no idea that their darling Ivanka is Jewish. Just goes to show how unknowledgeable & uninformed they are. Even I as a Trump despiser know that.

[workinclasszero]

20. Yup

Minorities harassed, abused, threatened, locked up and/or deported.

Everybody that voted for Trumpenfuhrer will eat that shit up like ice cream on a hot summer day.

Hate crimes have exploded all over the country since drumps fascist takeover and he's not even in power...yet.

The worst is yet to come.

[Behind the Aegis]

21. Most won't really care.

I am sure you have heard "There are "Xs" and then there are "Ys"." The first word usually being a racial/other bigoted epithet, and the second being the proper name for said group, in this case it would read, "There are kikes, then there are Jews." It is the cognitive dissonance needed to be bigoted while claiming not to be bigoted. They will be "tokens" used by many to "prove" so-and-so isn't really an anti-Semite. There are others in the incoming administration which will serve the same purpose.

[wordpix]

23. yet Orthodox Jew Ivanka won't tell Daddy to at least quell

the hatred against Jews (and POC, immigrants, etc)

[smirkymonkey]

14. I am so sickened by it all.

Even here in liberal Boston we have had hate crimes. The thing is we don't tolerate them like many other places in the country. We never will. But still, it makes me sick that there are even a few bad apples out there. They need to be punished harshly to show the others that their hate will not be tolerated.

[bdamomma]

30. I hope the judical system is not

corrupted by this sick ass man and incarcerate these people who commit hate crimes.

[ismnotwasm]

15. See racists--organized ones especially

Hate Jews above all others, it is part and parcel of organized racism and anti-semitism just dribbles down into a strange kind of "normal" in our communities. Kind of like sexism does--but that is really a poor analogy.

This outcome should surprise no one when racists are in acendancy. But it will.

[TimeChaser]

22. You know the first time trump does something his racist fans don't like

... they're going to blame it on kushner's influence. Not their boy, it's the scary Jew manipulating behind the scenes.

We are their favorite scapegoat, after all

[Behind the Aegis]

24. No doubt.

It was pretty obvious for everything I was reading from the right, had Clinton won the electoral vote, the Jews were to blame. They were already setting up those pins. If you look at this thread, Trump uses an anti-semitic trope in a tweet and then deletes it, it is easy to see why anti-Semitism is used, ignored, or even excused, because people just don't know what the fuck it is.

[KittyWampus]

25. It's a coordinated movement worldwide. Make no mistake, Bannon & Breitbart have teamed w/Putin

They might take France and possibly Germany.

[RKP5637]

28. It is, it's highly uncomfortable. One can feel it in the air, the evilness descending upon nations.

The hatred being stoked up for political gain and rewards for the few. Stephen Hawking said humanity will be extinct in 1000 years. I think it might be even sooner. The priorities of humans for survival are becoming extinct and humans will follow.

[KittyWampus]

29. Meh, the they always make mistakes. Always. It's called hubris.

[Solly Mack]

32. K&R