Anti- Semitism Is Thriving In America, The Atlantic
- 'Anti-Semitism Is Thriving in America.' I assumed that, after the Holocaust, the world recognized where anti-Semitic rhetoric can lead. I was wrong. The Atlantic, 5/2/19, Deborah Lipstadt, Professor of Holocaust History, Emory Univ.
In my neighborhood, there are a number of synagogues and churches. The church doors are open, welcoming all. The synagogues have armed guards, fences, door codes, and people who will stop strangers as they enter. Ostensibly these are welcomers, but their real job is to check whether these strangers wish to do the people inside harm. Our children look at the church across the street and recognize that, while Jews need protection, the kids there do not.
The attack on a Chabad synagogue in Poway, California, has reminded Jewsyet againthat their houses of prayer are not safe spaces. But for the fact that the assailants gun jammed, the attack could have been far worse than the October attack in Pittsburgh, which claimed 11 lives. In the wake of the Poway attack, law-enforcement officers, government officials, and the media kept stressing that the gunman had acted alone. They may have been trying to reassure the public, and in the narrowest technical terms, they may have been correct.
- A candlelight vigil for victims of the shooting at the Congregation Chabad synagogue in Poway, CA.
But this assailant was no lone wolf. He is part of a nexus of haters. The shooters in Charleston, Pittsburgh, Christchurch, and now Poway all relied on similar language and memes. The Christchurch and Poway shooters both posted manifestos prior to their rampages. They referred their social-media followers to some of the same websites and offered similar justifications for their actions. These gunmen may not have received direct orders from a leader, but social media have eliminated the necessity for a leader to issue orders, facilitating their radicalization. And though there is no reason to think theyve ever met, they are deeply connected, one with the other.
White supremacismwhich has at its core anti-Semitismis nurtured by the extremist rhetoric that has become almost commonplace within the United States. It is growing and flourishing. Had this act of terror been committed by an individual influenced by ISIS or al-Qaeda, it would quickly have been labeled terrorism. Government agencies must recognize white-supremacist attacks as a form of domestic terrorism, and treat them as such..Both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have warned of the threat of violence from white supremacists. In recent years, white supremacists have been responsible for more homicides than any other extremist group...
-MORE, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/poway-shooting-shows-anti-semitism-flourishing/588649/
Related: 'Antisemitism Is Rising Sharply Across Europe, Latest Figures Show,' The Guardian, Feb. 15, 2019
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/feb/15/antisemitism-rising-sharply-across-europe-latest-figures-show
- (4 mins.). 'How Should Americans Tackle Anti-Semitism.' Deborah Lipstadt teaches Holocaust history at Emory University and is the author, most recently, of 'Antisemitism: Here and Now.'
Solly Mack
(90,740 posts)mountain grammy
(26,568 posts)My dad had died the year before and mom moved us to the suburbs of Enfield CT. We had family in CT.
One summer day my friends and I were playing in the backyard and our ball rolled into the neighbor's yard. They were a couple in their 60's, went to church twice a week.
The man refused to return our ball. My mom came out and asked him to please give us the ball and we would go elsewhere to play. He looked at her and said "shut up, you dirty Jew!" Then he made some comment about her being a whore because she worked as a waitress.
In America, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Skittles
(152,963 posts):O
JudyM
(29,122 posts)BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)The irony he and his wife went to church twice a week.
appalachiablue
(41,047 posts)if your dad had been around. Coward as well.
Mopar151
(9,965 posts)And calls the cops a LOT!
mountain grammy
(26,568 posts)But if he lived, we wouldve been living at Cherry Point, NC, where we were stationed when he died the year before.. we had just left the segregated south where I saw friends experience much worse bigotry. This was the first for me in my memory..Im sure my mom was no stranger to it.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)It's like a new golden age of hate...
Behind the Aegis
(53,823 posts)There are a few factors, one of the biggest ones is the propensity some have to ignore anti-Semitism when it happens, unless of course it is from "the other side" and then, suddenly, it is noticeable. Another factor for its spread is the "whataboutism" spewed anytime anti-Semitism is mentioned. Frankly, IMO, until more Jews are eliminated, most people won't give a shit. They will continue with tropes, dog-whistles, and blatant acts, and people will "tut-tut" but little else will move people to be concerned.