(Jewish Group) Plagues Are Always a Wake-up Call
For European communities in the Fourteenth Century, the Black Death was devastating. But for the Jews of Europe, it was even worse, because in addition to the plague, there were four years of persecutions and massacres that resulted from being blamed for the spread of disease. As history has shown us time and again, those suffering are often quick to find a scapegoat for their problems, and the violence that befell the European Jews from 1348 to 1351 was one of history’s starkest lessons.
Jews have historically been blamed for diseases, and even recently that’s been the case. In an OpEd last year, I asked, “When did the measles become Jewish?” Campaigning for vaccinations at that time—as most physicians and rabbis were—was further necessitated to combat a media frenzy that focused on the measles outbreak in various observant communities. But what made the matter worse was when a tiny but disproportionately loud number of self-proclaimed spokespeople for the Jewish community joined the dangerous and ill-informed anti-vaxx movement.
More recently, when certain headlines proclaimed the novel coronavirus “the Chinese virus,” I shuddered. I knew full well that racial labeling could quickly lead to anti-Asian sentiments that might turn violent. I’ve been saddened to already read some of those stories.
Unfortunately, history has taught that it is only a matter of time before Jews are blamed, too, regardless of how farfetched those accusations might be. I recall saying, albeit half-seriously, “If the cure for COVID-19 comes from Israel, some will say Israelis spread the disease to sell a vaccine.” Consequently, it was a shocking non-surprise when Hollywood actress Rosanna Arquette tweeted that Israel “has been working on a [coronavirus] vaccine for a year already” and has put “lives at risk for profit.” While Arquette subsequently deleted the Tweet and apologized, one can imagine, in the age of social media, how many people read that sentiment, shared it, and believed it.
A story on March 4 in The Washington Post described how the first Coronavirus case in New York came from a Jew. It’s not hard to imagine how that story is retold by those who already hold antisemitic feelings.
more...
There are those always looking to blame us and those who are so willing to ignore it (thankfully some of their best friends are Jewish, so they can tell us how things aren't what they seem). Of course, we can't forget those among our kind so willing to "kosher" the situation for those who aren't Jews.
