It is easy to shrug off antisemitism because it is so pervasive in certain parts of society, but if you have Jewish roots, you hear it. I am glad to have the same roots as the likes of Hillel, Maimonides, Spinoza, Einstein, etc. Imagine a society without these luminaries. Imagine a whole society of Proud Boys...
You are too modest about your heritage. Jews have been luminaries in every field of human endeavor, and to the best of my knowledge have never engaged in anything like a pogrom or mass-terror event until the rise of the likes of the Netanyahu regime. Yes, there was fighting by Israel's founders, but it's an open question as to who or what forces were ultimately responsible for that. And as for Muslims, the vast majority are peaceable, not terroristic in their views. And Muslims, too, have historically contributed many things to art, architecture and especially medicine and science. The Tent of Abraham is capacious enough to shelter Jews, Christians and Muslims, whose faith traditions have a great deal in common. People who try to divide us have ulterior motives.
Thanks for this meaningful and much needed discussion. The autonomy of the Jewish people to speak as Amy has here is what is needed to solve these existential problems. Rejecting antisemitism and what ICE is doing to our communities is absolutely the right thing to do.
Republicans who say they are fighting antisemitism are lying. They use it as a cover to destroy our democracy and encourage hatred of anyone who does not look like them or act like them.
This interview beautifully provides concrete examples of how to unite as Americans instead of allowing ourselves to be crammed into warring camps based on the agenda of power-mongers. When Jews and Muslim stand in solidarity and say persecution on the basis of religion will get no traction here, Stephen Miller's theory of the case falls apart.
Stephen Miller is himself Jewish. By the article, he was raised in a liberal family that supported democratic values. In his teen years, something happened to his mind.
That's one possibility, though why he didn't grow out of what he has become when faced with reality is puzzling. Apparently he is not a stupid person yet he remains full of and broadcasting his hate.
One of the things that happened to him was the mentorship of a dreadful, genuinely evil madman named David Horowitz, a former far leftist whose blundering had ended up indirectly causing the death of a friend and who turned to the conspiratorial, authoritarian far right and white grievance politics in order to blot out his own sense of guilt.
Horowitz saw a protege in the teenage Miller and began to cultivate the boy when he was still just in high school (Miller had invited Horowitz to come to the school as a speaker, and the relationship blossomed from that point forward).
The Muslim population of Texas is under assault. The Jewish population is also.
The religious teaching the individual choose should have no relationship to their status in a democracy. Despite Project 2025, Russell Vought, etc this is not a white christian nation given by God with toxic masculinity striping all female rights.
Money especially AIPAC, Elon Musk, etc and religious belief do not belong in democracy. Let AIPAC send money to Israel!
A lot of this, from a Machiavellian (how to manipulate the populace in order to remain in power) perspective harks back to the well-proven practice of "divide and conquer." And that practice takes cynical advantage of how frightened and angry people project their fears onto people they see as 'other.' How convenient for the actual cheats and frauds, faithless and greedy, murderous and cruel people now in power to direct our fears and darker impulses away from themselves. We should not and cannot buy into this.
I appreciate your clear and thoughtful discussion and putting so many of these factors into a context. Hillel’s philosophy has always stayed with me. Thanks, Jen.
A thoughtful essay. But without a single mention of Palestinians or Gaza. How can one address the issue of antisemitism without mentioning Palestine? Antisemitism is wrong. Period. But without trying to understand its current iteration we won't get far.
There is not a word said about why there is 'debate is raging over funding for Israel and AIPAC’s dark money spending'. The author conceded that some of this criticism is not 'not inherently antisemitic' but then spends the rest of that response undermining this statement, while again never mentioning why this criticism exists.
The author claims that critics should 'focus on policies and tactics rather than identity', ignoring that this is precisely what the vast majority of progressive critics of Israel's policies already do, and have always done. It is many of the defenders of Israel, including AIPAC, that weaponize 'identity' by constantly throwing charges of antisemitism at any critic of Israel, including the well worn trope of the 'self-hating Jew' given to Jewish critics of Israel's actions.
The writer then insists critics need to embrace bothsideism by ensuring 'your critiques apply to all organizations and entities that spend in our elections, not just one', as if there aren't specific reasons so many people are criticizing a lobbying group that is effectively supporting a foreign government's commitment of war crimes, while also ignoring the fact that those who criticize AIPAC are also very often the leading critics of other PACs and of big money in politics in general (and the opposite is true - many of AIPAC's biggest recipients also accept money from other lobbies, including big tech, both directly and through PACs).
The writer condemns those that 'singled out Israel or AIPAC' while not saying the obvious reasons why both AIPAC and Israel are very unique in American politics. AIPAC has poured more money into this cycles' primary elections than any other PAC, by a long shot. Can we imagine an ARPAC or ACPAC that supported America's relations with Russia or China? Or even a PAC supporting a close ally that shoveled hundreds of millions of dollars into each election cycle?
Not to mention a PAC that is effectively supporting a foreign nation led by a war criminal that is leading a genocide and a brutal apartheid takeover of occupied territory, while occupying land in two neighboring sovereign countries, all with US help? The US relationship with Israel is obviously and clearly unique in many ways that don't need repeating to anyone paying attention.
Of course antisemitism is very real and should be condemned everywhere. It's the defenders of Israel's war crimes who regularly and commonly 'flatten all critique of Israeli policy or pro-Israel organizations into reductive, binary terms' with bad faith charges of antisemitism.
This is all valid and still heartbreaking that people in the USA still flare up in anti-Semitic or anti Islamic violence. I was branded anti-Semitic decades ago for supporting Palestinian rights to self-government, and a Jewish friend newly married ghosted me for decades because her new husband didn’t believe me sufficiently pro-Israel. (He died and she resumed contact.) I was also somewhat anti-Islamic after the Tsarnaev (?) brothers brought untold harm to people attending a Boston Marathon (a local tragedy). But we get over shocks, and most of my favorite democracy-loving pundits happen to be Jewish. But AIPAC is currently attempting to bribe our politicians into supporting Netanyahu’s genocidal aims and fostering his political survival. Most Americans do not want an official alliance between his and our militaries—I most fervently hope.
This is an incredibly important interview on many levels and we would do well to amplify the words spoken here about our voting system and other comments that help people understand the links between treatment of all people and our increasingly fragile democracy.
I hope this reflects a lot more people's beliefs. I am unfortunately cynical. I read once that the areas of Swabia in Germany that were the most anti-Semitic in the 1300's were the most anti-Semitic in the 1930s. I am not hopeful. Remember also that Gazans are Semitic peoples and see how they're dehumanized, even in the US. We all need to do better. But the profit lies in doing worse.
The wealthy oligarchs consolidating control of America have done a wonderful job of using Israel as a wedge issue. If there is a "shadowy cabal" exerting influence over politics it's not motivated by religion or culture, but by simple greed. We need to have conversations on how to remove money from politics and that includes AIPAC. Defenders will be quick to jump to accusations of antisemitism whenever they get an opening because it's a rhetorical minefield everyone needs to be aware of and cautious of. Just because you are not intentionally being antisemitic doesn't mean your words won't be interpreted as such. It makes the conversation difficult and fraught, but it's one of the most important conversations we need to have if we want to restore American politics to being truly representative and democratic.
It is easy to shrug off antisemitism because it is so pervasive in certain parts of society, but if you have Jewish roots, you hear it. I am glad to have the same roots as the likes of Hillel, Maimonides, Spinoza, Einstein, etc. Imagine a society without these luminaries. Imagine a whole society of Proud Boys...
You are too modest about your heritage. Jews have been luminaries in every field of human endeavor, and to the best of my knowledge have never engaged in anything like a pogrom or mass-terror event until the rise of the likes of the Netanyahu regime. Yes, there was fighting by Israel's founders, but it's an open question as to who or what forces were ultimately responsible for that. And as for Muslims, the vast majority are peaceable, not terroristic in their views. And Muslims, too, have historically contributed many things to art, architecture and especially medicine and science. The Tent of Abraham is capacious enough to shelter Jews, Christians and Muslims, whose faith traditions have a great deal in common. People who try to divide us have ulterior motives.
That last sentence - shudder, what a horrible thought.
Thank you 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks for this meaningful and much needed discussion. The autonomy of the Jewish people to speak as Amy has here is what is needed to solve these existential problems. Rejecting antisemitism and what ICE is doing to our communities is absolutely the right thing to do.
Thank you. This reflects the beliefs of so many of us.
Republicans who say they are fighting antisemitism are lying. They use it as a cover to destroy our democracy and encourage hatred of anyone who does not look like them or act like them.
The test is DNA. Many of THEM could be exterminated if Neo Nazis prevail.
Including Miller.
This interview beautifully provides concrete examples of how to unite as Americans instead of allowing ourselves to be crammed into warring camps based on the agenda of power-mongers. When Jews and Muslim stand in solidarity and say persecution on the basis of religion will get no traction here, Stephen Miller's theory of the case falls apart.
Stephen Miller is himself Jewish. By the article, he was raised in a liberal family that supported democratic values. In his teen years, something happened to his mind.
I have no idea what happened to him. But, his wrong turn might have something to do with adults not intervening when he was bullied by other kids.
That's one possibility, though why he didn't grow out of what he has become when faced with reality is puzzling. Apparently he is not a stupid person yet he remains full of and broadcasting his hate.
One of the things that happened to him was the mentorship of a dreadful, genuinely evil madman named David Horowitz, a former far leftist whose blundering had ended up indirectly causing the death of a friend and who turned to the conspiratorial, authoritarian far right and white grievance politics in order to blot out his own sense of guilt.
Horowitz saw a protege in the teenage Miller and began to cultivate the boy when he was still just in high school (Miller had invited Horowitz to come to the school as a speaker, and the relationship blossomed from that point forward).
The Muslim population of Texas is under assault. The Jewish population is also.
The religious teaching the individual choose should have no relationship to their status in a democracy. Despite Project 2025, Russell Vought, etc this is not a white christian nation given by God with toxic masculinity striping all female rights.
Money especially AIPAC, Elon Musk, etc and religious belief do not belong in democracy. Let AIPAC send money to Israel!
A lot of this, from a Machiavellian (how to manipulate the populace in order to remain in power) perspective harks back to the well-proven practice of "divide and conquer." And that practice takes cynical advantage of how frightened and angry people project their fears onto people they see as 'other.' How convenient for the actual cheats and frauds, faithless and greedy, murderous and cruel people now in power to direct our fears and darker impulses away from themselves. We should not and cannot buy into this.
I appreciate your clear and thoughtful discussion and putting so many of these factors into a context. Hillel’s philosophy has always stayed with me. Thanks, Jen.
A thoughtful essay. But without a single mention of Palestinians or Gaza. How can one address the issue of antisemitism without mentioning Palestine? Antisemitism is wrong. Period. But without trying to understand its current iteration we won't get far.
You are too kind.
There is not a word said about why there is 'debate is raging over funding for Israel and AIPAC’s dark money spending'. The author conceded that some of this criticism is not 'not inherently antisemitic' but then spends the rest of that response undermining this statement, while again never mentioning why this criticism exists.
The author claims that critics should 'focus on policies and tactics rather than identity', ignoring that this is precisely what the vast majority of progressive critics of Israel's policies already do, and have always done. It is many of the defenders of Israel, including AIPAC, that weaponize 'identity' by constantly throwing charges of antisemitism at any critic of Israel, including the well worn trope of the 'self-hating Jew' given to Jewish critics of Israel's actions.
The writer then insists critics need to embrace bothsideism by ensuring 'your critiques apply to all organizations and entities that spend in our elections, not just one', as if there aren't specific reasons so many people are criticizing a lobbying group that is effectively supporting a foreign government's commitment of war crimes, while also ignoring the fact that those who criticize AIPAC are also very often the leading critics of other PACs and of big money in politics in general (and the opposite is true - many of AIPAC's biggest recipients also accept money from other lobbies, including big tech, both directly and through PACs).
The writer condemns those that 'singled out Israel or AIPAC' while not saying the obvious reasons why both AIPAC and Israel are very unique in American politics. AIPAC has poured more money into this cycles' primary elections than any other PAC, by a long shot. Can we imagine an ARPAC or ACPAC that supported America's relations with Russia or China? Or even a PAC supporting a close ally that shoveled hundreds of millions of dollars into each election cycle?
Not to mention a PAC that is effectively supporting a foreign nation led by a war criminal that is leading a genocide and a brutal apartheid takeover of occupied territory, while occupying land in two neighboring sovereign countries, all with US help? The US relationship with Israel is obviously and clearly unique in many ways that don't need repeating to anyone paying attention.
Of course antisemitism is very real and should be condemned everywhere. It's the defenders of Israel's war crimes who regularly and commonly 'flatten all critique of Israeli policy or pro-Israel organizations into reductive, binary terms' with bad faith charges of antisemitism.
This is all valid and still heartbreaking that people in the USA still flare up in anti-Semitic or anti Islamic violence. I was branded anti-Semitic decades ago for supporting Palestinian rights to self-government, and a Jewish friend newly married ghosted me for decades because her new husband didn’t believe me sufficiently pro-Israel. (He died and she resumed contact.) I was also somewhat anti-Islamic after the Tsarnaev (?) brothers brought untold harm to people attending a Boston Marathon (a local tragedy). But we get over shocks, and most of my favorite democracy-loving pundits happen to be Jewish. But AIPAC is currently attempting to bribe our politicians into supporting Netanyahu’s genocidal aims and fostering his political survival. Most Americans do not want an official alliance between his and our militaries—I most fervently hope.
Step one: AIPAC registration as foreign agent.
This is an incredibly important interview on many levels and we would do well to amplify the words spoken here about our voting system and other comments that help people understand the links between treatment of all people and our increasingly fragile democracy.
Jen, you make it sound do effortlessly right. Would that it were! Thank you for all that you do to make us better people.
I hope this reflects a lot more people's beliefs. I am unfortunately cynical. I read once that the areas of Swabia in Germany that were the most anti-Semitic in the 1300's were the most anti-Semitic in the 1930s. I am not hopeful. Remember also that Gazans are Semitic peoples and see how they're dehumanized, even in the US. We all need to do better. But the profit lies in doing worse.
The wealthy oligarchs consolidating control of America have done a wonderful job of using Israel as a wedge issue. If there is a "shadowy cabal" exerting influence over politics it's not motivated by religion or culture, but by simple greed. We need to have conversations on how to remove money from politics and that includes AIPAC. Defenders will be quick to jump to accusations of antisemitism whenever they get an opening because it's a rhetorical minefield everyone needs to be aware of and cautious of. Just because you are not intentionally being antisemitic doesn't mean your words won't be interpreted as such. It makes the conversation difficult and fraught, but it's one of the most important conversations we need to have if we want to restore American politics to being truly representative and democratic.