We Have to Work Together

Antisemitism is One Expression of the Fear of Otherness

I have written a lot lately about rising antisemitism in the United States, but in this article, I want to point out that it would be a mistake to view rising antisemitism in isolation from rising prejudice and violence against all groups that are not white and Christian. We have Islamophobia, anti-immigrant policies, oppression of Native Americans and repeal of civil rights protections for black people. All of our minorities are in danger, and we Jews should see our concerns in that context. 

We Jews tend to think of our sufferings as unique. We see contemporary antisemitism as the expression of an age-old prejudice. We think of the slaughter by the crusaders of the Jews in the Rhineland; we think of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain; and of course, we think of the Holocaust. We say to ourselves, "No other people has suffered as we have." 

This attitude prevents us from seeing that right now, here in the United States, other people are suffering too, and the failure to see their suffering prevents us from building alliances with people who share our interest in building and maintaining a diverse society "with liberty and justice for all."

Instead of thinking of antisemitism as unique, we should see it in the context of widespread fear of people who are “other,” we should understand that antisemitism is one expression of that fear.

Why is the Fear of Otherness So Widespread?

Why is that fear so widespread today? Why is there so much political action and so much political propaganda against minorities? Part of the answer is that much has changed in our country in recent decades. We have far more people of color in our society than we used to have, and what is more important, white people encounter members of minority groups far more often that they used to. 

In the past, white people rarely encountered people of color except as service workers, but today, white people encounter people of color daily on the streets, as employees of supermarkets or local banks, and as neighbors. All of this contact creates a strong sense that our society is changing, and for some of people, the changes are frightening. That fear provides the basis for the widespread fear of "otherness."

Antisemitism springs from the fear of otherness, and in addition, it comes with a long tradition of literary justification from the false medieval blood libel to the forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the racist teachings of the Nazis. It is not surprising that in a time of widespread fear of people who are “other,” we should see antisemitism rear its head. If we look at antisemitism in this light, we can see that our interests align with those of all groups that are seen as "other."

Trump's Republicans Have Built a Political Movement Based on Fear

The fact that fear of otherness is widespread is not a complete explanation for the rise of racist politics because fear is not by itself a political movement. Political action and political propaganda can come only from an organized political movement, and a vague fear is not an organized movement. Turning a vague fear into a political movement requires lots of money along with political leaders who want to capitalize on the fear by using it against their enemies. Bringing together the money and the leadership is the role of Trump’s Republican Party. It has created a regime based on fear of minorities including Jews. 

Don't be Confused

Don't be confused by Trump's theatrical statements against antisemitism in universities. Those statements come from his desire to crack down on the universities and from a desire to get more Jews to vote for his supporters. He has no real concern for Jewish students. We know that because we can see that he never speaks out against the antisemitism of his supporters.

Jews Share With Other Minority Groups an Interest in Defeating Trump's Republicans

We Jews along with other minority groups have a common interest in overthrowing Trump’s hold on the federal government. We can accomplish that by working to elect Democrats in this year’s elections. We can be successful if we work on building a coalition with other groups. Jews, Muslims, Latinos, Blacks and Native Americans should all work together to defeat a common enemy. 

We Have to Work Together

In order to work together, we are going to have to table the issue of Israel's policies for now. All sides of that controversy are going to have to tone down their rhetoric. American Jews are going to have to focus on the issues here at home, and non-Jewish progressives are going to have to do the same. Non-Jewish progressives will have to stop saying that the State of Israel is a colonialist entity that should not exist, and Jews will have to stop saying that anyone who criticizes Israel's actions in Gaza is antisemitic. We cannot protect the security of minorities including Jews in American society if we insist on insulting each other. We cannot win if we allow our differences concerning Israel to blind us to our common interest here at home. We have to work together.