The Rise of Woke Anti-Semitism - WSJ
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
There's something especially unsettling about the newest eruption of the oldest hatred. Anti-Semitism has been so routine and enduring a part of human history that it's easy to become almost numb to fresh instances of it.
For a statistical picture of how consistent—and contemporary—Jew-hatred is, look at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's hate-crime data. We live in an age of heightened awareness of ethnic and racial victimhood, but in the quarter-century the bureau has kept records, hate crimes against blacks have declined dramatically—by more than a third between 1996 and 2019, the latest year of full data. By contrast, the number of anti-Semitic crimes—which are, proportionate to the share of Jews in the population, much more frequent than antiblack crime—has scarcely changed.
Jews themselves know better than anyone that, as banal as this ancient evil is, outbreaks of anti-Semitism can be a harbinger of something more pervasive, a signal of a wider disturbance in a society's soul. That's the inescapable sense one gets from the recent rash of assaults that have unfolded in New York, Los Angeles, Florida and elsewhere.
The political context is new, for a start. In the past most of the anti-Semitic attacks in the U.S. have been the product of the usual depraved minds: white supremacists or sick individuals deciding to take out their pathologies on the group most often blamed for society's flaws.
Occasionally there's been a broader political subplot. Outbursts of anti-Semitic violence occurred at times with the encouragement of black leaders such as Louis Farrakhan or the now supposedly respectable Al Sharpton. But mostly they haven't occurred as the kind of street-level response to geopolitical events that is too common among political activists in Europe, especially on the left.
This latest outbreak, however, has come about in direct response to the recent conflict in Gaza. While politicians of all parties denounce anti-Semitic violence, the rhetoric of some leading leftist Democrats has helped nourish resentments and prejudices. It’s one thing—even if it’s wrong—to condemn the actions of the Israeli government in defending its citizens, quite another to question the character of the Jewish state itself. Rep. Ilhan Omar, with a strong track record of promoting anti-Semitic tropes, has talked of “war crimes” committed in Gaza. Her colleague Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has described Israel as an “apartheid” state, a weighty accusation of violent racism with historic resonance.
The same Democrats, including President Biden, who have pounced on other examples of hate crime in the last few months—sometimes before the evidence of the criminal motivation was even clear—have been oddly silent about people throwing explosive devices at Jewish-owned businesses and shouting “F— the Jews.”
The wider political and cultural environment is what makes this outbreak of anti-Semitism especially unsettling. For many progressives, this latest conflict in the Middle East fits—or rather, has been made to fit—the binary classification of the human race into oppressor and victim on the basis of identity that they now see as the defining dialectic of history everywhere.
To be sure, the explicit identification of Palestinians with disadvantaged African-Americans isn’t completely novel. As American racial tensions of the 1960s coincided with earlier episodes of Israeli-Arab conflict, organizations such as Mr. Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam sought to make the connection. But the wide penetration of this notion into the consciousness and discourse of prominent elected figures in the Democratic Party is new.
It takes extraordinary intellectual flexibility to represent the Jewish people, especially those in Israel, as part of some grand global historical pattern of white-supremacist aggression, but these ascendant protagonists of modern progressivism are used to such gymnastics. As long as the narrative can be sculpted to fit the larger objective, it will do.
All this contributes to an uneasy sense of a widening clash of civilizations that is increasingly the objective and likely outcome of the modern left’s program. The embrace of critical race theory and woke ideology in the cultural and political establishment, like its more traditional Marxist forebears, neatly reduces all tensions in human relations to a simplifying narrative of oppressor and victim, only this time not on the basis of economics but race.
We can only hope that the cease-fire in Gaza will lead to an ebbing in anti-Semitic violence in the U.S. The Jewish people know all too well that the hatred may wane but it never disappears. History tells us it is at its most virulent when it can be hitched to a larger ideological message of victimhood, resentment and retribution.
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It only gets worse from here. We have done little to fight back against these ideas.
"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the Israel-Hamas ceasefire is a welcome first step but fails to address the “dehumanizing conditions” of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
The Democratic Socialist addressed the ongoing conflict in Gaza during her town hall meeting in the Bronx on Monday night.
“The development of a ceasefire is a welcome development. It’s an important development but it’s not enough because it does not address the actual ongoing dehumanizing conditions that are leading or rather contributing to the outbreak of violence,” she said.
“We must continue to center the protection of human rights, the human rights of Palestinians and Israelis alike … But we must also acknowledge the asymmetry in the situation and acknowledge the vulnerable that has played in the last several weeks of this crisis.”
AOC is a Democrat, not a Democratic Socialist.
Either
... you know this, and... you are intentionally lying... or
... you are unaware... and you are unintentionally (but kinda carelessly) posting BS.
So... dishonesty or ignorance.
Good work, Vic!
That's what we call projection bob.
You've done it again!
AOC is a socialist, pure and simple. The Green New Deal is a socialist plan.
C'mon, Vic... You know the English language better than that.
If you had written ''democratic socialist'', there would have been room for discussion. But you wrote ''Democratic Socialist'', and that is simply wrong, factually.
Actually, robert, had you have been paying attention you might have noticed that I wrote neither. Did you notice the quotes and the link?
So, do tell us, is it dishonesty or ignorance?
Do you agree or disagree with the text (from a different source) that you chose to post?
(Oh, and... the NYPost original says ''Democratic socialist''. Why did you change it? That's not really acceptable if you're using quotation marks. Right?)
Never mind bob - You said I wrote it!
You did write it, Vic. The text you put in quotation marks, in your opening Comment, is different from the text in the NYPost link tht you later. supplied.
That text cannot be a simple copy/paste, because it is not identical to the supposed source.
You changed the text.
You can repeat the lie as long as you want. I didn't write it.
The way I see it, we are getting through - to all those people who stop by to read some of our articles.
Your text in Comment #1 is different from the text in your link.
That's only possible if YOU intentionally make the change. When you modify a text, you accept responsibility for it.
The change you made is significant. It changes the meaning of the text.
I think that exposing the idea's and attitudes of the left is adequate. As I once told Al (N), I do all I can short of crossing boundaries.
Oh, the feminist game or is it the Goebbels game?
Keep repeating that lie. Maybe you can be a blogger some day.
That's true. Just remember, the unbiased observer read the article and has looked at the comments. They can clearly see how many avoided the topic. As a matter of fact, an avid NT reader would know that on another of my seeds, bob admitted that anti-Semitism is now a problem within the left's ranks.
Except Bob never said that. YOU did.
Are you going to speak for bob now?
Well, we "stop by to read" and we ain't buying what you're selling. Indeed, when "people who stop by to read" arrive they read us too! It's a grab-bag after that. All we can do is keeping radiating bright light into the shadows to make what's opaque closer to transparent.
The NYPost article to which you linked reads "The Democratic socialist...".
Your supposed citation reads "The Democratic Socialist...".
You willfully made the change.
You are not included. You are a participant on NT. I'm addressing those who stop by to read, but want no part of these discussions.
BINGO!
Tex, you get the Gold Star today. Take your seat at the head of the class.
No. That's false. Please re-read the definition of the verb "to admit".
Your guests or "non-participants" have a single "eye" for your comments or two eyes in a set? Because when you have a set of eyes, seeing gets interestingly complex and captivating!
(Perhaps, your private cadre can be enticed to come out from behind their enclosures. . . . we're have to redouble our efforts!)
It's really a radical ideology. Right up there with the worst of Marxism, only worse since it employs race.
I'm really not here to parse words, nor am I interested in fortune or fame.
I only want to expose this insidious ideology.
Without police to protect them?
I'm not going to ask them to do that.
Of course you are. The change you made in the NYPost citation was not an accident. It was a blatant attempt to mislead readers.
... which you are apparently unable to define without "inventing"...
Well, you're situated here in 'plain-sight' san tangible protection. It's digital media, no body fluids are exchanged. Just minds and passions, Vic. We will teach 'em with intellect, truth, and joy.
Vic, isnt it time for a new avatar? John Durham is last years news.
Says the individual who obviously wants the law used against political enemies.
The U.S.S.R. is hardly new-- in fact its so "old" that it no longer exists!
So how can you believe their anti-Semitism is "new"?
Unless-- perhaps-- you believe the U.S.S.R., while anti-Semitic-- should not be considered to be "the Left"?
(If so, then how you label the USSR? Hardly "Reagan Conservatives"????)
The USSR was just a blip between czars. Russia has been anti-Semitic since forever.
But Vic that is exactly what you called her. Democratic Socialists are a different party than Democrats, vic...
try again?
Democratic Socialists are a different party than Democrats, vic...
During the Election campaign, I saw more than one person on Faux News warn of the dangers of electing Joe Biden-- because he was to the extreme Left of the Democratic Party, that he was an extreme Socialist, etc.
Who knew?
Give her a break-- nobody truly understands the poor dear!
5 Things To Know About Marjorie Taylor Greene
(They really hit the nail on their head with this one!
)
As long as the media keeps doing this kind of thing, antisemitism will simply keep increasing.
Hateful words turn into hateful actions.
The problem is... this never happened. A White American cop murdered a Black American in this manner.
Apparently, the cartoonist knew of no valid Middle East equivalent, and (lacking imagination) they just made some sh!t up...
The purple outline around the head of the man on the ground is clearly an artifact of post-edition. It's impossible to draw any conclusions from an obviously manipulated image.
That outline only appears on the still image and never in the video.
Would you post the link, please?
youtube.com/watch?v=QEemig8LOzM&ab_channel=MiddleEastEye
The incident appears to have lasted about ten seconds....
If one tries hard enough, they will succeed in creating something that will fuel antisemitism. Just more evidence to covince me that antisemiism is latent even when it isn't patent.
We once thought we had it licked. Nobody can deny that it's back!
When's the trial?
After all, if the U.S. could try officer Chauvin, wouldn't it be only fair to try this Israeli officer for murder as well?
Have you ever actually known any Jewish people?
Just because someone hates Jews, don't assume he's anti-Semitic!
I was once married to one and now all those closest to me have Jewish blood.
The author doesn't define this term. As it is in the article's title, it must be important. Could you explain it to us, please?
I don't speak for the author bob and I don't bother with questions addressed to nobody.
Question for Vic Eldred:
The author doesn't define this term. As it is in the article's title, it must be important. Could you explain it to us, please?
Without speaking for Mr Baker, the technical definition of "wokeness" is "the state of being aware." In actual practice via the American left, it is a coordinated attempt by all the powerful forces on the left to take over the public square and impose this very extreme & toxic ideology on the American population to the point where it becomes the unquestioned norm. The ideology is based on victimhood and retribution. (In the current case, you see, the Palestinians are identified as the "victims" and the Israelis as the "oppressors.") Thus far there have been few obstacles for them and very little resistance from decent Americans.
That's my opinion of the current crisis.
Do you have any evidence?
What crisis would that be?
And there-in lies the 'conflict' - unrelenting opposition to right versus wrong - headedness. We have found the enemy and it is us!
Where do I start? The year long riots? Social media censorship? The media's unending lies?
What crisis would that be?
You know, the one where big blue cities are seeing dramatic increases in crime, an open border, a 4% rise in inflation in a matter of months and Americans being afraid to speak.
Tell us about the "wrong" you see in traditional America?
Let me be a little more precise. The key words are ''is a coordinated attempt''.
Do you have any evidence of ''coordination''?
The "victims" are conservative white males who are being oppressed from all sides and directions. They need everyones thoughts and prayers.
I do not belive I have ever said I see anything wrong with traditional America.
... unless we consider racism, for example, to be part of traditional America. Perhaps you could cite a few salient characteristics of what you consider ''traditional America''.
WTF is that? I have followed all of the arts in America and they are a series of births and deaths of cultural expression which will go on and on until America joins the dust heap of all preceding civilizations.
Yes.
Offers of National Guard assistance were refused:
Police were ordered to stand down:
Teacher's Union pushed teaching critical race theory
As does the White House:
And the military being purged:
I think everyone gets the idea, right?
I think you should have quit after claiming I didn't know who Ayn Rand was.
You see how that comes back to bite?
That's why that comment wasn't addressed to you.
The blatant LYINGS, MANIPULATIONS, SELFISHNESS, REFUSALS to allow others (outside of distinct tribe) to excel, COVETOUSNESS. A singular focus on a twenty percent that is done inadequately, poorly, or in error over an eighty percent (80/20 rule) that is corrective, sound, and wholesome (for all the citizenry/nation).
I see no evidence of ''coordination''.
What I think I am seeing is an attempt to lay a smokescreen, to hide the fact that you do not have any such evidence.
Sh!t happens. All around the world. That's not evidence of a world-wide conspiracy. Except for QAnon, of course.
Please point out ''coordination'', in your several links, or we will all suppose that you were just makin' sh!t up... again...
That is strange.
What I think I am seeing is an attempt to lay a smokescreen, to hide the fact that you do not have any such evidence.
I only gave you ten links. I think even Saul Alinsky would be satisfied.
Sh!t happens. All around the world.
This didn't just happen. It developed over decades.
Please point out ''coordination''
You refuse to accept reality. I can't help you.
What's the use of multiple links if they're irrelevant or useless or touting conspiracy theories?
Sometimes one supports the other. When you are using an article on leftist anti-Semitism, an additional article providing AOC's opinion is very helpful.
I asked "What's the use of multiple links if they're irrelevant or useless or touting conspiracy theories?"
Not "What's the use of multiple links"
I thank you for asking. It gave me the chance to educate our readers.
Still no answer?
Post 3.1.18 was written in plain English.
If you cannot spotlight specific cases, I will have to presume that you're makin' sh!t up again.
And so will all other readers of your attempts to mispresent the truth.
I gave you ten. You should be digging your teeth into that.
A real blogger would!
Which was not an answer to my question.
[deleted]
This is a classic gimmick for avoiding conversation: bury the topic under an avalanche of links.
If you actually wanted to give evidence, you would make the point, and then supply a link.
It's also time consuming. I'm sure there are those who actually read those links. Do you think someone living in Minneapolis needed to read them? I heard today that crime has skyrocketed there and the police don't even bother making traffic stops anymore. How would any normal human being like to live there?
They've become almost identical in many ways.
I couldn't stand it myself, and am so surprised that the citizens there take it all like good little sheep.
I suppose some are busy with feeding their families while others don't care. The GOP should be taking advantage of it.
He doesn't have any such evidence. Never does.
Can a mod please tell me how this is different than my deleted 3.1.26?
Seems this comment appears quite frequently and tends to stay up.
Why are you trolling me bug?
Seriously??
That's a very silly question, Tessylo!
Are you a mod?
No!
Not trolling you.
Seems like the other way around.
Well good on ya!
(Its a shame they are neither as intelligent, nor as educated, as you, eh Vic?
)
What do you mean by the term "public square"?
I woke means being aware, I can't imagine that there's anything wrong with being aware. Of course if someone starts adding new meanings to the word then I suppose you might as well throw away your dictionary.
What did George Orwell teach us about the use of words?
People who ridicule the children of those they don't like can't be ignored.
You never heard that term? Think of it as the Forum of Ancient Rome. The place where ideas are discussed and eventually where norms and/or an orthodoxy is established.
I have a question for you: Why do you keep voting your own comments up?
Ah, you mean "doublespeak" - yes, exactly.
You are still & always the teacher
Thanks Vic, and you know that I respect you as well.
There is a real word: "woke".
But the way republicans use it, it really very, very poor grammar! (Which leads to ineffective communication).
From all the times I've seen them use it, the proper word to express what they are trying to say would probably be "awakened" (my second choice would probably be, as you have pointed out, "aware"- (depending on the context...or perhaps their tasrget audience).
The way they usually use "woke" indicates to me that at the very least it aimed at people who mainly illiterate.
Ah, yes, you mean the great unwashed ignoramuses who still believe the election was stolen that unfortunately are much too prevalent in the USA.
There is (yet) another consideration: These conservatives and their think-tanks know the proper vernacular usage of the concept "Woke," and they want to mangle it and make it less effective through misuse (abuse).
Yes, in the 'naked' city there are all kinds of dives, emptinesses, stinky and funky tricks underground.
Woke? It was a silly term when first used but it has been co-opted by many on the right and is now used as a slur to deflect from their own sins. It's an 'art' they have mastered over several political generations. One would be hard pressed to find anyone on the left using the term today.
EXACTLY RIGHT!
''Woke'' seems to be important to the author - it's in the title and in the conclusion. But the author does not define it.
I assume that Vic reads his articles carefully before seeding them, and therefore has an idea of what the author meant.
I appreciate your help, but I prefer to hear the seeder's opinion.
The seeder posted his opinion before I did.
No, actually. He did not. He posted some word-salad. When questioned about the key words in that salad... he went silent.
[r][emoved]
[ Deleted ]
As opposed to the undefeated Heavyweight
(AKA Vic)
[Deleted]
[deleted]
removed for context
Question: Can you explain who "them" and "decent Americans" in your bold, black colored opinion? The ambiguity and placement of the sentence is confusing me. Who is them:
1. American Left?
2. Palestinians?
3. All of the Above?
Who are "decent Americans?
1. All conservatives?
2. Some conservatives (Trumpists)?
3. Liberals?
4. All of the Above?
None of the above.
My decent Americans are those who work hard, pay their bills, love and care for their families and still believe in traditional American values. Many of them once worked in the manufacturing and service sectors. They have long been forgotten. Many have turned to drugs. They are a dying demographic.
It is they I care about.
YOUR decent Americans?
... and of course, YOU are the judge...
"The Only Law West of the Pecos".
Our very own wordsmith set the standard. The idea is to take any argument, no matter how indefensible and win on some random technicality. Out in the real world, created by the left, it would involve Molotov Cocktails and bricks.
You display an option not offered: None of the above. Who are "them"? I'm left confused again.
It's hard to classify, "many of them" as a descriptor for decent people, because it is not inclusive. That is complete. Do you mean to state: All of the Above?
(I am more confused now than before.)
Then you have my sympathy.
Thank you for standing in agreement with my temporary state of confusion. Notably, you can do more to assist this discussion to stay on-track for me and those hidden readers if you courteously and with significant clarity answer questions.
I think we are there!
What makes me happy is having a format where people get to read a logical presentation of what the real problems are. The sad fact is that all of this is so unnecessary. We shouldn't be at this point.
BTW, thank Governor Abbott for outlawing the defunding of any/all Texas police departments.
Have a good night Sir.
It's s-o-o-o much easier to be right when you can re-define words to mean whatever you like. Hot is cold; up is down; ...
Dictionaries are for wimps!
"Defunding Police" is an abused phrase in the hands of some conservatives. Though I'd be curious if police officers across the nation begin flipping over wheelchairs with their 'bounds' still in them if Governor Abbott could be empathetic to a profound loss of mobility and a lack of ability to 'right' oneself. Cruel? I don't think so. Of all the people one would expect to understand the loss of a limb, limbs, and/or body - a cripple governor comes speedily to mind! But not this one: not this time.
It's more than a phrase. Big blue cities are now awash in crime. Those who are paying for it? Minorities who live there!
So you feel that ONLY certain people working Certain blue collar jobs qualify as "decent Americans." If someone worked/are working white collar or other blue collar jobs Vic (and those voices he thinks he represents) feel you are not a "decent Americans?"
Which big blue cities? Citations? I'm sure (If) the citations you provide won't prove what you say.
That's full of bull patty. And while we're on the subject, in my opinion, I don't believe you give a damn about minority communities per se. What say you?
Telling police departments (using hodge-podge approaches to law enforcement) to allow citizens, victims, suspects, and criminals to reach a jail cell and a court where there are judges and juries is not an abuse of Police. They have the power, surely they can be told to modulate and change.
And one more thing: Since you seem to see "blue" more than "red" cities as a problem, I am gonna remind you that to hear you tell it red states are 'perfect' and don't have issues of policing to resolve. That is a red-state lie, straight out of Hell. Red states are as full of bull patty and stupid shit issues as anywhere U.S.A.!
I am not impressed.
Who specifically did I say are "non-decent.?"
I want an answer.
You tell me.
First I say that many of those I described as decent hard working Americans are black.
I also say that you are violating the code by charging racism. You've been flagged.
You're the one who said 'all blue cities are awash in crime' - it's up to you to prove it!
I don't have to prove that one. Everyone with half a brain knows it.
So you can't! Why didn't you just say so?
Do some reading.
No need, you've proven nothing.
[Deleted]
I'm an optimist. What can I say.
See, I'm not the subject of this seed.
Firstly, you and I were discussing "defunding police" @6.1.10. A distinctly different thread than "decent Americans." Consequently, you may have your 'reply tos' missed up!
Secondly, I don't know how you derive "racism" (in which direction) because in my opinion I don't think you care about minority communities. A better response would be to demonstrate 'care and concern' and "welcoming interests" for minorities and their communities in your statements-whether than a dry conservative ideology void of empathy.
My decent Americans are those who work hard, pay their bills, love and care for their families and still believe in traditional American values. Many of them once worked in the manufacturing and service sectors. They have long been forgotten. Many have turned to drugs. They are a dying demographic.
You mean the type of people who took part in the Capitol insurrection?
Aw c'mon-- he's entitled to his opinion. (Just because he feels superior to the rest of us-- that's no reason to mock him!)
Generalize much?
Make shit up much?
Tess, Krishna has a wicked sense of humour.
Well if that be the case-- would you consider that group to be "woke"-- or "slept"?
Especially the drug dealers you seem to be so fond of...
Not surprisingly-- especially for a semi-woke person to believe!
(And don't even get me started on "quarter- woke" persons..!!!)
Who is the "American left"?
A bit of a broad brush.....
Well, put an "American Left" on a spectrum line and look in the opposite direction and voilà - "American Right" comes into being! O vice-versa! Broadly-speaking, for sure!
A bit?
Let me ask the questions now. Define yourself?
Vic.. I think you are a reasonably intelligent person. So I presume that when you post something, you've thought about it. I assume that if it's unclear to me, I can ask questions and you will complete my understanding.
I will be happy to answer questions about stuff that I post... but I cannot answer questions about stuff that you post.
You used the term "American left". To my knowledge, there is no standardized definition, so every usage may be different. To understand your post, I need to know your definition.
I don't play "gotcha", Vic. But it seems to me that if you present ideas, you must accept - participate in - their examination.
On my own political spectrum, I situate myself as "socialist and democrat". But I'm not sure how helpful that is to you, because I doubt very much that we have similar political spectra.
I think he may be referring to those on the extreme left-- uber Socialists like Joe Biden perhaps?
/sarc
And then again-- very often the total opposite may be true, LOL!
There's a wise old saying:
Confucious say "People who paint with broad brush often soon run out of paint!"
Even House Democrats are taking notice of their colleagues racism:
Four House Dems making clear their displeasure with some progressives over Israel rhetoric. “We also reject comments from Members of Congress accusing Israel of being an ‘apartheid state’ and committing ‘act[s] of terrorism.’ These statements are antisemitic at their core” pic.twitter.com/fSbhqRohAO
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 26, 2021
WTF?
There are people in both parties who have on occasion, opposed the views of the majority of their party.
McConnell comes to mind:
McConnell: Trump 'morally responsible' for Capitol riot
WTF? No shit Sherlock. Did I ever claim otherwise? What a pathetic attempt at deflection.
I guess defending The Democratic Party is more important than exposing racism to you. Sad.
According to people like Sean, whites are the true victims of racism. It is ludicrous but I suppose once they repeat it enough they certainly sincerely believe it.
Nice straw man John. Easier to make shit up than deal with reality, huh?
Did I ever said you did?
(Krishna playing the "Back 'Atcha Card"!)
WTF!
Gimme a break!!!