Rabbi Richard Libowitz

​Between Oct. 7 and Dec. 7 of last year, the Anti-Defamation League recorded 2,031 antisemitic incidents, a 337-percent increase from the year before. This included 40 incidents of physical assault, 337 acts of vandalism, 749 incidents of verbal or written harassment and 905 rallies including antisemitic rhetoric, expressions of support for terrorism against the State of Israel and/or anti-Zionism. On average, over those 61 days, Jews in America experienced nearly 34 antisemitic incidents per day. There was one reported fatality during this period.

​About 250 antisemitic incidents specifically targeted Jewish institutions such as synagogues and Hillels. On college and university campuses, ADL has recorded a total of 400 antisemitic occurrences, compared to only 33 during the same period in 2022. At least 1,411 of these happenings could be clearly linked to the Israel-Hamas war. The ADL also tracked an increase in vandalism and harassment against Jewish and Israeli businesses, such as a Dec. 3 rally in Philadelphia where a large group of protesters gathered outside a falafel shop and accused the owners of committing a “genocide.” 

​Antisemitism is the oldest continuing hatred in the world. It persists because, for two thousand years, antisemites have failed to achieve their ultimate goal; the extermination of the Jewish People and Judaism. We Jews have been called many vile and untrue names, but there are two which we may claim with pride: People of the Book, and the Eternal People. What Nebuchadnezzar, Haman, Titus, Czar Alexander III, and Hitler could not do, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran’s Ayatollahs will not achieve. Despite this confidence, we are living in fearful times, in a country in which demagoguery has whipped up fear, suspicion and hatred to levels unknown here for more than three quarters of a century.

​Why antisemitism? The basic reasons start with fear; fear of difference, of the stranger, of people who may look different, eat different foods, speak different languages, observe different holidays, believe in a different religion. The word for that is “xenophobia” and it is an ancient problem, older even than antisemitism and not unique to Jews or Judaism. We read in the Bible that the Egyptians would not eat at the same table with foreigners — not even with Joseph, who was second in power only to Pharaoh — because that would be “an abomination” to the Egyptians (Gen. 43:32). In this country, we have seen such attitudes applied against the indigenous population, then to the Africans brought as slaves, then to Catholics, the Irish, Italians, Jews, peoples from Central and South America, the Caribbean, Asia and the LGBT communities. 

​Jew hatred became different from “mere” xenophobia, when the Christian Church, having broken away from Judaism but dependent upon its texts and concepts, developed the theory of supersession -- that God’s promises to the Jews had been removed and given to the Church, the “New Israel.” But most Jews refused to convert,and the practice of Judaism remained strong. If Jesus’ own people would not accept his Messiahship, why should anyone else? So we had to be punished, to demonstrate the errors of our ways, with special taxes, restrictions on residences and occupations, expulsions, pogroms, the Inquisition. However, there was always a way out from theological or religious antisemitism: convert, and all will be well. Yet converts were often looked upon with mistrust. The Spanish called them Marranos, “pigs”, and agents of the Inquisition watched the Conversos constantly, for any evidence of Jewish behavior. When suspected and confessed to under torture, the sinning soul to be purified by the auto-da-fe, burning at the stake.

​In the mid-19th century, pseudo-science teamed with Romanticism to develop a theory of human races, leading to the notion of Jews as a distinct and different race from the populations of Europe and, of course, an inferior one. This belief soon found a name; “antisemitismus” -- in English, antisemitism. The new racial antisemitism quickly gained popularity, here as well as in Europe. With it, the old escape route was eliminated; now, a Jew converting to another religious faith remained a Jew and, in the 20th century, was to be taken to the gas chamber. But the Holocaust, which some Jew-haters still deny, made such attitudes publicly unpopular, so another rationale became necessary; “Anti-Zionism” has become the new dog whistle for Jew hatred.

​There are some differences, between the antisemitic acts occurring today and those in the past. There are still country clubs and corporations in which only token Jews are to be found, neighborhoods that seek to retain a “Christian” atmosphere, schools that present “Winter Music" assemblies long on Christmas carols and short onanything else. The quota system that regulated — or excluded — Jewish admissions to colleges, law, and medical schools has faded, the courts have broken many neighborhood covenants, and Jews have reached the highest levels in local, state and federal governments. Yet this very success has led to a jealousy-based prejudice.

​Isn’t it ironic that, while other groups are despised for their poverty, their lack of education, their accents or the color of their skin, we are attacked for our success, for being the archetypal exemplars of the American Dream. My grandfathers were immigrants. One drove a bread trucks, the other delivered ice and coal. Their children all graduated from high school. My father worked in a cellophane factory, served in the Army Air Corps through World War II, and owned a small business; his son became both a rabbi and a college professor. In all honesty, we are not the only group resented for our success. Less than two decades ago, Stanford was among a number of universities at which there were expressions of concern about the number of high-achieving Asian students being accepted and therefore “changing the nature” of the school. They worked too hard; they were too driven; they were too smart.

​So much for background; how do we recognize antisemitic statements or acts and what should we do about them? Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart described his test for obscenity, as: "I know it when I see it." If that seems a trifle vague, there is a working definition of antisemitism adopted in 2016 by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which, in turn, was based upon a definition created by the US State Department in 2010;

​“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be 

​expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical 

​manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish 

​or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward 

​Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

IHRA listed examples of antisemitism, in its various forms, including killing or calling for the death of Jews, stereotypical claims about Jews or Jewish world power and conspiracy, blaming all Jews for the acts of one person or group, denying the Holocaust, charges of dual loyalty, denying the right of Israel to exist and claiming Israel is a racist state. Of course, today we can add the claim of Jewish Space Lasers.

​Criminal acts are antisemitic when the targets of attacks, whether they are people or property – such as buildings, schools, places of worship and cemeteries – are selected because they are, or are perceived to be, Jewish or linked to Jews. Antisemitic discrimination is the denial to Jews of opportunities or services available to others and is illegal in many countries.

​So that’s what it is; it’s illegal but it keeps happening, so what can we do about it?

​Please understand what I am about to say, and that I am saying it without a sense of defeat or pessimism: At least as long as there are Jews, as long as Israel stands, there will be antisemites and antisemitism. 

​Sigmund Freud wrote that one way in which society overcomes internal differences and dissent is by having a common enemy, upon whom all can agree. Remember how united this country became against Saddam Hussein, for example. At the same time, individuals can maintain their psychological self-esteem by blaming their own ill-fortunes on something or someone that is different, absolving themselves from guilt or responsibility; we refer to the target of such blame as a scapegoat. Ironically, the concept came, as I’m sure most of you know, from us…from the Yom Kippur practice of the High Priest placing the community’s sins upon the head of a goat, which was then allowed to wander into the Judaean desert, having taken on the sins. The scapegoat — the original scapegoat — was never harmed. In cases of scapegoating today, it is necessary that the targeted group not be in a position to defend themselves or fight back in any way. Ever since the rise of Christianity, Jews have been the Eternal Scapegoat. Supposedly cursed by God, throughout the centuries, we were strangers in what was called Christendom, aliens wherever we lived, even in those places in which we had been given political citizenship; lacking a homeland to which we could flee or an army to defend us, we were at the mercy of the world.  And the world was rarely merciful. Modern racial theory supplemented the theological branding, shutting off any escape from our despised status. This defenselessness was the basic cause of antisemitism, according to Theodor Herzl, who thought the very intention to recreate a Jewish State would eliminate antisemitism. He was wrong.

​In Europe, antisemitism was basically political; we know how that turned out, going from “you cannot live here with us,” to “you cannot live here,” to “you cannot live.” In the United States, it has usually been social and economic. Neighborhoods and apartment houses had covenants; “Christians only.” Same with certain professions, schools, fraternities and sororities, country clubs, resorts, hotels…you name it. A liberal community, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, included a neighborhood of free Blacks more than 175 years ago, but Jews were not allowed. Violence against Jews in America was relatively rare, especially in the post-World War Two era, as the organized Jewish community learned to defend itself through public media and the legal system. Besides, there were other groups even weaker than the Jews, who could serve as scapegoats. [see Karen Brodkin’s book, When Jews Became White Folks].

​If, after World War Two, antisemitism became more subtle, it didn’t disappear. The 1960s ushered in the Baby Boomers — my generation — and a series of issues — from civil rights to the Viet Nam War — that created new alliances, bringing together many different groups in common cause. After the Six Day War, a new image appeared:the meek Jew was replaced by the tough Israeli and young American Jews, many third and fourth generations in this country, refused to apologize for being Jewish, demanding respect for their people and faith. As we gained status and acceptance in virtually every field, antisemitism seemed to be dying away, maintained only by relatively small fringe groups.

​Then why the upswing in hate today? Israel’s response to the butchery of October 7 plays a significant role, but the roots of this public resurgence go back decades, beginning with conservative radio talk show hosts and television commentators, reaching a new high — or low — when a political campaign was launched [the candidate shall go nameless here] drawing from Josef Goebbels’ playbook, assuring a significantly large segment of the population, who felt they were the “real Americans,” that the government was ignoring them while assisting less deserving groups, that their troubles were not their fault, but were due to “those people” and an international conspiracy against them. The candidate would remedy their plight, while making America great again. This is very different from Ronald Reagan’s image of the “alabaster city on the hill,” an ideal portrait of an America that never actually existed, but appealed to conservative voters. But Reagan never targeted any ethnic or religious groups. In this more recent campaign, Jews were not the primary target of the candidate; arguably we were not a target at all. But the continuous public labelling of various groups as outliers, whether rapists, murderers, terrorists, or just “not like us,” repeated again and again, declared legitimate and opened wide the windows of inclusive hate, allowing the antisemites to emerge from their shadowy corners and spread their poison.

OK, we have them; how do we deal with them? There are three varieties of actions, which we may categorize as;​ ​​​

           1. Education

​ 2. Deterrence

​ 3. Law/Enforcement

Education

​In 1965, the Vatican published Nostra Aetate, which announced the changes in Church dogma and attitudes about Jews and Judaism initiated by the Ecumenical Council. Other Christian denominations, including Lutheran and Methodist, have also taken up this task at every level, from interreligious discussions within their congregations, to changes in what is taught in the seminaries. More recently, dialogue between members of synagogues and mosques has begun. Many denomination-based colleges offer courses in Judaism, not as a preamble for Christianity, but to understand Judaism in its own right. As one who spent 29 years on the faculty of Saint Joseph’s University, offered courses and been a guest speaker at Catholic and Lutheran schools on both the East Coast and in the upper Midwest, I can assert that the students are interested and listen carefully…most of the time. 

​Breaking down the myths about us is vital in creating better understanding and reducing the sometimes bizarre and generally negative assumptions about Jews and Israel that are claimed in justifying antisemitism.

​On a larger scale, the work of the Anti-Defamation League and other defense organizations, publishing responses to antisemitic claims, is vital. It is hard to understand why Israel seems to do so ineffective a job of public relations in this regard.

Deterrence

1. Protecting institutions

Some of the steps are both obvious and already taken: motion-sensitive lighting and cameras around synagogues, schools, memorials and other structures; remote control to open exterior doors; security personnel within the buildings during events. 

2. Protecting our people.

​We are no longer greenhorns hoping to be accepted in this country; there should be no fear of claims of dual loyalty when we defend Israel, no hesitation [on the part of Jewish communal leadership] to demand that antisemitic statements or actions in schools — at any level, from elementary to the universities — be prohibited. Should such events occur, those responsible should face consequences, including suspension, expulsion or dismissal, whether we are talking about students, faculty, staff or administrators. Antisemitic statements are not, as some former college presidents recently claimed — an issue of freedom of speech, nor a matter of “context”. Substitute the term “Catholics” or “Blacks” or “Asian” in place of Jews and ask those former presidents — and their defenders — whether the statements are still permissible, or whether actions that make students fear to leave their rooms, attend classes or wear anything that identifies them as Jews can be ignored. This is not to say that any criticism of Israel is automatically antisemitic, but that criticism must begin with the fact that Medinat Yisrael is a legitimate country, part of the ancient homeland of the Jewish People and, as such, it has the right to defend itself.

3. The Law

​The issue of freedom of speech is a tricky matter in this country; in other democratic states, Canada, for one, there are laws defining Holocaust denial, group defamation and the types of “anti-Zionist” claims shouted here, as hate crimes. Threats and calls for violence against a particular group must be outlawed and their voicers punished. Someone wants to say “I hate Jews.” Fine; I’m not too thrilled about it or about you, but you have that right. But saying “We should kill all the Jews” must carry a cost. We need laws forbidding such threats and a police and judicial system that will enforce them.

​As a student in Israel, more than 50 years ago, the “menahel”, the head of my school, had a number tattooed on his left arm, a reminder of his time in Auschwitz. So, too, did one of the ladies who worked in the school cafeteria. My history teacher had been in the Warsaw Ghetto. They are gone now and it is up to us to remember and tell their stories. As a graduate student at Temple University, I became an advisee of Franklin H. Littell — a Methodist minister — who along with Yaffa Eliach, a child survivor of the Nazi massacre in her Lithuanian town, taught the first college courses on the Holocaust in 1959. Both are now of blessed memory but many others have continued their work. I have spent much of my professional life researching, writing and teaching about the Shoah, antisemitism and the price of senseless hatred. The language being used today, the actions occurring here, in Europe and elsewhere, are the worst in frequency and degree, since the 1930s. Despite the bigots and hate mongers who feel they can act with impunity, we shall survive their venom, whether it is spewed in person, in print or on the internet; clean their schmutz from the walls; we shall survive their attacks, but we must do so by responding to violence not with violence, but with pride and strength of purpose. We shall survive by being aware of the situation, but refusing to be cowed into silence. We shall survive by denying those filled with hatred to set the agenda or to escape their own hatred unscathed. We shall survive because it is what we do and what we must do. Am Yisrael Hai!