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Behind the Aegis

(53,921 posts)
Fri Jun 17, 2022, 05:45 AM Jun 2022

(Jewish Group) The Scourge of Antisemitism Has Returned to America

The Jewish community is in crisis. For decades, we viewed the specter of antisemitism as a ghost of the past, a hatred from another time and another place. We still saw it in the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe, even in occasional glimpses from our Western allies. But when antisemitism appeared here in the U.S., it used to be on the margins, on the fringe—a speck of dust on the otherwise clear vision of Jewish life in America.

We had become comfortable here in America over the last three quarters of a century. Gone were the restricted neighborhoods and their country clubs of yesteryear. America's centers of higher education abandoned their quotas and fully opened their doors to us.

We took the reprieve that this acceptance granted us and used our energy in the pursuit of noble goals. We fought antisemitism abroad. We picketed Soviet consulates, smuggled in prayer books, and rallied in Washington.

We brought relief to areas struck by natural disaster, saved refugees fleeing war and persecution, and fought for the civil rights of all Americans. For decades, we focused our energies here in the United States on defending Israel and Israel's right to exist. We accomplished these activities secure in the knowledge that the "American Experience" was a cure to the disease of antisemitism.

But that sense of security may have been an unfortunate mirage.

more...

Don't believe it? Just go to the MSN link and read the fucking comments! Just another reminder, some minorities ARE expendable!

6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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(Jewish Group) The Scourge of Antisemitism Has Returned to America (Original Post) Behind the Aegis Jun 2022 OP
did it ever truly leave Skittles Jun 2022 #1
No, it never left. It just took on new guises, in some cases. Behind the Aegis Jun 2022 #4
just know this, Behind the Aegis Skittles Jun 2022 #6
The comments are unbelievable. Beastly Boy Jun 2022 #2
I think you hit upon something I honestly can't believe I didn't consider. Behind the Aegis Jun 2022 #5
I grew up in a Temple ReluctanceTango Jun 2022 #3

Skittles

(153,113 posts)
1. did it ever truly leave
Fri Jun 17, 2022, 05:54 AM
Jun 2022

I've long thought Obama's election caused many bigots to emerge from under their rocks, and now Trump has made them feel proud of their bigotry.

Behind the Aegis

(53,921 posts)
4. No, it never left. It just took on new guises, in some cases.
Fri Jun 17, 2022, 04:08 PM
Jun 2022

I think you are also correct about how we got to this place. IT just goes to show how closely bigotries are tied together, despite what some on our side like to think.

Skittles

(153,113 posts)
6. just know this, Behind the Aegis
Fri Jun 17, 2022, 05:53 PM
Jun 2022

they ARE outnumbered - there are more of US than THEM

however, THEY hold a disproportionate amount of power

I feel like America is broken and that the institutions that helped make her great are now working against her

WE MUST STICK TOGETHER AND FIGHT......yes indeed

Beastly Boy

(9,236 posts)
2. The comments are unbelievable.
Fri Jun 17, 2022, 08:54 AM
Jun 2022

It's as if most of the people didn't bother to read the article, and they just keep pushing the same tired and blatantly antisemitic tropes because they were triggered by the word "antisemitism" alone. Without any apparent hint of awareness, they are validating everything that the article had addressed. Scary indeed.

Behind the Aegis

(53,921 posts)
5. I think you hit upon something I honestly can't believe I didn't consider.
Fri Jun 17, 2022, 04:13 PM
Jun 2022

They are "triggered" by the word anti-Semitism. It is a common 'trigger' for those on our side of the political spectrum too. Too many posts start with "Oh woe as me, I will be called an anti-Semite!" or "Anti-Semitism is overused and used incorrectly, let me explain to you what it really is!" (almost always coming from someone who isn't a Jew!). Anti-Semitism is the heel bar in the horseshoe of American politics of the extremes.

 

ReluctanceTango

(219 posts)
3. I grew up in a Temple
Fri Jun 17, 2022, 03:54 PM
Jun 2022

With a great many Holocaust survivors. Most of them said that things were better here, yes, but never get complacent. Things could change for the community in a heartbeat, because they always had, for centuries.

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