Their goal was to annihilate us, just because we existed. Some-like Amalek in biblical times or the Nazis in the modern era-have focused their venom on the Jewish people, based on an almost instinctive, gut-level hatred. Throughout the centuries, antisemitism has manifested in three distinct ways. The denial of the Jewish right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland almost invariably manifests as a politically correct version of antisemitism. While IHRA equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism, Nexus provides several caveats allowing for opposition to the Jewish right to self-determination, as well as applying double standards to Israel, by declaring that “paying disproportionate attention to Israel and treating Israel differently than other countries is not prima facie proof of antisemitism.” Here the Nexus definition opens the antisemitism loopholes that IHRA was intended to close, thereby rendering the endorsement of IHRA entirely meaningless. It does so by including the fringe Nexus definition as a guide for identifying Jew hatred, alongside the globally accepted IHRA working definition. Unfortunately, the strategy gives cover to this contemporary iteration of antisemitism. The most serious flaw is that the strategy lacks any real consideration of how anti-Zionism, the denial of the Jewish right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland, almost invariably manifests as a politically correct version of antisemitism, a version that is spiraling out of control in America today. Many of these are quite positive, including its focus on beefing up security for Jewish institutions and the emphasis it places on education-a vital building block for any tolerant society.īut the positives it presents make the strategy all the more dangerous, as the good it espouses lends credibility to its fundamental weaknesses. The lengthy, 60-page document offers a multiplicity of ways to counter the world’s oldest hatred. For all its pomp and flair, the strategy misses some of the key forces driving antisemitism today and how to fight it effectively. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. The National Antisemitism Strategy Has No Clothes There is a Hebrew maxim that reads “ve’haikar chaser min hasefer,” which roughly translates to: “The essential point is missing from the argument.” Or, to use more popular vernacular, “the emperor has no clothes.” This, in essence, is our central critique of the recently released U.S.
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