Gavi's Blog

This is an archived copy of a thread I made on the microblog side of the fediverse.

The content discussed in this post will be deeply upsetting.

A Disclaimer

As a disclaimer: I am not a rabbi and I am only one Jew, and when there is nuance of opinions amongst Jews I will try my best to highlight it. I also cannot fully condense the complexities of antisemitism into a single fedi thread so I will as well highlight some resources as well for those curious. I will likely continually add replies to this thread today too.

This is not a thread about Israel or Zionism. Zionism and Israel is a touchy topic even amongst the Jewish community. This threads highlighting of antisemitic tropes is something that you can look to if you desire but beyond that this is more a general antisemitism discussion. I may make a specific thread about talking about Israel and Zionism and when critique crosses the line into antisemitism, but that's such a clusterfuck even amongst Jews I really do not have the energy to really unpack that right now.

What is antisemitism?

Antisemitism is an ancient form of hatred that is nearly as old as modern human civilization. It is like a play that nearly every generation learns how to perform, with occasional tweaks for the time frame it falls under.

Antisemitism is a unique form of bigotry in that exists typically outside the bounds of other forms of bigotry. It adapts to whatever purpose it serves. It is at its root a form of racism & xenophobia.

Hatred of Jews has existed since antiquity, but antisemitism in its specific usage towards Jews was coined by a German journalist and “racial scientist” in the late 1800s who wanted to give more legitimacy for hatred of Jews with a specific name. It's usage in the modern day is explicitly used to refer to Jews and only Jews. It was effectively reclaimed by Jews to refer to our own hatred by the people who hate us. As well, this is why in some settings (especially academic) you will see the lack of a dash. Instead of anti-semitism, it is antisemitism. The purpose for this is that it is a separate word entirely.

What makes antisemitism so unique?

Antisemitism manifests based upon what is most convenient as a means to scapegoat the ills of society at that time. There is no sense to it, and it is not worth trying to find sense in it either.

Jews have been portrayed as evil communists at times, and others evil capitalist pigs. Rootless cosmopolitans, or chauvistic nationalists. Backwards religious zealots, or G-dless heathens.

Most, if not all, antisemitic tropes that often manifest are actually in direct contrast to how Judaism as a religion functions and the cultural dynamics within the community. It's absurd and is why at times Jews will laugh at some of the manifestations of it.

There is no logical sense in the allegation that Jews caused the California widlfires a few years ago using space lasers, and the common trope of blood libel exists in direct contrast to the fact that blood is not kosher. Cannibalism isn't kosher either!

It would be funny if it hadn't caused so many of us to die.

You cannot reason with an antisemite, “debating” is platforming.

Antisemites more often than not try to force Jews to prove reality to them in a public setting. It is an ancient tradition, and is not unique to Nazis. And they never come to an argument in good faith.

There is no sense or reasoning with an antisemite. They are not there in good faith. They know what they are saying in most cases is absolutely fucking nonsense and they just don't care. When they request a debate, they want to spread their hatred to others and intentionally inflict trauma upon Jews. It is a means of power, and the only way to win their game is by not engaging and explicitly removing their platform.

Do not fall for their shit.

Jews are not white

Antisemitism often exists outside the bounds of other forms of racism, and a big aspect is the way that Jews are not white.

Jews in most contexts especially in the western world and in the presence of white passing Jews (primarily the European Jewish ethnic group, Ashkenazim) are often seen in the modern day as “conditionally white”

Conditional whiteness is an extension of the way that antisemitism is often extended and manipulated based on whatever is convenient at that time. When it is convenient to disregard Jewish concerns, we are white. When Jews are seen as outsiders of a group, we aren't. It's hard to understand, and that's pretty much the entire point. We really are just white when it's convenient and aren't when it's not especially in contemporary American society. That does not erase the fact that Jews are Middle Eastern.

Seems confusing huh? That's sadly the point. Like I said above, there is really no logic to antisemitism. It is fully whatever is just most convenient at that time.

Antisemitism often connects itself with other bigotry as well

Jews are often blamed for the ills of the world and the key cultural focus amongst Jews on fighting for justice makes antisemitism a target to connect other bigotry to.

Where antisemitism arises, other bigotry nearly always follows shortly after. It is not a coincidence that LGBT people were targeted under the Nazis. Jews were distinctly connected to the supposed “degeneracy” of LGBT people. In the modern day this is still very clear, with many transphobes with large platforms often leaning into antisemitism or directly becoming involved in antisemitic circles. JK Rowlings association with antisemitism and her friendliness with prominent antisemites is a pretty big example.

Jews were targeted by the KKK because of our advocacy and participation in the civil rights movement.

The shooter of the Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 posted on Gab a rant against a refugee aid organization that the synagogue had direct affiliations to before entering the synagogue.

This is why Nazis and fascists try so hard to drive divides between other marginalized groups and Jews. Jews cultural desire for justice is a threat that must be snuffed out.

Judaism is an ethnoreligion: whats that?

Another aspect of antisemitism that is unique is that Judaism is an ethnoreligion. Being Jewish is both a religious and cultural identity, and an ethnicity. There are a collection of Jewish ethnic groups and communities with distinct traditions in the diaspora, the most highly represented in the western world does tend to be Ashkenazi (European) but there are others as well. Sephardic (Spanish), Mizrahi (Middle Eastern), Beta Israel (Ethiopian), and a few more.

Jewishness is older than concepts like religion, ethnicity, race, etc. These are concepts that are imposed on Jews and its extremely complicated to navigate those concepts due to the way Jews often exist outside the bounds of those modern concepts. What it means to be Jewish is defined in terms of religious laws (halakhah) and customs specific to different communities (minhagim).

Jews refer to ourselves as a “tribe”, because in large ways we are. You are able to convert to Judaism but it is very difficult to and there is no requirement for non-Jews to. The context of the conversation of “who is a Jew” and what it takes to fully convert is a VERY nuanced topic in the Jewish community overall (and there unfortunately exist discrimination against converts within the Jewish community in many regards too..)

But those nuances do not matter to antisemites. A Jew looks like a Jew so they are a Jew. The minute a Jewish person is associated with their Judaism they are unable to disentangle that from themselves.

What are antisemitic canards

Earlier I made the analogy that antisemitism is like a play that nearly every generation learns. In a way of expanding that analogy, antisemitic canards are the songs to that play. The lyrics are tweaked but the roots tend to stay the same.

Antisemitic canards or tropes, both used interchangeably, are ancient pieces of antisemitism that are a cornerstone of how antisemitic functions.

These are tropes in the literal sense, and they more often than not are conspiratorial with little to no basis in reality as well as will commonly directly contradict each other. We've established antisemitism makes no sense, and canards are no exception. Tropes morph based on convenience, but at their roots they are similar and if you know what the most commons tropes are you can spot them as they happen.

In the next reply I will highlight some antisemitic canards. I already have previously on this account as well, and theres no way I can fully unpack every single one but I'll instead focus on some of the most common ones that exist in the modern day.

Common antisemitic canards to know of

One of the most common one that many, many, MANY conspiracy theories rely on is the idea of Jewish control. Whether it be of the economy, political system, media, etc. At its the root the allegation is the same: Jews possess so much power and as such are responsible for the ills of the world. These are untrue and as well imply that Jews don't deserve any means of power due to a supposed innate sinister agenda.

Religious tropes exist as well. From accusations of collective responsibility for the death of Jesus, supposed ritual murder and blood libel (supposedly kidnapping gentile babies and baking them into matzah, or stealing non-Jews organs), well poisoning as a means of pinning the blame of the black death onto the Jews, as well as accusations of host desecration (allegations of stealing communion wafers and supposedly using them to “re-enact” the crucifixion of Jesus)

In medieval times there was also a trope that proclaimed Jewish men menstruated, supposedly as punishment for Judas betrayal of Jesus.

There exists the trope that Jews are responsible for the ills of the world such as wars and loss of wars, and can exist outside of Jewish control tropes too.

There is a more modern accusation of Jews turning people LGBT.

There is the accusation that Jews supposedly control the weather or are responsible for other natural disasters.

Another large one that exists in the modern day is dual loyalty tropes, that Jews are only loyal to other Jews and exist in sinister tandem with each other.

There as well is a big one that states that Jews lie or exaggerate antisemitism. Or in some cases, allegedly deliberately bring it upon themselves to supposed victimize themselves. Or at times just innately deserved it because they brought it upon themselves. When people are innately suspicious of Jews claims of antisemitism, that in of itself is an antisemitic canard.

There are many more but these are some of the most common ones.

Antisemitism is on the rise, and violence is near

Antisemitism is on the rise worldwide.

What does that mean exactly?

These tropes are gaining ground around the world both on social media and in real life. Like many, many other difficult moments in history as the world faces peril, the world turns to a scapegoat.

Antisemitism is a threat regardless of political leaning. No one is above perpetuating antisemitism, and the idea that the only way antisemitism can manifest is if it's from a Nazi is dangerous. Antisemitism existed long before Nazism, and has been perpetuated both by left wingers and right wingers. No one is immune, and falling in the trap that you are above falling down the rabbit hole of antisemitism and engaging in antisemitic tropes is a dangerous misconception. Be mindful of that fact.

Expanding on the play allegory, this generation has begun to learn the songs. And the dance is being taught as well.

That dance is our violent murder.

Antisemitism causes Jews to die. It is the end result. It always has been. It is the culmination. And that violence is a very real present threat and has grown dramatically over the past 10 years.

As of right now, Jews represent some of the largest statistic in hate crimes in the US and other places around the world as well. There exists perpetual violent threats to synagogues and Jewish organizations in the US and around the world. From SWAT-ings, actual mass murder (such as the Pittsburgh mass shooting, Poway, etc), public harassment, violent assault, murder. These are happening. These are not a hypothetical of whats to come, they are already here. My own synagogue has faced regular bomb threats at numerous intervals. I have personally faced direct threats of antisemitic violence. I have felt genuine fear for my own safety in public as someone who is visibly religious Jewish.

Just last week there was gunshots fired at a Jewish girls' school in Toronto. But these things have limited media reporting. Right now many Jews as a result feel largely ignored and brushed aside as the very real threat of mass violence against us grows.

There is going to be an attempt at a massacre against Jews in the diaspora in the modern day again. That's something that's reasonably easy to predict, and whether or not it results in our deaths is only a matter of waiting and seeing. We exist with that fact now.

How to actually advocate against antisemitism

Being Jewish right now feels pretty bleak and that last post I made exemplifies that. The general feeling is that for the most part non-Jews really just do not give a shit about antisemitism. This dejected and isolated feeling is growing and many young Jews are now having to learn to live with a level of antisemitism that hasn't been as prevalent since their grandparents were young. We try to talk about antisemitism and are either ignored, shouted over, or used as political props when its convenient then chucked aside. Our communities and lives are facing real danger right now, and the isolating feeling grows ever stronger.

There is a very real growing doubts about many Jewish communities having an actual future in many countries as a result of this.

It's a feeling you grow accustomed to, that no one cares. And it's something I feel very much at times. Even on here.

But you can prove us wrong. I've had it happen before, and I know it can happen again.

The biggest piece of fighting back against antisemitism is educating yourself on antisemitic tropes and history, and calling it out when you see it. Both in real life and online. Learn to read between the lines and maintain vigilance against antisemitism. Antisemites try to sneak antisemitism in slyly when they can and count on you not knowing the tropes they use. Don't let them do that. Do not let them invade your spaces, especially activist spaces. If something seems off, publicly question it. Ask them to elaborate further. Making it clear that it is not socially acceptable to engage in antisemitism is something that Jews notice and pay attention to. And yes, this applies to friends as well.

Another piece is knowing that Jews are not mythical creatures that died out long ago. There is a common idea that has been dubbed “people love dead Jews”, where people commonly ignore us until we die. Don't do that. We are real people and our communities are very much alive. Many of our communities are actually a lot less isolated than people realize as well. Specific aspects of Jewish culture is closed, but in large part Jews are welcoming to outsiders who possess a genuine desire to engaging in positive cultural engagement.

If you organize locally or engage in local politics, include us in your activism if you can. Pay attention to ongoing threats against our communities and organize against them.

Antisemitism against Jews you dont like is still antisemitism...

Look. I abhor Ben Shapiro. I think he is truly a piece of shit. But when people say antisemitic shit about him, I still call it out. Antisemitism against Jews you don't like is still antisemitism. Antisemitism against Jews you feel have shitty politics is still antisemitism. Engaging in a metric of “good Jew” vs “bad Jew” and using that to examine if a Jew is worth fighting for is a form of antisemitism. Don't fall into that trap. Antisemitism regardless of where it is directed places all Jews in danger.

Fediverse link: https://grimgreenfo.rest/notes/9u7ywv505vb600cc

Tags: #Judaism, #Antisemitism, #JewishEducation