Why has antisemitism gained momentum again?

AND THAT GETS US TO CAMPUS PROTESTS ABOUT ISRAEL. HOW DO WE DRAW A LINE BETWEEN LEGITIMATE CRITICISM OF ISRAEL AND ANTISEMITISM? Criticism of Israeli policy is not antisemitism, just like

criticism of American policy is not anti-Americanism. But when it begins to ascribe to Israel antisemitic characteristics — that the Jewish state is all-powerful, that it is rich, conniving,

and all you have to do is take out the word “Israel” and put in “Jew” — then you’re on that slippery slope of prejudice. If you question the right of Israel to exist because it’s a Jewish

state but fail to question the right of Islamic states to exist because of their religious identity, you have to wonder why. Some people say that Israel doesn’t have a right to exist because

it chased out an Indigenous population. There’s a big debate about whether that’s correct, but let’s say for the moment that the Jews displaced the Indigenous population. What about the

United States of America and the Native Americans? What about Canada and the First Nations? What about Australia and the Aboriginal people? I’m not justifying any of these things. I’m

asking, “Why in this one case do they say, ‘Israel doesn’t have a right to exist,’ and not these other countries?” When you hold it to a different standard, when you subject it to this

singular focus and ignore others, then you have to ask, “Where is that coming from?” WHY SHOULD NON-JEWS CARE ABOUT ANTISEMITISM? It’s a great question, and I would say the following.

Antisemitism, which has a long, terrible history, has never led to good things for society at large. We’ve seen in the lifetime of people still walking the face of this earth what it can do.

One out of every three Jews in the world were murdered by the Nazis. Had the Germans won the war, they probably would have eliminated lots of other people — lots of Ukrainians, Slavs,

Mongols. Only the destruction of the Jews could not wait. Antisemitism injects hatred into society. It injects contempt into society, and distrust. It breeds no good. IN SOME EUROPEAN

COUNTRIES, HOLOCAUST DENIAL IS ILLEGAL. SHOULD ANTISEMITIC SPEECH BE CURTAILED HERE IN THE UNITED STATES? Oh, no. That would be impossible, because of the First Amendment. But we can make it

unacceptable. The use of the N-word is not illegal, but it’s increasingly unacceptable, and that’s a good thing. Even people who use it in their heads increasingly know that it’s

unacceptable in respectable society. SO, WHAT WORKS TO CONFRONT ANTISEMITISM, AND WHAT DOESN’T WORK? What I think is absolutely essential is people speaking up, people speaking out, whether

it’s the host of a dinner party or the person who has 38 million followers on TikTok. We have to make the antisemite into the social pariah. It’s not to be rationalized. It’s incumbent on

everyone to speak out, to make it clear that it’s unacceptable. There’s no standing silent. When you hear or encounter any form of oppression, any form of discrimination, if you stay silent,

then you’ve sided with the oppressor. _AARP is a proud partner of the #StandUpToJewishHate campaign, designed to raise awareness about antisemitism and mobilize all Americans to combat

antisemitism by using the blue square emoji_ 🟦 _as a unifying symbol of support. Learn more at standuptojewishhate.org and order your blue square pin at fcas.org/pins._