There's another important reason why the Left's Permanent Revolution and its endless grievance mongering and victim fetishism cannot abide the presence of Jews: Jews have taken every lemon handed to them and made lemonade, they didn't need welfare or bureaucrats or postcollegiate white saviors baptized in "critical consciousness" to be rescued or to thrive. They have their own inherent brilliance and industriousness, their own traditions (religious, moral, social etc) and have no problem succeeding not only sans govt protection but even with govt opposition. They made Hollywood, psychology, and so much of American business, retail, culture and journalism—no matter how many hurdles needed to be jumped.
Allow Jews into the cult of group therapy we refer to as the "Left" (at least the ones who haven't renounced their Jewishness and converted to some form of socialism) and people might start asking some uncomfortable questions about patronage, condescension, and notice how reams of pseudoradical pseudo-thought are worth zilch compared to a simple devotion to hard work and reading to your children.
If all their victim clients heeded the Jews instead of the merchants of resentment, the merchants might go out of business and have to find new suckers to fall for their power schemes. Thus another reason for Jew hate gets added to the pile.
The Jews can't be an official oppressed minority if they refuse to act like one!
Your essay is outstanding in every way. The weaponization of anti-racism by so-called "progressives"--many of them in the "as a Jew" crowd--is a terrible thing. The harm that this toxic mindset can create is truly frightening. Jews don't deserve it--enough already! It needs to stop now.
Vanessa, excellent article, and you’re absolutely right. But I keep coming back to the same frustration: we write excellent pieces diagnosing the problem, yet far fewer people are talking about strategy. How do we actually fight back?
From day one I’ve believed there are two wars happening — the military war and the propaganda war. Israel is exceptionally strong in one and far too weak in the other. We keep allowing our enemies to define the language, control the narrative, and exploit institutions far better than we do.
We need far more serious conversations about organization, messaging, strategy, and unity. Too many large Jewish institutions have enormous resources yet often seem reactive rather than strategic. Until someone seriously tackles how to win the information war, we’ll keep finding ourselves on the defensive no matter how many facts are on our side.
Frederick, exactly! Jews excel in so many areas, why are we getting crushed in the PR battle? Social media is rife with antisemitic posts, memes, tropes and there is very little push back. There needs to be a flood of money directed towards raising the image of Jewry. All of the good that Israel has done for other countries gets no press. The ADL and B’nai Brith are wonderful, but they are not winning the PR war.
Kailash, I agree. And I’ll be honest — I’ve become increasingly frustrated with many of the large legacy organizations. Too often they feel like old institutions protecting their own turf rather than adapting to a modern propaganda war that moves at lightning speed.
I’m not saying groups like Anti-Defamation League or B'nai Brith Canada do nothing—they do important work. But considering the resources available, the results often feel far too reactive and incremental. Our opponents are faster, more coordinated, and far more aggressive in shaping narratives online.
We need new leadership, new messaging, and a far more modern strategy. Right now, we’re fighting a 21st-century propaganda war with a 20th-century playbook.
we are getting crushed in PR because there are 8 BILLION people in the world. Two billion are Muslims and 1 billion Christians. Only 15 million (so tiny) Jews. We are far outnumbered by the haters and the haters' money and they have created a Digital Holocaust.
Excellent essay. Jews are historically and to this current day the most oppressed people in the world, yet the arbitrary classifications assigned to Jews are intentionally determined to continue to oppress Jews, both by putting Jews in a class not considered in need of protection, and even worse, a class that has been determined to be guilty of oppressing others. Considering Jews a religious category only ignores the science behind DNA studies which show Jews, if not recent converts to Judaism, can be identified through their DNA and put into racial classifications such as Ashkenazic or Sephardic. Is there a genetic category that identifies a person as Christian? As Muslim? As Hindu? As atheist? The Askenazic classification serves to differentiate Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia from the non Jewish Europeans with whom Jews lived among for hundreds of years.
"In that sense, “white” becomes less a racial category and more a shorthand for perceived structural advantage." I'm sure that those who came after the WWII/Nazi Shoah saw themselves as having advantages. Do these complaints apply to African Israeli Jews who are decidedly NOT white?
Mr. Baker, I think I understand your question, but I am not entirely sure, but would like to offer what I think is an answer; in the rabid antizionist mind, the African Israeli Jews are invisible. Completely ignored. The majority of Israel's Jews are from non-European dispora, but that doesn't fit the "white European oppressor colonial project" libel used to justify violence and murder of Jews, so the Far Left simply ignores their existence.
It would be impressive to see if it weren't so hypocritical and against their own "moral" code.
Actually the left has neatly solved the non European diaspora....the Mirzrahi Jews are retroactively awarded the special honor of being "Arab" of Mosaic persuasion....and therefore the "white" ruling class of Israel equally oppresses their "Arab Jews." In good Time the "Arab Jews" will be repatriated not to Libya and Algeria....but like their Syrian brethren to Germany , the UK, France. Their "home" countries don't actually want them back.
As ridiculous as their worldview is in the way you describe it, I fear that you are correct, and that is even more disturbing than my theory of simply ignoring the existence Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews who make up the majority of Israeli Jews. As if their cognitive dissonance couldn't have gotten worse.
Vanessa Berg you wrote a very valuable analysis. Jews in America, perhaps Canada, Australia, were classified as a religious group exclusively or primarily. Some early immigration and census may refer to race as "Hebrew." But we were moved to the white column. So were the Arabs...white... until today.....they 've all been moved to the "of color" column. For a society supposedly moving away from race, the United States leftist movements are thoroughly race obsessed in a similar way to the far right. In both cases the Jews are a malevolent force. Jews in the Diaspora particularly in the USA have to reject Israel and any identification or basic sympathy for the Israelis, according to the Left. tlaib may drape herself with a Pal tea towel where ever she goes but this rep for Palestine in Congress is not showing dual loyalty. No, she clearly has loyalty only to "Palestine." The Jews are expected to sign on to one anti Zionist screed after another or announce their disapproval disdain for "that ethno state" from the stage. The Jews assimilate well....so what is different about me....I'm not wearing Hasidic dress. I don't wear a kippah. I enjoy all aspects of American culture. I don't drape a talit around myself on the street to show my Jewish/Israeli affirmation. I'll decide how I express my Jewishness and my Zionism. And it's not making the racist mayor of NYC happy.
This racism starts at the top, propagated with politicians, the media and universities. Jews predated Islam, close to a million Jews were expelled from MENA where they lived for centuries, Israel absorbed most. Diarna, Our Homes, a digital library of Jewish history and culture, since 2010 3 thousand sites have been identified so far. Today, you cannot find Jews in this vast area, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and the other nations. The forced removal of Jews from Arab and North African Muslim world, the true Apartheid.
Thanks for the tip on Diarna....I took a quick look.....I have been doing my own education on Jews of the Mid East since I'm a kid....didn't know of this site and I'm always searching the web for Jewish related sites
“That doesn’t mean the moral claims are fake. It means the application of those claims is shaped by who is seen as powerful, who is seen as vulnerable, and who is worth defending.
In theory, “anti-racism” is about opposing prejudice and discrimination wherever they appear. In practice, it often prioritizes certain injustices over others based on a hierarchy of power. Groups perceived as marginalized are centered; groups perceived as powerful are scrutinized, challenged, or deprioritized.”
Just identified CRT principles and practice hard at work.
Two things we need to bear in mind. Language is meant to communicate ideas and words, the vehicle for ideas, are meant to name the things being spoken about. In this regards, there appears to be an unattractive vagueness to the term "moral clarity."
In fora like "The Future of Jewish" and others, it is a catch phrase bandied about like Buddhist prayer flags fluttering in a stiff breeze. What does it actually mean? Are we talking about Morality? Moral -Standards? -Virtue? -Rectitude? -Certitude? -Righteousness? Some of the above? None of the above? Other? Inquiring minds want to know.
When the word “morals” appears, rarely is its analogue “ethics” invoked. A practical example of the difference between the two may be found in the issue of the acceptable length of a woman’s skirt opposed to the issue of theft. At one time anything above the ankle was considered immoral. The skirt eventually shortened to the mini and its length — or lack thereof — socially acceptable. On the other hand, theft is condemned by all society at all times. The skirt kerfuffle illustrates that morality is a community standard that often changes over time. Ethics, though, encodes enduring universal values.
The Jews did this to themselves though. They wanted to be seen as white when they arrived in the 1500 in small numbers. They wanted to be seen as white again when they arrived in the 1900s. They wanted to be seen as white because they knew what it meant to be seen as not white/a colored/a black. They didn't want that. So Jewish people have only themselves to blame.
Black people are black regardless if they're suffering from a mutation such as albinism or other unless you're talking about biracials like Drake or Rashida Jones. They're not black; they're biracial. Jews are not white passing. They're white. They fought to be white and now are upset they don't get that white privilege they fought so hard for. Y'all should have done what the Chinese did. Be proud to be other. Be proud of not being white nor black. Be in the middle. But noooooo, y'all wanted to be white. Had slaves, fought for the confederacy, joined the KKK, got rid of DEI, got rid of Affirmative Action; anything that hurts black people, Jews like. Y'all white.
Regarding the IHRA definition of antisemitism, the beliefs and actions of Mamdani himself meet the definition, and they know it. Plus there is no definition of Islamophobia. Thus it's easier to just ignore the definition.
There's another important reason why the Left's Permanent Revolution and its endless grievance mongering and victim fetishism cannot abide the presence of Jews: Jews have taken every lemon handed to them and made lemonade, they didn't need welfare or bureaucrats or postcollegiate white saviors baptized in "critical consciousness" to be rescued or to thrive. They have their own inherent brilliance and industriousness, their own traditions (religious, moral, social etc) and have no problem succeeding not only sans govt protection but even with govt opposition. They made Hollywood, psychology, and so much of American business, retail, culture and journalism—no matter how many hurdles needed to be jumped.
Allow Jews into the cult of group therapy we refer to as the "Left" (at least the ones who haven't renounced their Jewishness and converted to some form of socialism) and people might start asking some uncomfortable questions about patronage, condescension, and notice how reams of pseudoradical pseudo-thought are worth zilch compared to a simple devotion to hard work and reading to your children.
If all their victim clients heeded the Jews instead of the merchants of resentment, the merchants might go out of business and have to find new suckers to fall for their power schemes. Thus another reason for Jew hate gets added to the pile.
The Jews can't be an official oppressed minority if they refuse to act like one!
Your essay is outstanding in every way. The weaponization of anti-racism by so-called "progressives"--many of them in the "as a Jew" crowd--is a terrible thing. The harm that this toxic mindset can create is truly frightening. Jews don't deserve it--enough already! It needs to stop now.
Thank you for making this absolutely clear.
Vanessa, excellent article, and you’re absolutely right. But I keep coming back to the same frustration: we write excellent pieces diagnosing the problem, yet far fewer people are talking about strategy. How do we actually fight back?
From day one I’ve believed there are two wars happening — the military war and the propaganda war. Israel is exceptionally strong in one and far too weak in the other. We keep allowing our enemies to define the language, control the narrative, and exploit institutions far better than we do.
We need far more serious conversations about organization, messaging, strategy, and unity. Too many large Jewish institutions have enormous resources yet often seem reactive rather than strategic. Until someone seriously tackles how to win the information war, we’ll keep finding ourselves on the defensive no matter how many facts are on our side.
Frederick, exactly! Jews excel in so many areas, why are we getting crushed in the PR battle? Social media is rife with antisemitic posts, memes, tropes and there is very little push back. There needs to be a flood of money directed towards raising the image of Jewry. All of the good that Israel has done for other countries gets no press. The ADL and B’nai Brith are wonderful, but they are not winning the PR war.
Kailash, I agree. And I’ll be honest — I’ve become increasingly frustrated with many of the large legacy organizations. Too often they feel like old institutions protecting their own turf rather than adapting to a modern propaganda war that moves at lightning speed.
I’m not saying groups like Anti-Defamation League or B'nai Brith Canada do nothing—they do important work. But considering the resources available, the results often feel far too reactive and incremental. Our opponents are faster, more coordinated, and far more aggressive in shaping narratives online.
We need new leadership, new messaging, and a far more modern strategy. Right now, we’re fighting a 21st-century propaganda war with a 20th-century playbook.
we are getting crushed in PR because there are 8 BILLION people in the world. Two billion are Muslims and 1 billion Christians. Only 15 million (so tiny) Jews. We are far outnumbered by the haters and the haters' money and they have created a Digital Holocaust.
Excellent essay. Jews are historically and to this current day the most oppressed people in the world, yet the arbitrary classifications assigned to Jews are intentionally determined to continue to oppress Jews, both by putting Jews in a class not considered in need of protection, and even worse, a class that has been determined to be guilty of oppressing others. Considering Jews a religious category only ignores the science behind DNA studies which show Jews, if not recent converts to Judaism, can be identified through their DNA and put into racial classifications such as Ashkenazic or Sephardic. Is there a genetic category that identifies a person as Christian? As Muslim? As Hindu? As atheist? The Askenazic classification serves to differentiate Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia from the non Jewish Europeans with whom Jews lived among for hundreds of years.
"In that sense, “white” becomes less a racial category and more a shorthand for perceived structural advantage." I'm sure that those who came after the WWII/Nazi Shoah saw themselves as having advantages. Do these complaints apply to African Israeli Jews who are decidedly NOT white?
Mr. Baker, I think I understand your question, but I am not entirely sure, but would like to offer what I think is an answer; in the rabid antizionist mind, the African Israeli Jews are invisible. Completely ignored. The majority of Israel's Jews are from non-European dispora, but that doesn't fit the "white European oppressor colonial project" libel used to justify violence and murder of Jews, so the Far Left simply ignores their existence.
It would be impressive to see if it weren't so hypocritical and against their own "moral" code.
Actually the left has neatly solved the non European diaspora....the Mirzrahi Jews are retroactively awarded the special honor of being "Arab" of Mosaic persuasion....and therefore the "white" ruling class of Israel equally oppresses their "Arab Jews." In good Time the "Arab Jews" will be repatriated not to Libya and Algeria....but like their Syrian brethren to Germany , the UK, France. Their "home" countries don't actually want them back.
As ridiculous as their worldview is in the way you describe it, I fear that you are correct, and that is even more disturbing than my theory of simply ignoring the existence Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews who make up the majority of Israeli Jews. As if their cognitive dissonance couldn't have gotten worse.
Vanessa Berg you wrote a very valuable analysis. Jews in America, perhaps Canada, Australia, were classified as a religious group exclusively or primarily. Some early immigration and census may refer to race as "Hebrew." But we were moved to the white column. So were the Arabs...white... until today.....they 've all been moved to the "of color" column. For a society supposedly moving away from race, the United States leftist movements are thoroughly race obsessed in a similar way to the far right. In both cases the Jews are a malevolent force. Jews in the Diaspora particularly in the USA have to reject Israel and any identification or basic sympathy for the Israelis, according to the Left. tlaib may drape herself with a Pal tea towel where ever she goes but this rep for Palestine in Congress is not showing dual loyalty. No, she clearly has loyalty only to "Palestine." The Jews are expected to sign on to one anti Zionist screed after another or announce their disapproval disdain for "that ethno state" from the stage. The Jews assimilate well....so what is different about me....I'm not wearing Hasidic dress. I don't wear a kippah. I enjoy all aspects of American culture. I don't drape a talit around myself on the street to show my Jewish/Israeli affirmation. I'll decide how I express my Jewishness and my Zionism. And it's not making the racist mayor of NYC happy.
This racism starts at the top, propagated with politicians, the media and universities. Jews predated Islam, close to a million Jews were expelled from MENA where they lived for centuries, Israel absorbed most. Diarna, Our Homes, a digital library of Jewish history and culture, since 2010 3 thousand sites have been identified so far. Today, you cannot find Jews in this vast area, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and the other nations. The forced removal of Jews from Arab and North African Muslim world, the true Apartheid.
Thanks for the tip on Diarna....I took a quick look.....I have been doing my own education on Jews of the Mid East since I'm a kid....didn't know of this site and I'm always searching the web for Jewish related sites
You are most welcome.
💯 accurate. Thank you
A few observations:
“That doesn’t mean the moral claims are fake. It means the application of those claims is shaped by who is seen as powerful, who is seen as vulnerable, and who is worth defending.
In theory, “anti-racism” is about opposing prejudice and discrimination wherever they appear. In practice, it often prioritizes certain injustices over others based on a hierarchy of power. Groups perceived as marginalized are centered; groups perceived as powerful are scrutinized, challenged, or deprioritized.”
Just identified CRT principles and practice hard at work.
Two things we need to bear in mind. Language is meant to communicate ideas and words, the vehicle for ideas, are meant to name the things being spoken about. In this regards, there appears to be an unattractive vagueness to the term "moral clarity."
In fora like "The Future of Jewish" and others, it is a catch phrase bandied about like Buddhist prayer flags fluttering in a stiff breeze. What does it actually mean? Are we talking about Morality? Moral -Standards? -Virtue? -Rectitude? -Certitude? -Righteousness? Some of the above? None of the above? Other? Inquiring minds want to know.
When the word “morals” appears, rarely is its analogue “ethics” invoked. A practical example of the difference between the two may be found in the issue of the acceptable length of a woman’s skirt opposed to the issue of theft. At one time anything above the ankle was considered immoral. The skirt eventually shortened to the mini and its length — or lack thereof — socially acceptable. On the other hand, theft is condemned by all society at all times. The skirt kerfuffle illustrates that morality is a community standard that often changes over time. Ethics, though, encodes enduring universal values.
The Jews did this to themselves though. They wanted to be seen as white when they arrived in the 1500 in small numbers. They wanted to be seen as white again when they arrived in the 1900s. They wanted to be seen as white because they knew what it meant to be seen as not white/a colored/a black. They didn't want that. So Jewish people have only themselves to blame.
So white-passing Black families have only themselves to blame for the racism they experience? I think you just made the essay’s point for it.
Black people are black regardless if they're suffering from a mutation such as albinism or other unless you're talking about biracials like Drake or Rashida Jones. They're not black; they're biracial. Jews are not white passing. They're white. They fought to be white and now are upset they don't get that white privilege they fought so hard for. Y'all should have done what the Chinese did. Be proud to be other. Be proud of not being white nor black. Be in the middle. But noooooo, y'all wanted to be white. Had slaves, fought for the confederacy, joined the KKK, got rid of DEI, got rid of Affirmative Action; anything that hurts black people, Jews like. Y'all white.
If Judaism is a religion then why did Hitler go back four generations? It’s exhausting dealing with stupid people.
Luckily for me it has become a sport! Hunting ignorance. I am all for poaching stupidity.
Regarding the IHRA definition of antisemitism, the beliefs and actions of Mamdani himself meet the definition, and they know it. Plus there is no definition of Islamophobia. Thus it's easier to just ignore the definition.