34 Comments
User's avatar
Lilly Lopez's avatar

I hope antisemitism destroys itself and the progressives. They have been exposed for being the most racist and anti American people on planet earth. They are total fools and their movement is slowly waning and being rejected by the majority of the American people

Expand full comment
Donna Weinstein's avatar

May it be so 🙏

Expand full comment
Sir Frederic's avatar

Amen

Expand full comment
Jens Heycke's avatar

The progressive movement jumped the shark with the concept of intersectionality, a notion popularized by Kimberlé Crenshaw, but with intellectual roots going back to "postcolonialists" (Said, Spivak Fanon, et al) and Critical Race Theory (Bell, et al).

Intersectionality mindlessly conflates "privilege" and "oppression" with material success: if you're successful, it's only because you're an oppressor who did something nefarious. This leads to the absurd conclusion that Asians and Jews, because of their relative success, are oppressors, with a perch high on the intersectional ladder (never mind the historic discrimination they have faced). Unsurprisingly, hate crimes against both these groups have surged as our institutions (and particularly our universities) have adopted and disseminated the intersectionality myth.

Expand full comment
Puck's avatar

"Asians and Jews, because of their relative success, are oppressors, with a perch high on the intersectional ladder (never mind the historic discrimination they have faced). Unsurprisingly, hate crimes against both these groups have surged as our institutions (and particularly our universities) have adopted and disseminated the intersectionality myth"

True, all too true, but notice how hate crimes against Asians goes unreported by the Media. And here is the one flaw in Kerstein's analysis he fails to identify and call out. He says, "The institutions [progressivism] dominates, especially academia — over which it exercises totalitarian control — are not democratically accountable . . ." though there are Constitutional limits, like promoting libel, defamation of character, sedition, and invitation to insurrection.

The Media wield huge influence in shaping public opinion. In their electronic rolodexes are PR agencies they can call upon to boost corporate image and do damage control when needed. Also available to them are the tactics of advertizing agencies they can exploit to enhance the "truthfulness" of selected pieces of reportage, such as coverage of Israel. What it will take to return the media to impartial, professional reporting will be a replacing of the editors, news writers, et. al., who aid and abet the ongoing biased reporting we are subjected to.

Any thoughts?

Expand full comment
Nuance&context's avatar

Luckily, there are more and more alternative news, information and opinion sources, such as Substack, that challenge the established media. The more opportunities for diverse, independent media, the less power these mainstream shills have. Unfortunately, it works both ways and there are a lot of antisemitic voices in independent, alternative media too. That's why so much power rests with education. Teaching people to read between the lines, to question progressive propaganda, and calling out faculty corrupted by extremist agendas needs an education task force to turn over the rotten earth that's been decades in the planting.

Expand full comment
Puck's avatar

Point well taken. Very correct to note that Substack, like any independent, alternative media news source, can be manipulated. The corrective measures you recommend, like teaching people to read between the lines etc., will work; however, the first question that should be asked when consulting these alternative sources is the ethos of the presenter, that, by what authority do they speak, what is the sources of their information, and how verifiable are these sources.

Expand full comment
Michal Shalon's avatar

From your mouth to God’s ears! I have been thinking that we were seeing a turning point and I’m glad to see others sharing this view.

Expand full comment
MFritz Friedman's avatar

Boruch dyin’ emet.

Expand full comment
Robert's avatar

Re: "And the moral high ground is, in the end, all that progressivism has."

If you think progressives, with their race-centric, DEI-focused, anti-merit, abusing young kids over gender, abusing older kids with biological men in girls' locker rooms, and doing little to nothing to stem the increase in antisemitism, I dismiss everything you have to say.

I have been an independent voter for my entire life, having voted for both Obama (big mistake on my part) and Hilary. But I voted straight down the line Republican, despite wishing that it was Haley or DeSantis or Christie as the head of the Republican ticket.

You progressives have opened my eyes to how disgusting a world vision you have and I will never be the same again.

The movement will have reached its apotheosis when: you see students willing to raise their voices in defence of Jews, the squad defeated, the state department cleansed of marxists and Donald Trump inaugurated as the 47th president if the United States. If Harris (i.e., Obama 3.0) wins, good luck to me and my fellow Jews and our children.

Expand full comment
Steven Brizel's avatar

Progressiveness as it is presently constructed has a very odious strain snd component of anti Semitism with respect to its views on race gender and Israel

Expand full comment
Frederick Roth's avatar

Make no mistake I think its great Jewish intellectuals have woken up and are fighting this, but I think being jogged awake to wokeism by its anti-semitic turn is like arriving late to a play, taking your seat then telling the theatre "you may start now".

There is another danger that comes packaged with the Thermidorian reaction. It has been a regular pattern for Jews to be blamed for both - the issue-at-hand AND its opposite. The canonical example would be the way Jews were blamed by the left for capitalism and by the right for communism during the 20thC. Given the prominent Jewish presence within the left, social justice and academic spheres this is a real possibility.

Expand full comment
Sir Frederic's avatar

Sad but true, Fredro

Expand full comment
Brigid LaSage's avatar

Absolutely, the post Oct 7 antisemitism of the progressive left should be its death blow, but I'm afraid we (unlike the Chinese Communist Party) underestimate the power of social media to brainwash and inflame. My local New England papers are hand wringing about the threat of civil unrest from Trump supporters if he should lose, completely disregarding the actual violence and chaos that the far left has been causing across the country, from 2021 BLM and Antifa street takeovers in Portland OR & Seattle to the recent seizures of campuses by Hamas terrorist sympathizers. Mainstream media is deaf to leftist violence, so most Americans are unaware of the flames of youthful fanaticism being fanned by our adversaries. Progressives have far too much institutional power and too many indoctrinated shock troops to be written off yet. It will take concerted effort to discredit and defeat this scourge, just when we are least unified. I'm not Jewish, but I stand with all my fellow Americans against terrorism and mob rule: E Pluribus Unum.

Expand full comment
Sir Frederic's avatar

So well said! Thank you! I have lost all respect and trust in the legacy media. They have absolutely zero credibility with me.

Expand full comment
jerry kleiner's avatar

I like the optimism but it can only just begin with a victory for Trump and Republican control of Congress. Even with that, we have lost at least one generation to the Islamic-Marxist ideology so it will very much be an uphill battle.

Should we be cursed with another 4 years of Dem rule, I believe the optimism is very much misplaced. If it were only the foolish young who are spouting this hatred, it would be one thing but its not. It is the very people in charge, the teachers, the professors. It is the academic establishment and that is exactly where it took hold in Germany and led to the Holocaust. The Dems will increase immigration and that just means more Muslims from Jew hating countries. Look how Biden has bent over backwards to get their vote. Harris will be even worse.

Yes, Critical Race Theory and all is various offshoots are taking a bit of a backlash but the enemy can easily adjust and still brandish the antisemitism model. The Jews check off all their hatreds ... White Oppressors, Colonizers, Capitalists etc.

Bottom line .... Dems win ... Jews better prepare to have an exit plan. I hear Thailand is a great place for those like me who cannot afford Israel.

papa j

Expand full comment
Dana Ramos's avatar

you are spot-on, Jerry. As for having to exit America: Once Israel wins the war and neutralizes the terror states and REAL peace and co-existence begins with the new moderate-Arabs in charge, it could actually become safer for Jews to live in any Middle East country than in any Western country. Already, a Jew (and people of all other religions) is secure in Dubai or the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia, preparing for this new Middle East, has already banned antisemitic teaching in their schools.

Expand full comment
Diana Kelly's avatar

i wish i could agree that the progressives and their antisemitic positions is on the wane, but I am not sure I can. This has been so inculcated into our young people who will be the ones to become out legislators, educators, parents, in other words, take their place in the world as the older, less progressive generation moves on.

Expand full comment
Laura's avatar

"Progressivism" deserves to be killed because it is a neo-nazi movement.

Expand full comment
Alison's avatar

Don't forget the millions of unborn babies who have been savagely and brutally murdered in the name of progress. God will not forgive this shedding of innocent blood. The progressive movement is doomed.

Expand full comment
jasonsteven@videotron.ca's avatar

"They asked me to put it down, and I refused," said Aviv Geffen.

Source: JNS.org

https://search.app/hEmf3kHyj8WQFUJD7

Expand full comment
Kafr Dhimmi's avatar

The complicity of Democrat politicians in fostering Jew hatred should be their undoing. But should rarely happens. The influence of Arab and anti American money in our politics is unnerving. Check out the CLDP.org to get a glimpse of strategically placed Qatari money in our system. Frightening.

Expand full comment
Sir Frederic's avatar

From your lips to the good Lord’s ear. Thanks for this brilliant analysis.

Expand full comment
michael holt's avatar

Until October 7 I thought the trans issue would be the Left's undoing, but then the Hamas slaughter followed by the antisemitic eruption, my mind was changed.

I agree with you completely, Lilly!

Expand full comment
Ilana M.'s avatar

doesn't progressivism feed antisemitism? how does it kill it?

Expand full comment