Bottom line is no stereotyping. Whether on the basis of race, religion, other ethnicity and yes political viewpoints. This means no more teaching using critical race theory ( and other ridiculous critical theories that are based in stereotypes and historical labeling. And it means no more intersectionality which reared its head 10-15 years ago and mandates viewing the groups not in favor as deserving of derision, disrespect and cancelation. This became crystal clear when women's march leaders Mallory and Sarsour mandated no zionists and few among the intersectionalists objected. One might argue that what we have seen on college campuses began with those exclusionary mandates. Finally, in the year 2026, the avowed Anti zionist pays no price whatsoever for their jew hatred but the racist will likely be fired or marginalized etc ( AS THEY SHOULD ). Different rules depending upon who is doing the hating and who is the target of the hate. Yes there are exceptions to the foregoing statement but we all know that this is how our society operates today.
America became great based on the Puritanical idea that hard work and success were signs of virtue. Today success has become a sign of evil doing. That transformation leads to economic and social decay.
Not quite accurate. Why? Because it is not America that is doing this. It is the American left. Every institution you discuss here, the Universities, the NY Times, the Democrats, left wing controlled cities are left. What is dangerous is that this radical sentiment you describe which catches Jews in a vice of intersectional grievance has now fully taken over the Democratic party such that if one doesnt libel Israel one has no chance of getting a Democratic nomination. But in Republican states none of this exists. The Democrats have been eyeing Europe with envy for 25 years. Now that includes European anti-semitism as well.
One of the most frightening parts is how weak and compromised institutional responses have become. Universities, media organizations, cultural institutions, and political leaders increasingly seem terrified to apply standards consistently if doing so conflicts with ideological fashion or activist pressure.
The article is depressing because deep down many of us recognize the pattern you are describing. The normalization, the rationalizations, the double standards, the institutional cowardice — these are not isolated incidents anymore. They are symptoms of a much larger civilizational and moral fragmentation taking place across the West.
There are a lot of generalizations here. The U.S. is a large complex country, which often was very antisemitic. Leo Frank, for instance, was lynched by a southern mob in the early 20th century. Was the U.S. cracking up then, or when Henry Ford was founding antisemitic newspapers and openly admiring Hitler? Remember Charles Lindbergh? Lucky Lindy was no friend of the Jews and was wildly popular. This has nothing to do with decay or societal crack up. The U.S. at this moment is the most technologically advanced society ever. It also happens to be wealthy, democratic, educated, and sophisticated. Antisemitism says more about human nature than any particular society. It may be comforting to think antisemitism signals societal downfall but there’s no evidence for it. Even the Nazis were destroyed by hubris and Hitler’s constant gambles rather than Jew hatred.
A very insightful post. I am sure many will find it uncomfortable to think about. But the fact is the world has 9 billion people and 15 million jews. If israel vanished tomorrow how many would give a shit for more than a week or so. And which ones? Is Bondi Beach even an issue anymore in Australia and if so for how many. And then there is the former Jewish city NY where the mobs are supported by nearly all of its elected leaders and if not supported overtly then at best rationalized and tolerated.
I’m a Jewish New Yorker. Don’t fool yourself, it’s still a Jewish city. How many people constitute the “mobs” you describe? It’s maybe 200 in a city of 8 million. It’s not great but there’s no need for hyperbole. And yes, no one cared about 3 million dead Congolese and still don’t care about starving Yemenis or massacred Masalit in Sudan. Every people must look out for itself. That’s the purpose of Israel.
What happens to the Jews never ends with the Jews. This excellent essay made this point absolutely clear.
To say it's frightening to think about what could happen to the Jewish people in the future is an understatement But we have the same rights as everyone else. So we're not going anywhere. Which means we must prepare for turbulence-- everyone buckle up!
Throughout this thoughtful and thought-provoking essay, my heart kept saying, but black people never fully made it into this idealized picture of America. The entire reason for the assertion, Black Lives Matter, is because, sadly they only ever mattered to some, not to all. And now, it is clear, Jewish lives don't matter, either. There is no way back from the current judgmental hellscape until people voluntarily reject it. One has to stop believing that news media captures of other groups and societies are fully interpretable by people who've never seen the realities they purport to portray. The idea of developing hatreds third hand rather than on personal knowledge seems rife in social media. We are so sure we know what we need to about ICE protestors, black shooting victims, Jewish congregation members, Israeli soldiers (even Israeli K-9s, for God's sake), liberals, MAGAs, WIC/SNAP beneficiaries, observant Muslims or whomever we wish to hate today. We need to redevelop our sense of shame and we should be ashamed. Ashamed of being vulnerable to a divisive agenda.
"Jews have now been repositioned within the American moral imagination"
When the Black Lives Matter protests erupted in 2020, the target was "whiteness" and you could read mainstream media columns arguing why it was important to make white children feel uncomfortable at school.
It didn't take these folk long to realize that a movement that demonizes 70% of the American population doesn't have a political future. Thus the pivot from "whiteness" to "Jews" (oops, fulsome apologies, I meant "Zionists").
Targeting a small minority unwilling to defend itself (think of the Muslim response to a Broadway play ridiculing the Koran) was the logical outcome. It's the natural destination for weaklings who need a target to demonstrate their willingness to "struggle for justice" that will not put them at risk.
The USA has been deteriorating for some years now, its society becoming more decadent, more consumed by the notion of rights, consumerism and power, less concerned with inner morality. Consequently, it will implode, just as the Western Roman Empire did in 476 CE, and for the same reasons. Degenerate behaviour within its society becoming normalised.
"Rising antisemitism reveals a lot about America."
Actually it reveals a lot about the Communist Democrat Party and its 100% allies in crime - The Muslims. And don't give me Nick Fuentes, Thiomas Massie, MTG, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and the rest of the dozen or so prominent Leftists masquerading as Republicans. They already exposed themselves.
I look at NYC and its million Muslims and its Communist Jihadist Mayor and I see antisemitism running rampant. I look at Republican Governor Ron Desantis' Florida and I don't see it all - notheing- zero. He wouldn't stand for it.
Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul of NY has no problem with anti-semitism whatsoever.
Great article and this point of view has been expressed by people like the esteemed Rabbi Sacks and the scholar Ruth Wisse. Antisemitism (or more succinctly Jew hatred) doesn't cause a society to decay, it is the first symptom of the disease that a society is undergoing. I am not as optimistic as the author is that once this can be reversed either in the western European countries, or the US. While there was always some amount of Jew hatred in the US it was dealt with by the institutions that were created to preserve law and the rights of its citizens. What we are witnessing now as one commenter mentioned is that we have an entire political party and its supporters openly espousing the canards that Jews are evil, privileged, genocidal, and on and on with NO real pushback by the so-called leaders in that party. What's worse is you have a media that at best is mum, or as we are seeing more often complicit in promoting this hatred.
The strongest point here is that contemporary antisemitism often works through reclassification. Jews are not first attacked as Jews; they are recoded as symbols of power, privilege, colonialism, whiteness, capitalism, or illegitimate sovereignty. Once that happens, hostility toward Jews can be experienced by its practitioners not as prejudice but as justice.
That is why the collapse of universal standards matters so much. If people are judged by category before conduct, then Jewish vulnerability becomes morally unreadable. The same act that would be condemned instantly against another minority becomes debated, contextualized, or excused when Jews are the target.
I’ve been writing about this broader problem: how modern moral systems often assign innocence and guilt before judgment has actually taken place. Antisemitism is one of the clearest cases, because it shows what happens when a society loses the ability to see a people as vulnerable once it has classified them as powerful.
This is no doubt the result of importing masses of third world immigrants, particularly muslims who bring along their tribal cultures. These third world enclaves are now the Democrat party base along with elite coastal marxists while at the same time expressing hostility towards the American middle class. The Democrat party has become a fundamentally un-American and outright anti-American institution. They thoroughly reject American values like individual liberty and merit. Group identity, resentment and envy is what they promote. The Democrats have become a welcoming home for antisemites, and they pour gasoline on the fire of antisemitism.
Wow. Very very scary and a massive warning to every sane person
Bottom line is no stereotyping. Whether on the basis of race, religion, other ethnicity and yes political viewpoints. This means no more teaching using critical race theory ( and other ridiculous critical theories that are based in stereotypes and historical labeling. And it means no more intersectionality which reared its head 10-15 years ago and mandates viewing the groups not in favor as deserving of derision, disrespect and cancelation. This became crystal clear when women's march leaders Mallory and Sarsour mandated no zionists and few among the intersectionalists objected. One might argue that what we have seen on college campuses began with those exclusionary mandates. Finally, in the year 2026, the avowed Anti zionist pays no price whatsoever for their jew hatred but the racist will likely be fired or marginalized etc ( AS THEY SHOULD ). Different rules depending upon who is doing the hating and who is the target of the hate. Yes there are exceptions to the foregoing statement but we all know that this is how our society operates today.
America became great based on the Puritanical idea that hard work and success were signs of virtue. Today success has become a sign of evil doing. That transformation leads to economic and social decay.
Not quite accurate. Why? Because it is not America that is doing this. It is the American left. Every institution you discuss here, the Universities, the NY Times, the Democrats, left wing controlled cities are left. What is dangerous is that this radical sentiment you describe which catches Jews in a vice of intersectional grievance has now fully taken over the Democratic party such that if one doesnt libel Israel one has no chance of getting a Democratic nomination. But in Republican states none of this exists. The Democrats have been eyeing Europe with envy for 25 years. Now that includes European anti-semitism as well.
Only amongst 'The Left' in Europe too. Unfortunately, we don't have Red and Blue States like US, so it affects all Institutions in the country.
One of the most frightening parts is how weak and compromised institutional responses have become. Universities, media organizations, cultural institutions, and political leaders increasingly seem terrified to apply standards consistently if doing so conflicts with ideological fashion or activist pressure.
The article is depressing because deep down many of us recognize the pattern you are describing. The normalization, the rationalizations, the double standards, the institutional cowardice — these are not isolated incidents anymore. They are symptoms of a much larger civilizational and moral fragmentation taking place across the West.
There are a lot of generalizations here. The U.S. is a large complex country, which often was very antisemitic. Leo Frank, for instance, was lynched by a southern mob in the early 20th century. Was the U.S. cracking up then, or when Henry Ford was founding antisemitic newspapers and openly admiring Hitler? Remember Charles Lindbergh? Lucky Lindy was no friend of the Jews and was wildly popular. This has nothing to do with decay or societal crack up. The U.S. at this moment is the most technologically advanced society ever. It also happens to be wealthy, democratic, educated, and sophisticated. Antisemitism says more about human nature than any particular society. It may be comforting to think antisemitism signals societal downfall but there’s no evidence for it. Even the Nazis were destroyed by hubris and Hitler’s constant gambles rather than Jew hatred.
A very insightful post. I am sure many will find it uncomfortable to think about. But the fact is the world has 9 billion people and 15 million jews. If israel vanished tomorrow how many would give a shit for more than a week or so. And which ones? Is Bondi Beach even an issue anymore in Australia and if so for how many. And then there is the former Jewish city NY where the mobs are supported by nearly all of its elected leaders and if not supported overtly then at best rationalized and tolerated.
I’m a Jewish New Yorker. Don’t fool yourself, it’s still a Jewish city. How many people constitute the “mobs” you describe? It’s maybe 200 in a city of 8 million. It’s not great but there’s no need for hyperbole. And yes, no one cared about 3 million dead Congolese and still don’t care about starving Yemenis or massacred Masalit in Sudan. Every people must look out for itself. That’s the purpose of Israel.
I watched the videos of mobs marching through a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn last week as well as the mobs harassing Orthodox Jews on the street.
NYC is no longer a city where Jews can live safely in 2026, on the 25th anniversary on the Muslim terrorist slaughter at its World Trade Center.
Actually things were pretty bad then. We are fortunate the country held together during the thirties at all.
What happens to the Jews never ends with the Jews. This excellent essay made this point absolutely clear.
To say it's frightening to think about what could happen to the Jewish people in the future is an understatement But we have the same rights as everyone else. So we're not going anywhere. Which means we must prepare for turbulence-- everyone buckle up!
Throughout this thoughtful and thought-provoking essay, my heart kept saying, but black people never fully made it into this idealized picture of America. The entire reason for the assertion, Black Lives Matter, is because, sadly they only ever mattered to some, not to all. And now, it is clear, Jewish lives don't matter, either. There is no way back from the current judgmental hellscape until people voluntarily reject it. One has to stop believing that news media captures of other groups and societies are fully interpretable by people who've never seen the realities they purport to portray. The idea of developing hatreds third hand rather than on personal knowledge seems rife in social media. We are so sure we know what we need to about ICE protestors, black shooting victims, Jewish congregation members, Israeli soldiers (even Israeli K-9s, for God's sake), liberals, MAGAs, WIC/SNAP beneficiaries, observant Muslims or whomever we wish to hate today. We need to redevelop our sense of shame and we should be ashamed. Ashamed of being vulnerable to a divisive agenda.
"Jews have now been repositioned within the American moral imagination"
When the Black Lives Matter protests erupted in 2020, the target was "whiteness" and you could read mainstream media columns arguing why it was important to make white children feel uncomfortable at school.
It didn't take these folk long to realize that a movement that demonizes 70% of the American population doesn't have a political future. Thus the pivot from "whiteness" to "Jews" (oops, fulsome apologies, I meant "Zionists").
Targeting a small minority unwilling to defend itself (think of the Muslim response to a Broadway play ridiculing the Koran) was the logical outcome. It's the natural destination for weaklings who need a target to demonstrate their willingness to "struggle for justice" that will not put them at risk.
The USA has been deteriorating for some years now, its society becoming more decadent, more consumed by the notion of rights, consumerism and power, less concerned with inner morality. Consequently, it will implode, just as the Western Roman Empire did in 476 CE, and for the same reasons. Degenerate behaviour within its society becoming normalised.
mmm
Read The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco. You will understand that hate is stronger than love and lasts longer.
"Rising antisemitism reveals a lot about America."
Actually it reveals a lot about the Communist Democrat Party and its 100% allies in crime - The Muslims. And don't give me Nick Fuentes, Thiomas Massie, MTG, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and the rest of the dozen or so prominent Leftists masquerading as Republicans. They already exposed themselves.
I look at NYC and its million Muslims and its Communist Jihadist Mayor and I see antisemitism running rampant. I look at Republican Governor Ron Desantis' Florida and I don't see it all - notheing- zero. He wouldn't stand for it.
Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul of NY has no problem with anti-semitism whatsoever.
Great article and this point of view has been expressed by people like the esteemed Rabbi Sacks and the scholar Ruth Wisse. Antisemitism (or more succinctly Jew hatred) doesn't cause a society to decay, it is the first symptom of the disease that a society is undergoing. I am not as optimistic as the author is that once this can be reversed either in the western European countries, or the US. While there was always some amount of Jew hatred in the US it was dealt with by the institutions that were created to preserve law and the rights of its citizens. What we are witnessing now as one commenter mentioned is that we have an entire political party and its supporters openly espousing the canards that Jews are evil, privileged, genocidal, and on and on with NO real pushback by the so-called leaders in that party. What's worse is you have a media that at best is mum, or as we are seeing more often complicit in promoting this hatred.
The strongest point here is that contemporary antisemitism often works through reclassification. Jews are not first attacked as Jews; they are recoded as symbols of power, privilege, colonialism, whiteness, capitalism, or illegitimate sovereignty. Once that happens, hostility toward Jews can be experienced by its practitioners not as prejudice but as justice.
That is why the collapse of universal standards matters so much. If people are judged by category before conduct, then Jewish vulnerability becomes morally unreadable. The same act that would be condemned instantly against another minority becomes debated, contextualized, or excused when Jews are the target.
I’ve been writing about this broader problem: how modern moral systems often assign innocence and guilt before judgment has actually taken place. Antisemitism is one of the clearest cases, because it shows what happens when a society loses the ability to see a people as vulnerable once it has classified them as powerful.
This is no doubt the result of importing masses of third world immigrants, particularly muslims who bring along their tribal cultures. These third world enclaves are now the Democrat party base along with elite coastal marxists while at the same time expressing hostility towards the American middle class. The Democrat party has become a fundamentally un-American and outright anti-American institution. They thoroughly reject American values like individual liberty and merit. Group identity, resentment and envy is what they promote. The Democrats have become a welcoming home for antisemites, and they pour gasoline on the fire of antisemitism.