Antisemitism Swept Under the Rug

It is not a question to the broad masses of St. Lawrence University students that campus feels a bit different today than it did approximately three weeks ago. For those unaware of the shift in tone’s source: an explanation. In the early hours of Sunday April 3, a harrowing assortment of symbols were scrawled on the walls of the Dean Eaton dormitory in blood – these signs were generally both satanic and highly antisemitic in nature. Although the event itself was extremely disturbing, it calls into question a much greater ponderance of the way in which antisemitism is handled today, roughly 77 years after the last concentration camp of Nazi Germany was closed.  

This may be a somewhat unpopular opinion, but in the American era of “woke politics,” a fatal flaw is the repression and ignorance of issues that don’t fit the format of current events. While this can be a good thing in that a greater awareness is drawn to crucial concerns among the American populous, it also leaves behind the struggles of others. For example, as the nationally cathartic Black Lives Matter movement swept the news in 2020, other racial minorities and the hatred, brutality and prejudice they faced was seldom reported and often brushed aside. As the Third Wave Feminism movement honed in on sex professions and workplace harassment, other important issues like child marriage in the United States and sex trafficking were ignored – these are crimes with roughly 300,000 victims in the last 20 years and 16,500 victims in 2020, respectively.

Point being: although it is absolutely crucial that nationwide problems like the persecution of Black Americans, workplace harassment,\ and the validity of sex work be addressed – there needs to be room for discussion and nuance.  

This also means that certain racial groups and minority struggles lack attention until they’re thrown to the center of the political landscape. For example, racism towards Asian Americans lacked its own #StopAsianHate-esq movement until the pandemic. Racism towards Middle Eastern Americans and Muslim Americans was consistently brushed under the rug (if not defended) until Trump’s “Muslim ban” became a central issue. The same applies to all racial and religious groups – prejudice and hatred are ignored until they fit into an applicable narrative for either party.  

Antisemitism in the United States today is an excellent example of such. Of the Abrahamic religions in the United States, the general press tends to focus only on Christianity and Islam. While outlets on the left wing went to bat for American Muslims in an era of Trump-induced turmoil and their opposition continues to buttress the importance of American-Christian values, it seems that Jewish Americans are often left behind. That is, until recently, anyways. The current tragedies occurring within the Israel-Palestine conflict have received plenty of press coverage, although even that allowed little room for nuance. I mean that in this sense:  

In the age of Trump-ism, many Americans who clung to a left-wing ideology had no qualms in separating American Muslims from ISIS and The Taliban. Let me clarify – this is exactly how it should be. Americans of any religion ought not to be associated with extremists nor domestic and global violence unless they explicitly, verbally align themselves as an individual with such group. However, the same generosity and understanding has seldom been extended to Jewish Americans in a time when much of the national left is aligning with Palestinians (as they should).

Take, for example, the widespread and re-posted image broadcasted by @CHNGE on Instagram that “Zionism Is Terrorism.” This in itself was already fascinating, as “terrorism” is a term often used to delegitimize violence used by non-state groups – and beyond that, serve the dominant group.  

Let me say: Zionism absolutely, one-hundred percent has been utilized as an excuse for international violence, murder and other hatred – beyond that, it comes with its own additional issues. Many anti-Zionists view the movement as colonialist and expansionist, being that it is centered around offering a Jewish homeland in Israel and, post-1948, revitalizing the Jewish community following the mass genocide of roughly a third of the global Jewish population.

Expansionism and Israel-centered beliefs aside, the movement is nevertheless composed of a variety of different branches including Liberal Zionism, Green Zionism, Religious Zionism and even Post-Zionism, which posits that Arabs and Jews should live together in a binational state. Point being: to circulate a post that decries an entire multi-faceted movement as terrorism is reductive and presents a clear misunderstanding of the many branches and historical intentions of Zionism.  

I ought to note: this is not a defense of the horrors Israel as a state has committed unto Palestinians. However, it is a question to be begged: if a separate media outlet had posted “Hamas (the Palestinian Islamic version of Zionism) is Terrorism,” or “[Islamic Movement] is Terrorism,” most liberal Americans would be both appalled and fully capable of separating any faults and extremities of the aforementioned religions and religious groups from Americans who practice them.

It is generally understood that most American Muslims do not support the violent functions of their religions. It is fascinating then, to consider why the same understanding might not be extended to American Jews. Especially when studies run very recently have found that despite the attachment a majority of Jewish Americans feel to Israel, a majority also felt that US support for Israel was too high. Students also show that Jewish Americans rated Israel’s prime minister negatively, and believe that a both Israel and a liberated, independent Palestinian state can (and should) co-exist (Pew Research Center). 

One reason for these attitudes may be that Jewish Americans possess a certain privilege that these other religious groups, for the most part, do not – their skin color. A very large majority of Jewish Americans are white, or at least white by today’s standards. One must remember that not even a full century ago, Jewish people were not considered white – actually, they weren’t even considered human during the Nazi regime. That may be why it is so easy to look away from the struggles Jewish Americans face – for the most part, they are indistinguishable from your average white, Christian American: a luxury that is not afforded to religious groups with POC majorities. This luxury does not exempt them from hate crimes, though.  

When we think of Neo-Naziism and white supremacy, we consider how it applies to current events. An excellent example of this might be found in the 2017 Charlottesville riots. The issue itself was tied inseparably with the Black Lives Matter movement, and the majority of press coverage focused on that. This is despite the fact that a chant repeated by Neo-Nazi attendees and heard by all Americans who viewed clips of the event was “Jews will not replace us.”

We consider antisemitism to be dead and gone – after all, the Holocaust was over half a century ago, Jews are looked at as white now (at least in the United States), and generally Judaism and the treatment of American Jews isn’t an issue that crosses into American politics very frequently.  

However, in 2022, Jewish Americans still experience antisemitism that seldom recieves any coverage. This is especially shocking considering the fact that in March 2022, it was reported by the NYPD that Jewish-targeted hate crimes had quadrupled since February. On top of this, Holocaust denial (thank you, QAnon!) is still alive and well. Hit lists of Jewish Americans still exist on the internet – and not the dark web, just your classic, run of the mill internet (take Jew Watch or Shitler’s List as examples). But we very, very infrequently hear about any of this.  

Point being, the entry of antisemitism into the general atmosphere of the United States can be tied back to a variety of sources – current events, their skin color and the claim that there are ‘bigger fish to fry’ could all be contributors. And perhaps there are some greater issues to worry about.

This article isn’t meant to suggest that we drop every other unequivocally important issue, and it isn’t suggesting that we extend sympathy to Israel. It is perfectly possible to be pro-Palestinian liberation, support all other crucial American social movements and still remain cognizant of the ways in which antisemitism can be found in our own country. If anything, don’t just take thoughts from this article, but rather from experience: the incident in Dean Eaton on Sunday, April 3 is a testament to the antisemitic sentiments that still exist in many parts of the United States, even on a liberal college campus.