OPINION

There’s another connection between events in Israel and antisemitism in this country.

A conference last fall in Washington focused on online antisemitism. After a series of speakers lamented that the big social media companies are doing too little to control hate speech against Jews and others, a representative of the Israeli government said this: Let’s understand that what’s at the heart of the surge in antisemitism is anti-Israel sentiment, specifically the desire to see Israel destroyed. She offered numbers about how many antisemitic posts can be traced to that desire.

In fact, though, the Israel factor isn’t needed to explain antisemitism in this country. Hatred is having its day in all manner of ways. People are being attacked on the street for looking Asian. Gay venues are having to beef up security, just as Jewish events and institutions are, just as schools are, just as Congress is, just as local governmental bodies are.

Whether the force fostering hatred is social media or Trump-era politics or media polarization or lunar cycles, the phenomenon is best understood as general intolerance, generalized hatred. In such a period, Jews are vulnerable, of course.

The striking connection between the turning points in Israel and the U.S. is simply their similarity. They seem to be part of the same international phenomenon: a difficult passage for liberal democracy, tolerance, and moderation.

In this country, we see White nationalism; in Israel, we hear about ultranationalism. Here, we see antisemitism and other hatreds; there, we see antiArab racism coming to power. Here, we hear alarms – justified, realistic – about threats to democracy itself. There, too.

Here, we see extremists gaining a foothold in elective politics, indeed becoming a decisive force in some Washington events, not unlike in Israel.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu and Donald Trump are both in trouble with the law and both say it’s all politics, that they are innocent victims of partisanship. Some voters seem to buy it. And the legal situations of the political leaders become central parts of the politics of their countries.

Meanwhile, the electorates in both countries remain in something like a 50-50 standoff. There, indecisive elections bring new elections; here, we get election denial and hatefully divided government. Either way, the hatreds in society thrive, fester, motivate.

So, if now we find ourselves suddenly thinking somewhat differently than we used to about two different countries, it’s not a coincidence. The two countries have a lot in common.