Antisemitism Surges

This is the fifth edition of Holocaust Remembered, a publication distributed by the McClatchy papers in South Carolina but compiled and edited by the Columbia Holocaust Education Commission. After reviewing the topics of the past four years, I felt it important to tackle the root of all of the supplements: antisemitism. This was a tough decision, since it is not easy to hear about antisemitism or talk about it. When Dr. Deborah Lipstadt of Emory University (and the protagonist in the movie “Denial”) spoke at USC on Jan. 28, 2018, she spoke of “hardcore” and “soft-core” antisemitism, and I realized that she has adeptly identified the key concepts of the terms and their implications.

Hard-core antisemitism is apparent to anyone who hears or sees it. Hard-core anti-Semistism is what Adolf Hitler incited and acted upon during the Holocaust: denouncing Jews and their right to exist, refusing services to Jews only, closing Jewish businesses, herding Jews out of their homes and into ghettos, and forcing Jews into crematoriums to exterminate them. It is what Iran, Syria and other Middle Eastern countries are saying when they threaten to drive Israel into the sea, to terminate the state of Israel and annihilate the Jewish people. It is Holocaust denial. It is the neo-Nazis and rightwing extremists and the white supremacists.

Soft-core antisemitism is less apparent – but once understood, disparaging pictures of Jews.

Above, an antisemitic poster depicts a stereotypic caricature of a Jew peering through British, American and Soviet flags with the words, “Behind the enemy powers: the Jew.” It was published in Germany between 1933 and 1939.. At left, a swastika was spraypainted on a Lexington, S.C., road sign in December.

The contributors of this edition – from academia, the clergy, survivors of the Holocaust – were asked to discuss antisemitism as it related to their topics and experiences. The articles are an open view of each of the contributors. They are powerful. We know that there are references in the New Testament that do not paint Jews in a good light, and I thank the authors for recognizing this at the outset and explaining how this has contributed to the preservation of antisemitism today. This is not an exercise in blame, but an attempt to get to the root of the problem and try to understand where we go from here. Honest discussions with clergy and their parishioners and historical understanding of how certain events were perceived can help us move forward to eliminate the hatred of Jews.

The term “antisemitism” was coined in 1879 to replace “Judenhass” – Jew hatred. A working definition of antisemitism was adopted on May 26, 2016, by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or (non-Jewish individuals) and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” it is also easy to identify. Dr Lipstadt says, “It is soft-core denial that is thriving right now, especially on social media. It is phrases like, ‘Gaza is genocide,’ or that the Hamas tunnels are like the ones of the Warsaw ghetto. It is not a denial of what happened but a rewriting of history.” It is Holocaust distortion. It is when someone dresses as Hitler and enjoys the reaction; it is when one generalizes that all Jews are smart; Jews are money-savvy; and Jews have dark hair and large noses. It is the omission of the Holocaust when discussing World War II. It is writing swastikas in yearbooks, painting one on a public sign, or drawing

The Columbia Holocaust Education Commission is a committee of Jews and non-Jews interested in educating and discussing the lessons of the Holocaust. We want to stem the tide of rising intolerance, bigotry, racism and hatred by showing where this could lead (another Holocaust) and how to stop it before it reaches that crescendo. As George Santayana, a 20th-century Spanish-American philosopher, stated, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”