Why today?  Because the world experiences International Holocaust Day today.  that was the first day that the "allies" (In this case the Army of the USSR) took control over the concentration camps.  Recoiling at the carnage and conditions- (they never believed what we Jews were telling them all along), this became a day of remembrance.  Note that "NEVER AGAIN" starts with 'NEVER FORGET".  And, anti-Semitism is just the start-; it extends to anti-Others, if and when no one takes umbrage and reacts to the tropes espoused.

 

 

By the way, my religion has a different day to honor those eradicated by the Holocaust- 6 million Jews and 3 million others.  I will probably discuss the Holocaust on that day.

Two of the oldest concepts in the world.  Prostitution and anti-Semitism.  Not sure those two would love to be so characterized, but it’s a fact of life.  (Especially if one is Jewish.)

The AntiDefamation League (ADL) recently completed a comprehensive analysis of AntiSemitism in America.   (The survey was instituted in the fall of 2022, and was published on 12 January 2023.)  Since TheDonald began running for the Presidency (in earnest, around 2015), AntiSemitism has become normalized; it has become a more pervasive belief. It was TheDonald and his minion’s manipulation of social media and technology that drove this horrendous trend.

 

How pervasive?  At least 85% of US residents firmly believe in one Jewish conspiracy or anti-Jewish trope. (A trope is a recurring motif or theme, one that demonstrates a predictable [stereotypical] concept of a character, setting, or scenario.]  That is a significantly higher percentage (when it was 61%) than was found in the last survey back in 2019.  Respondents to the survey were presented with 14 statements with which they were asked if they disagreed or agreed.

But, AntiSemitism is more pervasive than that.  At least 20% of Americans adhere to six or more AntiSemitic conspiracy theories.  (That is depicted two charts above.)   And, this time, way more young people adopted AntiSemitic beliefs than in the previous studies.  30 years ago (1992, to be precise), there was a significant gap (19 points)  in AntiSemitic beliefs between those over 40 and those under 40. That gap has now been erased.

Not surprisingly, a significant number of American’s also are anti-Israel (based upon their adherence to AntiSemitism).   [40% claim Israel treats the Palestinians the way Nazis treated Jews; 17% won’t spend a moment with an Israel supporter.]  While lower, a substantial number of Brits (25%) and Germans (34%) also believe that Israel treats Palestinians in a similar fashion to how the Nazis treated the Jews.

For what it’s worth, as an employer (and a manager of other enterprises), I always hire the most capable person for the compensation range available- without regard to color, creed, or religion.  (I will mention, having lived in the South, how many companies there used Christian symbols in the their advertising- letting the populace know they catered to them more preferentially, and those icons also appeared in employment ads.  I have NEVER seen that among my coreligionists.  [That doesn’t mean there aren’t any- I’ve just never seen them.])

TheDonald is one who has been espousing a series of Anti-Semitic tropes and has obviously influenced others, thinking they were now more permissable in our society.  Then, there’s MTG (Marjorie Taylor Greene] and Q-Anon with their Jewish Laser theories and claims that Jews own the world, that got the go-ahead from TheDonald.

(When one doesn’t react to the AntiSemitic tropes (or AnitBlack, AntiGay, AntiAsianAmerican versions), you are providing your permission for them to be expressed!)

No, TheDonald is not the founder of Anti-Semitism.  He just allowed it to become more pervasive.  The anti-Semites in our society  then felt they had wider  permission to aver and act on those beliefs.

It’s time to correct that behavior.