Hating Jews, Or Whoever Is Convenient

THERE IS A WAVE of anti-semitism sweeping across America's fruited plain, so it was reported on National Public Radio, and that wave is not confined to the usual racist promulgators,the American right wing, but also,is manifested in the progressive movement. Unreasoning hatred from both the left and the right, a one two punch. Why not? Why not go all the way across the political spectrum in doing what Americans do best, display intolerance? Christian conservatives are always at risk of sinking into intolerance of non-Christians. Progressives seem to be angered at President Biden's distinctly pro-Israeli policy in their war with Hamas. As Israel becomes the aggressor,killing thousands of civilians, mostly women and children, progressive anger at Israel and its government intensifies. One must distinguish, however,between anti-Semitic ethnic hatred,and anti-Israeli attitudes against a nation-state and its foreign policies. Before World War Two America was an anti-Semitic country,pure and simple. The Holocaust made Americans rethink their traditional anti-Jewish bigotry. It is possible,and quite easy, to oppose the idea of theocratic governemnt, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, or other, while harboring no hatred of the people who practice these various religions. There are rabbis who believe that the Jewish faith should have remained exclusively a religious tradition, and should never have been incorporated into a nation with distinct territorial boundaries. When one considers the human suffering which accompanied the establishment of the Israeli nation in 1948, especialy among the Palestinian Arabs,and the fact that Israel was carved out of land already occupied by legitimate inhabitants,this point of view gains legitimacy. It is noteworthy that the level of violence in the middle east was far less prior to 1948 than since. Prior,Jew and nonJew lived in relative peace. Since, not so much. Then too,it is neceaary to factor into the equation the impact of massive western imperialism on that part of the world. What sort of world might we have now had the Birtish Empire not imposed its will, by force,on far flung regions of the world which would have been quite content to do without their British overlords? After World War One, when the Turks nad been defeated and their control of Palestine eliminated,in moe teh victorious Brits, who redrew national boundaries all across the region, and established countries of questionable borders and combinations of ethnic groups. The complexities of our world, past and present, and the highly questionable decisions made then and now, invite endless analysis. Human beings invent more reasons to hate each other and to kill each other than there are square miles of Earth over which to fight. If we aren't busy being hateful towards the Jews, or the blacks, or the greens, or whomever, we shall surely find targets of convenience wherever we happen to look. When Jackie Robinson became the first black player in the major leagues, his new teammates, racists all, threatend to not play, or to quit the team. Manager Leo Durocher spelled it out."I don't care if he's black, white, green, red,or yellow. On this team, he's gonna play. He's too good not to. He'll help us win, and make us all rich. Now, if you sons of bitches don't wanna get rich, I'll trade your asses right now." In a time capsule, Einstein wrote: "If you have not becoem kinder and more compassionate than we were, may the devil take you". Enough said. Perfectly clear. Perhaps it is time for the devil to take us. People are surprised to learn that the actual level of international violence and warfare has, over the centuries,declined, and is less today than ever before. That tells us much: not that we have become peaceful and compassionate, but rather, that bad as we are today, our ancestors were even meaner, more cruel, and more violent than we. Whether that gives us reason for hope for the future is anyone's guess.