32 Friday, December 31, 1982
Few ever lived to old age,
and fewer still ever became
distinguished who were not
in the habit of early rising.
—J. Todd
rr
1,
The
SHE. ROTT
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Anti-Semitism: New Wave of Old Curse
By DANIEL J. ELAZAR
(Editor's note: The
author of this article is
professor of inter-
governmental relations
at Bar - Ban University,
Ramat - Gan, Israel, and
son of Dr. and Mrs. Albert
Elazar, who were associ-
ated with Detroit's
United Hebrew Schools
for more than 20 years.
This article first ap-
peared in "Patterns of
Prejudice" published by
the Institute of Jewish
Affairs in London.)
The mid-1970s marked
among other things the de-
mise of the taboo against
Jew hatred. Now, in the
early years of the second
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generation since the
Holocaust, the Jewish
people must come to under-
stand that we face a new
situation, one which will
allow certain kinds of ex-
pressions of anti-Semitism
with relative impunity.
Recent manifestations of
anti-Semitism must be un-
derstood in the light of this
generational rhythm.
To better understand that
rhythm, let us take a step
backward to a century ago.
It was at the beginning of
the last generation of the
19th Century, in the mid-
1870s, that anti-Semitism
became a potent political
force as such, particularly
in Europe.
The anti-Semitism of
those days was part and
parcel of a general ra-
cism that swept the West-
ern world, reflected in
the relatively benign col-
onialism of the "white
man's burden," in the
unpleasant discrimina-
tion against Jews and
southern Europeans in
resorts and housing in
the U.S., and in the more
extreme denial of the
human rights of blacks in
various parts of the
world.
The anti-Semitism of that
generation in Europe pro-
duced Jew-baiting political
parties whose core ideology
and program were anti-
Semitic. It led in the inter-
war generation — the first
of the 20th Century — to
Nazism, which raised anti-
Semitism to a new pitch
and, as we all know, culmi-
nated in the Holocaust.
The horror of that event
put an end to two genera-
tions of racist domination of
the world and indeed
brought a sharp reaction
which was translated into
the new realities of the
post-war generation.
Decolonization, with its
concomitant anti-
colonialist, pro-Third World
orientation, rested clearly
on an attack on racism in all
its forms, the extension of
civil rights to excluded
minorities (e.g., blacks in
Mir the U.S.) within existing
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DANIEL ELAZAR
states — many of which pro-
ceeded formally to outlaw
all forms of racist discrimi-
nation — and the removal of
anti-Semitism as a legiti-
mate form of expression in
conventional society.
Jews, hitherto , mildly
or comprehensively
excluded from general
society for racist reasons,
were warmly embraced
and found most, if not all,
doors open to them.
This extreme reaction to
Nazism came to an end in
the mid-1970s. The UN
resolution equating
Zionism with racism can be
seen as the benchmark that
signified a turning point, a
new pattern. Racism in
principle continued to be re-
jected as abhorrent. But
rather than being defined in
a general and objective way,
the definition of racism be-
came subjective. Thus, in
the tradition of Orwellian
newspeak and newthink,
not everything was what it
seemed to be.
Discrimination against
"A" was racism even if the
reasons for discrimination
had nothing to do with "A's"
race. Thus, any criticism of
the Third World, however
justified by objective
criteria, was immediately
labelled racist. Criticism of
"B", on the other hand, was
not racist even if "B" was
attacked on the grounds of
race.
Thus, the Jewish aspira-
tion for a national home and
state of their own was, ipso
facto, racism. This new dou-
ble standard fits in well
with the general change in
thinking characteristic of
the new generation —
namely, a rejection of objec-
tive measures of reality in
favor of subjective ones in
every field. Things are only
what people feel them to be,
according to this new way of
thinking. There is no argu-
ment from objectivity nor is
it possible to describe
reality in any objective way.
So, if certain Palesti-
nians and their suppor-
ters believe the Jews are
racist, there is no one to
gainsay them that
thought any more than
one can challenge an-
other's taste in music.
How else could Noam
Chomsky defend the
right of the so-called re-
visionist historians to
deny the existence of the
Holocaust except under
the newthink that all is
subjective?
This new way of thinking
has profound implications epoch which came to an
for all of civilization; the end in World War II.
fact that anti-Semitism is
What we are left with for
one of its more gross man- the moment is really a mat-
ifestations only testifies ter of extremists versus rea-
once again how Jews con- sonable people, with the
tinue to be at the forefront of presumed ideological orien-
every battle for civilization tations of the former bear-
— either leading the charge ing little or no relationship
or caught in the crossfire, as to their extreme acts. Thus,
the case may be — as they for Jews as well as for most
have been since the begin-
other peoples, there is no
nings of the Jewish people.
real difference between ex-
tremists of the left or the
The increase in violent
right. Again, subjectivism
anti-Semitic incidents, the
is the rule of the day.
growing militancy of right-
Extremists given over to
as well as left-wing ex-
tremist groups, the rise of acts of terrorism do so for
subjective reasons, not be-
the new intellectual right
cause of objective political
with its racist ideas and the
ideologies, even if they oc-
efforts to falsify history by
casionally try to rationalize
denying the Holocaust are
their acts in objective terms
all aspects of this rhythm as
— e.g., anti-Zionism.
it moves into high tide. How
In that connection, I
else can the violence of both
extreme left and extreme think that we must look
right, presumably on anti- upon most contemporary
Zionist grounds, be ex- forms of anti-Zionism as
synonymous with anti-
plained?
The anti-Semitism man- Semitism. In principle,
ifested in these acts was al- this is not so; in practice, it
ways there, latent and is.
There remain some
ready to bloom. Any social
scientist knows that even in principled anti-Zionists
the most benign society a (some within the Jewish
normal bell-shaped curve people) whose anti-
will produce some five per- Zionism stems from tra-
cent highly philo-Semitic at ditional or modern
one end and some five per- sources — that is to say,
cent highly anti-Semitic at either a rejection of the
Jews' efforts to bring
the other.
Indeed, the University about their redemption
of California study of through political means
anti-Semitism sponsored instead of waiting for di-
by Bnai Brith in the 1960s rect Divine intervention,
demonstrated that just or an undiluted commit-
such a bell-shaped curve ment to an ecumenical
existed in the U.S. at that universalism that denies
time. The question is not particularisms of all
the existence of anti- kinds (although it is in-
Semitisnv$ but whether it teresting that even
is manifest or latent. among many univer-
There is little question salists, only Jews are de-
that after a generation of nied their particularism.)
But the new anti-Zionists
latency, it is becoming
are too subjective for some.
more manifest today.
Curiously enough, Arab
The present level of inci-
dence of anti-Semitic acts is terrorism against Jewish
not, in itself, much more institutions and individuals
than a nuisance. True, it is a outside Israel may be less
nuisance in which people anti-Semitic than the acts of
sometimes get killed, and other terrorist extremists,
that should not be undere- in the sense that they do not
stimated. But open anti- reflect a pathological hatred
Semitism still remains the of Jews but, rather, the
response of a fringe and con- shared Middle Eastern
tinues to be repudiated by understanding that peoples
the opinion-molders of con- and states are not
temporary civilization and synonymous.
Arab recognition of the
most of the public.
However, because of the Jewish people as one people
trends outlined above, I be- parallels Jewish recogni-
lieve that even these nui- tion of the same reality.
sance manifestations must While this cannot justify
be treated with great seri- Arab terrorist attacks, it
ousness because, if I am does put them in a different
right in my analysis of the context from the pathologi-
situation, they are harbin- cal anti-Semitism of non-
gers of much worse to come. Arab extremists.
In the last analysis, this
In short, the disease is not
yet virulent in its present may be a distinction
manifestations. But without a difference. Cer-
society's immunization is tainly, it should be of no
rapidly wearing off, and the comfort to anyone. But,
incubation of the germs is in waging our unremit-
likely to lead to the ting war against such at-
emergence of a virulent tacks, we had best under-
stand their context.
strain.
The fact that much of
What is worse about that
the new anti-Semitism context is the fact that
comes from what is de- Arabs still believe that any
fined as the extreme left Jew is fair game because no
as well as the extreme one is a civilian in the Arab -
right is a reflection of an- Jewish war. Again, this
other aspect of the gen- need not be an anti-Semitic
erational rhythm, the loss view, but it certainly is the
of meaning of the terms kind of totalist approach to
"left" and "right" char- warfare more suitable to an
acteristic of the modern earlier age than to our own.