DECEMBER 30 • 2021 | 9

In his new documentary
The Will to See, the French
philosopher Bernard-Henri
Lévy observes that the
pandemic has made the
human race more insular and
parochial. That is sobering
news for those, like Lévy
himself, who treasure the idea
of solidarity across borders
in the service of opening up
closed societies and securing
freedom for those weighed
down by tyrants. It is also
sobering for those who believe
— or want to believe — that
history is a march toward a
better, more just world.
At the same time, other
developments indicate
profound changes to come
in how we live our lives.
The growing adoption of
cryptocurrencies like bitcoin
and ethereum was the big
economic story of 2021, in part
because of the now legendary
volatility of these assets but
also because the blockchain
technology underlying them
has revolutionized the way in
which financial transactions
are verified.
Their deeper significance
will become clearer as the
internet evolves into its next
iteration — an environment
where the user’s experience
is enclosed within a virtual
universe of private homes,
online shopping malls,
gaming centers and similar
offerings with commercial
potential. This new economy
is already being driven by
cryptocurrencies. It will
grow because as a society
we are going to be spending
increasing portions of our time
living online.
I have no doubt that even in
this brave new world, there will
be ample room to grapple with
the problems that rear their
heads once more. Another war
in Gaza 10 years from now
will doubtless replay the tired
and bitter justifications for the

continued rejection of Israel’s
presence by the Islamists and
their allies, but its media and
messaging dimension will be
fought on different and likely
much more dangerous terrain
in what’s currently called the
metaverse.
That is why I want to
end these reflections with a
recommendation. We cannot
prevent the cycles of history
from returning to batter us
with the same discredited
tropes, but we can prepare
ourselves more astutely. Jewish
organizations and institutions
need to focus their intellectual
resources on understanding
how the next stage of the
internet — a parallel world we
inhabit rather like the physical
one — will impact us as a
people.
On an immediate level, that
means anticipating as best as
possible how antisemitism,
which has continued to plague
social-media platforms this
year, will manifest in a three-
dimensional virtual space.
It also means grabbing the
longer-term opportunities
that this environment will
offer — from raising funds
to conducting educational
outreach to reaching entirely
new audiences.
During the past year, we
were afforded the clearest
sense yet of what this digital
future holds, which is the
most positive thing I can say
about 2021. Some people will
question whether that future is
desirable to begin with, while
others will fret that the virtual
universe will make us more
selfish, more insular, more
impulsive and less intelligent
than we are now. Over the next
decade, we are sure to find
out.

Ben Cohen is a New York City-based

journalist and author who writes

a weekly column on Jewish and

international affairs for JNS.

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wo social meetings with friends brought Merle
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