PURELY COMMENTARY

10 | NOVEMBER 17 • 2022 

A

t one time or another, we’ve 
all heard a Jewish comedian 
tell an antisemitic joke — and 
we cringe. While such jokes are often 
funny, they also perpetuate antisemitic 
stereotypes we would be 
better off without. They 
can be funny in a comedy 
club, but inevitably 
become dangerous when 
they are adopted by 
genuine antisemites.
This illustrates an 
interesting and perhaps 
puzzling double standard: The same 
joke that, if told by a non-Jew, would 
result in accusations of antisemitism, 
receives belly laughs when told by a 
Jew.
Jews, of course, know a great deal 
about double standards. Indeed, double 
standards and antisemitism often go 
hand-in-hand. They are almost constant 
in debates about issues related to Israel, 
such as the IDF’s conduct of its wars, 
Israeli immigration policies and the 
treatment of the Palestinian Arabs. Put 
simply, the world holds Israel to one 
standard, and everybody else in the 
world to another.
Double standards are usually a 
product of hypocrisy. This is the case 
even with the close alliance between 
the U.S. and Israel. For example, the 
American military uses drones to 
assassinate targets in civilian areas, 
which often leads to civilian deaths. Yet 
the U.S. sometimes criticizes Israel for 
doing exactly the same thing, usually 
with far less collateral damage.
However, the issue of double 
standards is more complicated than it 
appears. This is because the Jews also 
hold themselves to a different standard. 
The Jews maintain that they are the 

uniquely chosen people. This 
does not mean that Jews are 
inherently special, but rather 
that they are charged with 
the responsibility of being a 
light unto the nations, a model 
of exemplary behavior. To meet 
this requirement, every Jew must 
hold themselves to a higher standard 
than others, almost by definition. The 
opportunity to sanctify God’s name and 
the commandment to avoid desecrating 
God’s name demand nothing less.

ITS OWN MORAL STANDARDS
The early Zionists understood that the 
state they sought to build would be unlike 
any other. While this state would be a 
member of the global community like all 
other countries, it would also be a Jewish 
state. It would be more than just a “state 
for Jews.” Instead, it would be a state 
whose society was consistent with Jewish 
values. Exemplary ethical behavior would 
be one of its top priorities.
Today, Israel often does hold itself to 
a higher moral standard than the rest 
of the world. War is a terrible thing, but 
Israel makes an honest and sometimes 
hazardous effort to conduct it in an 
ethical manner. Often, this prioritizes 
the lives of civilians, and potentially 
enemy combatants, over those of IDF 
soldiers.
This sense of an ethical imperative 
is even more apparent in Israel’s 
humanitarian efforts. For example, 
it establishes field hospitals in the 
world’s worst disaster zones and opens 
its borders to refugees from Africa to 
Ukraine.
All of this, however, leads us to 
a paradox: Israel holds itself to a 
higher standard, but when other 
countries — or organizations and 

individuals — hold Israel to a higher 
standard, this is seen as antisemitism. 
At first glance, this appears to be a 
contradiction.
It is not. Jews may hold themselves 
and Israel to a higher standard, but 
no one else has the right to do so. This 
standard is how the Jews have decided 
to judge their own behavior. It is for 
domestic use only. The larger world has 
its own set of standards and, of course, 
must apply it equally to all. The Jews’ 
decision to adhere to a higher standard 
does not give the world the right to 
deviate from its own standards, which it 
holds to be universally applicable.
However, this does not mean Israel 
should stop holding itself to its own 
standard. Many argue, for example, that 
Israel should never put its own soldiers 
at risk by holding them to a higher 
moral standard than any other army in 
the world. But if Israel acted like any 
other nation, it would forfeit its role 
as the exemplar of moral behavior it is 
required to be as a Jewish state. Israel 
isn’t and will never be a nation like all 
other nations. It has a unique role in 
the global community and must act 
accordingly. 

Rabbi Uri Pilichowski is a senior educator at numer-

ous educational institutions. He is the author of three 

books and teaches Torah, Zionism and Israel studies 

around the world.

opinion
The Paradox of Jewish 
Double Standards

Uri 
Pilichowski
JNS.org

