Oops. They’re Doing it Again.
More on scapegoating, antizionism — and what we do now.
Some Sunday morning food for thought.
History shows that during periods of economic hardship — such as high unemployment, inflation, housing crises, and financial instability — societies often start looking for someone to blame.
But the warning signs go beyond economics. They appear when influential voices begin framing Jews— or any minority — as responsible for society’s problems, and when that rhetoric becomes normalized instead of challenged.
Today, in too many places, it appears those spears are once again being aimed at Jews.
When it comes to the scapegoating of Jews in particular, historians say to watch for more than economic indicators. Pay close attention to how it unfolds:
• Rising conspiracy theories and libels. I believe much of today’s hate-filled antizionist rhetoric has become the main vehicle for recycling ancient myths in modern forms.
• Dehumanizing language. I have shared the vile messages Jews receive simply for being Jewish or for supporting Israel’s existence. They are intended to intimidate.
• Exclusion from civic life. As I work on my grandfather’s Holocaust memoir, I was recently told by a prominent editor that, because of the current publishing climate, I may have difficulty finding a publisher. Whether or not that prediction proves true, it made me intensely sad. A story that should be judged on its historical and literary merit now seems likely to be judged, and possibly thrown out, at least in part, through the lens of today’s politics.
• The normalization of discrimination and harassment… and worse. Enough said. It is daily and increasingly commonplace.
• Leaders who benefit politically by directing public anger toward a minority. Party affiliation is no safeguard against this.
So what can we do?
• Speak out against misinformation and conspiracy theories whenever we encounter them.
• Challenge dehumanizing language and stereotypes whenever we encounter them.
• Stay informed, ask hard questions, and keep encouraging critical thinking.
• Hold leaders accountable when they exploit fear or prejudice for political gain.
History does not repeat itself exactly. But it does leave warning signs.
The question is whether we will recognize them in time — and whether we will have the courage to respond before they become something far worse.
We are reliving history: “The physical assaults aside, during the 1930s, German Jews were subjected probably to more frequent and intensive verbal attacks, more concentrated verbal violence, than any group has ever been by its own society. Given the horrors that were to come, the significance of the verbal violence is easily, though wrongly, neglected. Yet its effect, the toll that it took on the Jews, and also on Germans, was enormous.
The quantity and intensity of verbal violence, which included the widespread posting of signs (which Germans and Jews saw daily) that forbade Jews' physical and social existence among Germans of given locales and institutions, should be seen as an assault in its own right, having been intended to produce profound damage, emotional, psychological, and social, to the dignity of the Jews. The wounds that people suffer by having to listen publicly (particularly, in front of their children) to such vituperation and by not being able to respond, can be as bad as the humiliation of a public beating."
Excerpt From: Daniel Jonah Goldhagen. “Hitler's Willing Executioners.” Credit to https://substack.com/@adamlouisklein