According to a recent poll, almost one-third of American Jews now say they will not publicly identify themselves as Jewish.
Nearly a third of Jewish Americans say they have hidden their religious identity or avoided carrying items that would identify oneself as Jewish in public due to threats of anti-Semitism, according to a poll released Wednesday.
A study by the American Jewish Coalition found that 31 percent of the respondents said they had “avoided publicly wearing, carrying, or displaying things that might help people identify [them] as a Jew.”
Twenty-five percent of those surveyed also told pollsters that they at least sometimes “avoid certain places, events, or situations out of concern for [their] safety or comfort as a Jew.”
The survey’s results come as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says the rate of anti-Semitic incidents has doubled in the U.S. since 2015. (source)
It is true that the objective hatred of Jews on a racial or unjustified basis does exist. This is a fact.
However, one must naturally question the claim of “anti-semitism”- an inherently racial term that by its usage includes Arabs, Assyrians, Chaldean, Copts, Ethiopians, Lebanese, and many other peoples throughout southwestern Asia and Northern Africa but which Jews strictly associate with themselves -because America is arguably more Jewish than Israel.
This is not meant as an insult, but is a serious statement. According to official numbers, there are as many self-reported Jews in the US as there are in Israel. If one includes the many children of “mixed” marriages, as almost a supermajority of Jews marry non-Jews, and considering that Judaism is a racial as well as a religious belief, there are more Jews in the US than in Israel. The most common languages spoken by Jews are in order English, Hebrew, and Russian.
Look at the numbers of Jews in major positions of power in the US. Be it doctors, lawyers, CEOs, entertainers, major executives, anything involving major financial power, academia, comedy, advertising, and most careers that do not involve physical labor or low-paying wages, there is a significant, undeniable over representation of Jews. For all of the talk about “white dominance” in the US- a charge that has also been lobbed at Catholics and other groups – and is something often spoken about by Jews, there is almost never talk about Jewish dominance.
Likewise, and noting the words of the late actor Marlon Brando, why is it that in movies there are “bad guys” of every racial and religious group except for Jews, who are almost always portrayed as either a carefree loveable “artsy” spirit, an innocent smart nerd who is bullied by the mean big guy with blonde hair, or a hero who defies all odds to win? This is not saying that there should not be such characters, but there is a clear pattern, and that is that one is very hard pressed to find a Jew committing evils, for the last time this was seriously portrayed in a major Hollywood film was in 2004 with Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ in displaying not a stereotype, but the historical reality of the Jewish rejection of their Messiah and deicide in the name of racism.
It is arguable that Jews are favored in the US more than they have been anywhere else in their history. They always have been more favored than Catholics and never subject to the same scrutiny as them, more than Protestants, more than Black, Hispanics, Asians, all the immigrant peoples of Europe (save for Jewish immigrants), and they have amassed tremendous power- world power -drawing off of the wealth created by the expansion of the Anglo-American imperial project.
Many Jews may claim “anti-semitism”, yet what other group of people have entire conferences dedicated to them, where denying support of them leads to economic, social, and political persecution? Can one imagine if one said that one was going to forever defend the “Palestinian State”, the “Polish state”, the “Mexican” state or the “British Kingdom”? He would be called a traitor, un-American and a list of other names. Why then does the Jewish state get a pass, and if one does express even a tiny bit of criticism based on policies, philosophies, or actions of which there is unmistakable proof that is objectively legitimate- that the common answer is cries of “anti-semitism” and “hatred”?
It makes one question why so many self-identified Jews would be willing to hide their names. Is it because of a legitimate fear of religious or racialist attacks, or is it because there is a bloc among them who enjoy engaging in scandalous behavior common to criminals and scoundrels, either having amassed great social influence by such behavior or having realized such positions by legitimate behavior then turn to criminal actions for their personal benefit?
To put this in another context, as a Catholic man and having spoken to many Catholics of strong faith and good will (and I am not speaking of Ted or Walid, but certainly it would include them), there is a significant concern and anger among them about the state of sodomism among the priests, and how unless one directly knows on a deep personal level the priests involved, one does not trust them. This is only natural and good because of what one can see happening.
Now to put this into the Jewish context, there are many Jews who openly engage in bad, deceptive, and evil behavior. Shoebat.com has repeatedly pointed this out, including the historically documented connections between evils such as National Socialism and eugenics with major Jewish figures. Is calling out these facts, which are beyond dispute as is the sodomite crisis in the Church the same, an act of “hatred”? Or perhaps, is it a sinister attempt to shut down criticism of this because many (certainly not all) Jews would, like many (certainly not all) of the Catholic hierarchy would rather not discuss the sodomite issue?
If one watches daytime television, one may have seen the Steve Wilkos show. I mention this because just as Jerry Springer has made his fame with on-stage fights and Maury Povich with paternity tests, Wilkos has made his show based on lie detector tests. If one watches his justifications of why he does what he does, he says it is because he is an ex-cop who has heard a lot of stories, and he wants the truth because the truth is the only thing that will help people resolve their personal problems and move forward with their lives.
While I certainly will not advocate for daytime television at all, there is a clear truth in this which must be taken amid the chair throwing, name calling, and overall trash behavior. It is the fact that truth matters, even if it is painful, and one must be willing to discuss hard questions, even if it hurts a lot.
I’m not suggesting a “Jewish conspiracy” from the story above, and I certainly do not condone the unjust abuse of Jews, or suggest that persecution does not exist- one only needs to read our many stories about the rise of National Socialism and other forms of racism to see this. What I do question is the narrative about “anti-semitism” in the context of contemporary history, past history, and recorded behavior that shows patterns of consistent deceit coupled with the use of threat of legalism and cries of fear to cover for criminal activity. Ultimately it does not matter what race or background a person is, because all men are bound by the same truths just as all men are bound by the laws of physics.
We want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and may God help us all to seek, find, and embrace it, whether it be on the Sunday path leading into Jerusalem or the stony walkway that leads to Calvary.