August 7, 2024
Does not liking certain aspects of the Jewish experience automatically make you an antisemite? Does disliking Catholic mass and the predatory behavior of some of its priests automatically make you an anti-Catholic?
I love the post bar and bat mitzvah parties — but not the formalized ritual one has to endure before the party! What a horrible coming of age the inductee has to go through — memorizing and reading all that Hebrew (not to forget the congregants who have to sit through this butt cramping ceremony). And the only segment of the Jewish wedding service that I like is the breaking of the glasses and (of course) the party that ensues. Come to think of it — Catholic services are as long and boring as their Jewish counterparts, but we don’t hear much about anti-Catholicism (not counting Martin Luther).
Hanukka looks like fun — but those other holidays that have Jews indoors by sundown can play havoc with a college prof teaching night classes. And how an Orthodox Jewish woman attends night classes is beyond me!? I’m thinking that at least one of the factors that contributes to antisemitism is jealousy — because Jews get Christian holidays off (in addition to their own!).
Enough of my inane musings — let’s hear what the experts have to say! The following was taken from the Bucharest IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) Conference of May 26, 2016:
The committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial called upon the IHRA Plenary in Budapest 2015 to adopt the following working definition of antisemitism:
Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities. Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity.
However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic. Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for “why things go wrong.” It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.
I performed none of these behaviors during my drunken exchange with my former colleague and friend.
Additionally, antisemitic acts are criminal when they are so defined by law (for example, denial of the Holocaust or distribution of antisemitic materials in some countries). Criminal acts are antisemitic when the targets of attacks, whether they are people or property – such as buildings, schools, places of worship and cemeteries – are selected because they are, or are perceived to be, Jewish or linked to Jews.
The information that denial of the Holocaust may be a criminal act in some places came as a surprise. The other behaviors should be against the law everywhere and at all times. I, however, was accused of denying the Holocaust — which I would never do — unless questioning the calculation of numbers can somehow be construed as DENIAL?
And finally, antisemitic discrimination is the denial to Jews of opportunities or services available to others and is illegal in many countries.
OK, obviously many people and organizations realize that ethnic discrimination is wrong and I count myself as one of the many, and not, a purveyor of antisemitism.
I am not finished writing about this topic (or freeing myself of what I find to be two rather horrific labels: Nazi and and antisemite) — but I will take a breather on this issue and get back to it in the near future.