Our Turn

Time to see if we mean it

Are you one of those who loudly proclaimed that you wouldn’t have gone along with the crowd if you had lived in Germany in the 1930s? Somehow, you would have made an impact and helped to keep things from being so bad. You’d have been smart enough to leave in time if you were Jewish. If you were a gentile, you wouldn’t have been silent or at least been among the righteous.

Congratulations! Now you have a chance to prove it.

Yes. I mean it. It’s the same old story. After an all too brief interlude, the seemingly eternal antisemitism is reaching another worldwide global peak. The United Nations, international courts, and left and center-left parties around the world are all taking “anti-Zionist” positions and arguing that it differs somehow from antisemitism. Yeah. Right.

I am about to do my bit. I could sit by quietly and not cause any trouble. But going along was the weak and meek way back then. I have some things I need to say if I am going to do my part. I expect I will not win friends, but I hope I will influence some people.

Environment and Inflation

Let’s start by understanding what happened then and see the parallels today. I was in high school in the Kennedy years and a JFK liberal and an idealist. I was devouring books by Alan Bullock, William Shirer, and others describing the rise of Hitler. German frustration after their loss in World War One was compounded by the incompetence of the Weimar government and unbelievable inflation. People took their pay and spent it as soon as they received it because it lost value by the minute.

Our inflation is not as bad, but it is causing severe pain. Rob Henderson coined the term “Luxury Beliefs.” The wealthy and elite have ideas and plans to save the world. These plans have costs that don’t impact the rich. Their schooling, dining, vacations, heating, and air conditioning are unaffected. For the lower classes, however, the changes are dramatic. The weekly or monthly family dinner at McDonald’s is now out of reach. Tuition at the Community College is a fantasy. In Europe and America, people choose between heating the house or eating enough food.

The environmental movement is a significant cause of price increases. John Robson of The Climate Discussion Nexus produced a video called American Energy for Grownups showing its impact. Let me be blunt. Angry, hungry, freezing people don’t give a damn about what might happen to the environment in thirty years.

Oil and Israel

There has always been some resistance among fashionable people about Zionism and Israel. If we were energy-independent, we would have a freer hand in deciding what to do about helping. Our dependence on Arab oil comes up when Presidents deal with questions about Israel.

President Truman recognized Israel despite a good deal of resistance. Truman respected George C. Marshall, who did not want to recognize Israel in part because of concern about Arab reaction and oil. Truman had long felt a need to help the holocaust victims and went ahead with recognition.

A Commentary Magazine article by Jason Moaz describes Richard Nixon’s actions in support of Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. At one point, he is told to limit the shipment to three planes to avoid offending the Arabs. He snapped, “We are going to get blamed just as much for three as for 300. . . . Get them in the air, now.”

[T]o the end of her life [Golda Meir] referred to Nixon as “my president” and told a group of Jewish leaders in Washington shortly after the war: “For generations to come, all will be told of the miracle of the immense planes from the United States bringing in the materiel that meant life to our people.”

Jews in America in the 1930s

Life in America was not as good for Jews in the first half of the twentieth century as later. The 1930s are a clear example. Jews were unwelcome in many places. Medical and law schools either excluded them or had formal or informal quotas. Legally enforceable covenants kept them out of neighborhoods and clubs. The movie Gentlemen’s Agreement (1947) showed the informal but rigid restrictions that kept Jews out of clubs and “classier” hotels. The “Borsch Belt” in the Catskills gave New York City’s Jews a place to go where they could enjoy themselves without discrimination.

It is easy to blame Franklin Roosevelt for his lukewarm support for German Jews, but he was not being pushed very hard by American Jewry. Matt Lebovic and Alex Gordon exemplify the timid reaction of American Jewish leaders to Kristallnacht and the advice they gave FDR. They tried to minimize the number of refugees and were willing to support FDR’s goal of not making the holocaust the center of the war effort.

In the late 1930s, the dangers and hardships facing Jews in Germany were not a secret, but help was lacking. In June 1939, a ship called the St. Louis had Jews trying to flee the holocaust. They had visas to Cuba but were not allowed to disembark in Havana. They went to Florida, but President Roosevelt would not bend the strict immigration limits for their part of the world. Even Canada wouldn’t help. The ship carried them back to Germany to meet their fate.

Books and articles describe the way the Sulzberger family, the Jewish owners of the New York Times, downplayed its coverage of the holocaust, less the paper be seen as too Jewish.

Which Antisemites are the problem?

That raises a serious point. When is antisemitism a danger? When do words and actions matter? When couple of drunks in a bar in Podunk mutter some slurs hundreds of miles from the nearest Jew they set a bad example. The action or inaction of organizational leaders, public or private, who have various degrees of control over the lives of others cause more harm.

For those who were shocked by the actions of our college students, it might be of interest to know how German academics behaved during the rise of Hitler. King Charles recently knighted British historian Niall Ferguson. Sir Niall described The Treason of the German Intellectuals. He noted that the antisemitism and book-burning were out in full force in what, at that time, had been considered the world’s leading universities. Faculty members were glad to see Jews removed or excluded to open more promotions for Aryans.

When college administrators take serious tuition payments and donations from countries who wish Israel harm and let their students and faculties become antisemitic, there are serious consequences. It’s a problem when Jewish admissions at Medical and Law schools drop because of “affirmative action.” When administrators are indifferent to the fact that Jewish students are unsafe or can’t freely participate in student groups and offices, that is a problem.

The New York City Democratic Party coalition includes Al Sharpton, who triggered a vicious episode of antisemitism in Crown Heights, NY, in 1991. Nationally, the movement to eliminate cash bail and reduce the punishment for minors and other criminals is making life more dangerous for many people. Most of the urban attacks on Jews are done by Blacks. When a Jew has been the victim of a crime, and the mayor or prosecuting attorney in New York City says and does nothing, there is serious harm.

European Political Parties

I was in London in 2017 when the blatant antisemitism of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn contributed to his party’s loss and his resignation as leader. The move of most of Europe’s Left and even Center-left parties toward antisemitism is clear for everyone to see.

An article in The Free Press notes that French Jews voted for Marine La Pen’s National Rally Party because the leftist parties are a threat to Jews. (see footnote below)

America’s Political Parties

In the 2016 campaign, the Republican candidate was repeatedly asked to condemn someone named David Duke. He had done so during Ross Perot’s campaign, but the media wouldn’t be bothered by facts. Duke’s followers might fill a VW Beetle or Bus.

On the other hand, the Democratic candidate in 2008 was backed by Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan. In addition, the candidate and his wife were married by and attended the services of Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who hated America, whites, and Jews.

The attitude of the two men mattered after the 2016 election. In the interregnum, Obama was free to show his attitude toward Israel. America had a veto on any UN Security Council resolution. The veto had always protected Israel. Obama changed that. He ordered Samantha Powers to abstain on UN Resolution 2334 instead of voting no, letting a resolution about settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem pass. Trump tried to get Russia to delay the vote so he could block passage. The media tried to claim his efforts were part of the “Russia collusion.”

The Democratic Party now has a large bloc of Muslim voters. That fact may have influenced the choice of this year’s Democratic Vice Presidential nominee. That also impacts their decisions and will affect their attitude about America’s support for Israel.

I’m not a Zionist or even Jewish.

After the fall of Hitler, German pastor and theologian Martin Niemöller wrote a famous description of the problem. The Nazis came for one group after another, but he wasn’t part of those groups and even had a reason why harm to them was permissible. When they came for him, nobody was left to help.

Some people hope that by feeding other victims to vicious groups, they will be spared. Bad idea! It only makes “the lion” more voracious. You are still on the menu.

It’s Up To You

I’ve done it. I’ve been rude and said the unsayable. I read about the rise of Hitler more than sixty years ago. I was in high school. As a teenager, I knew I’d be brave enough to speak up and say what I thought should be told. But, now I’m almost 80, and the temptation to let things slide is strong. But no. I can’t do that. So, with inflation, there’s my two bucks worth.

It’s your turn. What are you going to do?

Note:

The full article about the French voting for Le Pen is limited to Free Press subscribers. I strongly recommend the Free Press and its writers as a balance to modern “journalism,” especially regarding Israel and Jews. Bari Weis founded it. She wrote for the New York Times, her life’s dream. Eventually, the Twitter-driven environment became oppressive. She resigned and founded the Free Press.

Weis became Bat Mitzvah at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. In 2018, eleven Jews were killed there while they prayed.