I accept that some people have difficulty using the word genocide for people other than the European Jews of the 1930's and 1940's. Raul Hillberg called one of his books, "The Destruction of the European Jews", because he saw it not just as the killing of Jews but the total destruction of their way of life, synagogues, schools, libaries, homes , shops food sources and communities. Maybe the destruction of the Palestinian people is what Israel is doing.
Hi Shaul, joined Substack recently and just catching on these pieces now.
Your discussion of eternal antisemitism reminded me of Anshel Pfeffer's biography of Benjamin Netanyahu, specifically the sections which explain his father Benzion's academic work on the history of Spanish Jews and the Inquisition.
"Most mainstream historians were of the opinion that the Jews of medieval Spain had been forced to convert to Christianity, but remained practicing Jews in hiding, and that the Inquisition had aimed to root out these crypto-Jews. Benzion had a much dimmer view of the conversos. He believed they had converted for social advancement and were not prepared to sacrifice their lives for their religious beliefs. Professor Netanyahu’s conclusion was that the persecution of Jews by the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion and massacres, were racially motivated. He saw a clear line connecting the attitude of the medieval Roman Catholic Church to modern anti-Semitism and even the Holocaust."
I wonder if reaching back further into history to back-date racial antisemitism is a version of eternal antisemitism.
Thank you very much for creating this opportunity for conversation.
I have found this post and your prior one very useful and I find that I agree with much of it. This isn’t a huge surprise since it seems a lot of your post dovetails with your writing on the subject in The Necessity of Exile which I enjoyed a great deal.
I would like to put forth an idea that I personally feel MUST be relevant regarding this subject:
My understanding is that the majority of American Jews are affiliated with the Reform movement (which I grew up in) if they are specifically affiliated with any denomination.
I mention this for 2 reasons:
1. As in your excellent “American Post-Judaism”, some of the most exciting thinking in contemporary, American Judaism is coming from Progressive and more open strains (Neo-reform, Reconstructionist, mixed religion marriages) within Judaism.
2. A personal anecdote: As a 30 something raised in the Mid West, there was always the feeling that the REAL difference in the denominations was how seriously you take it. As in, there seemed to be a feeling that Reform Judaism, even within the denomination, was Judaism-lite, training wheels for IF you might desire to try a more robust form of Judaism in the future.
I want to be clear, I do not agree with that sentiment in point 2 and I also do not think most Reform folks would agree with it. But, that said, I imagine that many folks raised in the Reform movement may have come away with similar/related anxieties about the validity of their Jewish education and identity.
I apologize for the length of this comment but I suppose that my ultimate point is that there may be a generation of Reform Jews that especially feel like they are “not Jewish enough” to speak confidently about Anti-semitism OR, conversely, may lead some to speak MORE confidently than they are to make up for that feeling. At the same time this group is arguably the largest and youngest group of Jews in the US.
In short, as someone raised Reform but who has become more….anarchically, Scholem-esque “finding the Judaism that I can passionately connect with” , - I wonder if the answer to why we American Jews have trouble discussing anti-semitism has as much to do with why they have trouble confidently discussing their own Judaism as it does with the fine points you made in your post.
You no doubt know well Theodore Bikel’s response to Kahane on Firing Line. I feel I’m on solid ground to take my cue on what antisemitism is from the man who had more right to say than anyone who ever lived “I’m as Jewish as fucking Tevye.”
I accept that some people have difficulty using the word genocide for people other than the European Jews of the 1930's and 1940's. Raul Hillberg called one of his books, "The Destruction of the European Jews", because he saw it not just as the killing of Jews but the total destruction of their way of life, synagogues, schools, libaries, homes , shops food sources and communities. Maybe the destruction of the Palestinian people is what Israel is doing.
Hi Shaul, joined Substack recently and just catching on these pieces now.
Your discussion of eternal antisemitism reminded me of Anshel Pfeffer's biography of Benjamin Netanyahu, specifically the sections which explain his father Benzion's academic work on the history of Spanish Jews and the Inquisition.
"Most mainstream historians were of the opinion that the Jews of medieval Spain had been forced to convert to Christianity, but remained practicing Jews in hiding, and that the Inquisition had aimed to root out these crypto-Jews. Benzion had a much dimmer view of the conversos. He believed they had converted for social advancement and were not prepared to sacrifice their lives for their religious beliefs. Professor Netanyahu’s conclusion was that the persecution of Jews by the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion and massacres, were racially motivated. He saw a clear line connecting the attitude of the medieval Roman Catholic Church to modern anti-Semitism and even the Holocaust."
I wonder if reaching back further into history to back-date racial antisemitism is a version of eternal antisemitism.
Hi Shaul,
Thank you very much for creating this opportunity for conversation.
I have found this post and your prior one very useful and I find that I agree with much of it. This isn’t a huge surprise since it seems a lot of your post dovetails with your writing on the subject in The Necessity of Exile which I enjoyed a great deal.
I would like to put forth an idea that I personally feel MUST be relevant regarding this subject:
My understanding is that the majority of American Jews are affiliated with the Reform movement (which I grew up in) if they are specifically affiliated with any denomination.
I mention this for 2 reasons:
1. As in your excellent “American Post-Judaism”, some of the most exciting thinking in contemporary, American Judaism is coming from Progressive and more open strains (Neo-reform, Reconstructionist, mixed religion marriages) within Judaism.
2. A personal anecdote: As a 30 something raised in the Mid West, there was always the feeling that the REAL difference in the denominations was how seriously you take it. As in, there seemed to be a feeling that Reform Judaism, even within the denomination, was Judaism-lite, training wheels for IF you might desire to try a more robust form of Judaism in the future.
I want to be clear, I do not agree with that sentiment in point 2 and I also do not think most Reform folks would agree with it. But, that said, I imagine that many folks raised in the Reform movement may have come away with similar/related anxieties about the validity of their Jewish education and identity.
I apologize for the length of this comment but I suppose that my ultimate point is that there may be a generation of Reform Jews that especially feel like they are “not Jewish enough” to speak confidently about Anti-semitism OR, conversely, may lead some to speak MORE confidently than they are to make up for that feeling. At the same time this group is arguably the largest and youngest group of Jews in the US.
In short, as someone raised Reform but who has become more….anarchically, Scholem-esque “finding the Judaism that I can passionately connect with” , - I wonder if the answer to why we American Jews have trouble discussing anti-semitism has as much to do with why they have trouble confidently discussing their own Judaism as it does with the fine points you made in your post.
Thanks for this insightful comment John. I just came back from a conference and will reply very soon.
Informative. Worth reading more than once.
You no doubt know well Theodore Bikel’s response to Kahane on Firing Line. I feel I’m on solid ground to take my cue on what antisemitism is from the man who had more right to say than anyone who ever lived “I’m as Jewish as fucking Tevye.”