12/26/2021 - Antisemitism

"He who publicly shames his neighbor is as though he shed blood." -Statements in Talmud

"Just as man esteems his own honor, so let him esteem the honor of his neighbor." -Everyman's Talmud

"Becoming a Jew means attaching yourself to four thousand years of history, to a complex literature, even to a brand of humor." -Choosing a Jewish Life

I started this entry on 12/26/2021 and finished it on 1/2/2022.

I referenced many books while studying this topic. In fact, one resource led to another, and another, and another and I have spent a good majority of my week studying the history of antisemitism and another week just writing about it. Understanding Jewish history is just as important as my relationship with God and the Jewish community. Joining the Jewish community means I'm joining and contributing to Jewish history. 

I took an introduction to philosophy class while I was in community college. Our professor was passionate about justice and equality and would relentlessly argue with any student that tried to justify the opposition to human rights. When studying ancient philosophy he mentioned a philosopher that stated public humiliation was the worst form of punishment as it invalidated and degraded the victim in the eyes of the audience. I cannot remember the philosopher he was referring to.

While reading through many sources about antisemitism and the devastatingly long history of Jewish hatred, I kept thinking about that professor and how that one statement is one of the only facts I've learned in college that has proven to be consistently, and invariably, true.

To try and count how many times the Jewish faith has been humiliated and hated is impossible. The farce and fabricated image that Jews are the root of all problems is one of the few things in history that has remained the same. And for what? What do the accusers gain? One would think they should be the ones to feel humiliated as the Jewish faith has continuously proven to be unbreakable. That's not to say Judaism hasn't experienced devastating blows, but Judaism never gets KO'd.

In To Life! By Harold Kushner, he mentions that antisemitism was not/is not caused by Jewish misbehavior, as he phrases it, but that it is a reflection of the bully, not the victim. Sometimes that phrase confuses me, I don't believe every bully has a subliminal urge to do what they do, sometimes it's just how they are. Something that helps me grasp what Kushner is explaining is to think of days when everything is going wrong for no reason. I spilled coffee on my shirt, a light popped up on my dashboard in the car, someone cut in front of me on 395, I got stuck at every red light, and I'm late to work. As I'm rushing through the door, my belt loop gets stuck on the handle of a door and yanks me backward. It's the final straw for me, I start cursing at it and blame it for making me even later to work and making my day that much worse. 

But the door handle was minding it's own business and doing it's job. It had nothing to do with my day being out of sync, I just hit my tipping point and needed something to blame. Something to justify my bad mood, something to explain to my boss why I'm late, something to complain about to my coworkers, and the door handle just so happened to be there even though it had been there since the office was built.

There's not a cause for antisemitism. Like Kushner said, antisemitism was not/is not caused by Jewish misbehavior. While the world around us consistently changes, antisemitism consistently stays. What I believe intensified that longevity was the term "Christ-Killer," the door handle on someone's bad day. But that term was only a catapult for what was already present and that's the terrifying part. With there not really being a cause for antisemitism shows that antisemitism is a form of pure hatred. There's no amending the cause because there is not a cause, the hatred just exists with no origin, and what people do with that hatred is terrifying. Consider the Holocaust for example - 12 horrific years who's ripple effect still haunts us today. But 12 years is only a snapshot in time, and that singular snapshot shows us the horrors of what antisemites will do when there are no consequences. Imagine what a full snapshot would look like. Not only a box full of photos from WWII, but an entire office filled with photos thousands of years old.

With all of what I have read thus far, the term Christ-Killer continuously resurfaces in my mind. Partly because it is a part of history I was unaware of and partly because I grew up Catholic. I am happy knowing that during Sunday school we were never told that Jews were responsible for the crucifixation; we were told it was the work of Satan. However, we were taught to, "pity the Jews because they refused to see what was right in front of them." That rhetoric is just a very, very subtle representation to negationism history. And so it was very thought provoking to see how Chatholicism [also referring to Christianity when I use this term in entries] originated by oppressing and invalidating Judaism. In an effort for Catholicism to create credibility to present to Rome, they did not present facts, they provided fabrications as to why Judaism was evil and blind. What is most disheartening is to know that this occurred in a time of history where ancient, intelligent scholars had recently created and established the building blocks of ethics and philosophy, yet a one-sided argument was accepted. How credible is a proposition that does not consider both sides? How credible is a proposition that points a finger and does not present facts? How righteous can something be if it relied on oppressing an innocent party to gain authenticity?

With this being said, I do not harbor any disdain or hatred towards Catholicism, or any religion for that matter. But understanding it's affect on Jewish history is an important part of my journey. 

What I found most surprising was that for the many hours I spent reading up on this topic, I didn't see the terms "Hitler" or "Nazi" until just a few hours ago. I had recently only associated the term antisemitism to WWII thinking that Hitler coined the term in the 20th century, but he was only the tip of the iceberg. It was eye-opening because much of what was taught about WWII in high school history class was the US's involvement and how the US saved the day and ended the war. But it didn't take much reading to learn the truth.

Many of the sources mentioned that the Nazis tried to cover up the true nature of concentration camps but that the world still knew what was happening. It speaks volumes of horrid truth knowing that by actively trying to hide the evidence, Nazis were aware that their actions were heinous, yet they continued because they did not have consequences. I remember asking my dad about this when I was young, about why no one tried to stop it earlier if they knew what was happening. He said something along the lines of, "What did you expect people to do? Storm a camp full of armed soldiers?" That type of notion is exactly what enabled Nazis to continue.

Sometimes I challenge the notion of sin and wrongdoing if I am contemplating whether the person is cognizant of what defines sin and wrongdoing. But while reading Jewish Literacy, Telushkin teaches that concentration camps were not just meant to murder Jews but also to torture and humiliate them. There is not an uncognizant way to torture or humiliate someone, it is always deliberate. This was further asserted while I was reading a Short History of the Jewish People by Raymond Scheindlin. Jews were not a part of WWII, Jews were the entirety of WWII to Nazis. Scheindlin explains that Nazis were obsessed with Jews even while fighting a war on multiple fronts and controlling hostile areas. Jews were the priority for Hitler, even above world domination. 

It's just so, SO incredible to me how much of this was not even alluded to in history classes I took in school. So often were we told that WWII was simply a political war, one that promoted dictatorship and German ideology at the time and just so happened to target a certain population. We were taught it was a war of political tension between communism, tyranny, and democracy. We were taught that Hitler never explicitly expressed his hatred for Jews and thus it was not his main concern in the war. But things do not need to be explicitly expressed to be true. WWII was not a political war, it was a race war, and that is what needs to be explicitly expressed. Hitler may have been the leader of the genocide, but the silence of other countries is just as guilty. 

It reminds me of an elderly, upbeat German woman that often came through my line when I was a cashier at Safeway during college. She was kind and loved talking to people. There were more times than not when my coworker and I had to turn the light off at our registers while she happily chatted. Our managers weren't always happy about that, but you could tell she was lonely and just wanted to socialize with people. She only ever bought baguettes and I wonder if she ever actually ate them or if she bought them just so she could interact with people at the store. 

One day while chatting, the topic of WWII was brought up. She was telling my coworker and I that she was 17 when the war ended and she decided to immigrate to the US on her own. She mentioned that she was met with constant animosity by US citizens while they said things like, "How can you live with yourself knowing what you [Germany] did?" She told us that she never denied the truth of how her silence and voluntary oblivion proved to be fatal. But she also challenged them and would ask, "Where were you until you were dragged into the war? You're just as guilty as me [Germany], you knew what was happening."

She has a point. The rhetoric of, "It's not my problem," is the equivalent of, "I was just following orders." But I don't think US schools are ready to teach that.

I think a lot of the population, myself previously included, sees the Holocaust as a singular moment in history, confined between the years of 1933-1945, but the ripple effect is still going. While the Holocaust is a significant moment in history, it is incomprehensible how much significant Jewish history was lost during those years. How many lineages ended, how many precious moments erased, how much knowledge vanished, how drastically faith changed. Certainly, no one can deny that the Holocaust was a devastatingly inhumane tragedy, but I don't think every one comprehends just how horrific it was. I was once in that mind space of, "Wow that was sad, I'm glad it's not happening now." But I think when one starts to understand just how nefarious it was will one start seeing it from the perspective of a Jew.

That ripple is still strong. We can still speak to survivors and hear firsthand accounts of what happened; that's how fresh it is in history. When I was in high school not that many years ago, a Holocaust survivor visited our school to speak with us. Even from the back row of the auditorium, I could see the tattoo on his arm. Despite a survivor speaking candidly to us, the insensitive jokes could still be heard whispered amongst giggling students.

I'm unsure how related this is, but I wonder if the events of the Holocaust would seem more real and recent to people if the pictures were in color. I wonder if the pictures being in black and white make people today feel that it was not as recent as it is. I wonder how different students would feel in class if they opened their text books and saw the concentration camps in color or seeing a prisoner wearing the same colored shirt as themself.

My sister and I like driving around southern Virginia to visit antique stores and mom-and-pop shops. One day we're wandering around a huge antique store that was sectioned off based on the seller. Some sections were 19th century furniture, some were vintage kitchen appliances, some were original cameras, and so forth. I trailed off from my sister and found myself in the display case section of the store where the more expensive and sought after items were, as the signs claimed. I saw some jewelry, some first edition novels, an unfortunate amount of Confederate flags, and then I stopped in my tracks when I saw the display case of Nazi propaganda. Not just Hitler campaign posters and and German newspapers, but also parts of the uniforms. The swastika arm band, iron crosses, lugers, helmets, etc.. I thought maybe it was appealing to history buffs that collect these sort of things, but one of the store owners approached me asking if I wanted to see anything from the case. Despite saying no, he continued talking and told me how the condition of the items were near perfect and how these items had come from locals doing their spring cleaning. He kept telling me how sought after these items were and how he'd give me a good price if I was interested. He wasn't being a typical salesman trying to make a few bucks, he wanted to ensure it was going to be bought by someone that would proudly treasure it. That was just in southern Virginia, maybe a 2 hour drive from my apartment.

We have survivors with tattoos, witnesses who shop at Safeway, and hard evidence in display cases next to Confederate flags in antique stores, yet the world still has so many that ignore these facts and claim it was a hoax created by Jews. Jews can't even suffer at the hands of others without being accused of fabricating the suffering. These negationists don't see the pictures in black and white, they don't see it at all.

I think it's important to understand the difference between revision and denial. Thanksgiving is taught to have been a peaceful feast between indigenous Americans and pilgrims and how the two parties got along during history. After a revision of historical facts, I can now see that Thanksgiving is a false representation of the relationship between the two and is a glorification of colonization. Revisionism allows us to reinterpret history with logical, fair, and historically accurate interpretations. To negate history is to illigetimize and deny historical events.  And I'm not even going to try and understand why negationist historians exist, but what I will say is that it takes far more effort to deny the truth than to accept it.

One can easily and confidently say that negationist historians that deny the Holocaust are antisemitics at their core. To imply the Holocaust is a Jewish hoax is a modern attempt to cover up the true events by gaslighting others into believing it never happened.

Spoiler alerts for The Lost Shtetl**

It reminds me of a novel I recently read, The Lost Shtetl, which I may have referenced in earlier entries. In case I didn't reference it earlier:

"For decades, the tiny Jewish shtetl of Kreskol existed in happy isolation, virtually untouched and unchanged. Spared by the Holocaust and the Cold War, its residents enjoyed remarkable peace. It missed out on cars, and electricity, and the internet, and indoor plumbing. But when a marriage dispute spins out of control, the whole town comes crashing into the twenty-first century."

Part of the plot is that the modern world becomes fascinated with Kreskol because they cannot fathom how a village remained untouched from modern history. It quickly becomes a tourist destination and the Polish government starts modernizing the village with roads, taxes, a post office, plumbing, etc. despite strong opposition from part of the village. The story of Kreskol becomes an international sensation until a random Polish man states, with no evidence, that Kreskol is a hoax created by Jews as a publicity stunt for attention. He repeatedly states that the existence of Kreskol is impossible because there was no way the Nazis could have overlooked them. He gains a following and many others begin to object. So much so, that an investigation of the village begins. The soil is tested for modern chemicals, the citizens of Kreskol are interrogated, and the synagogue's archives are audited. The man partakes in the interrogtions and speaks condescendingly to the Jew in question or twists their words to fit his rhetoric. 

Despite the soil showing no modern alteration or chemicals, or the citizens proving their existence was not forged, and the archives being authentic on sheepskin written in traditional Yiddish, the government declares Kreskol a hoax. The cease all funding and withdraw all association with Kreskol. Kreskol's economy is left in ruins, it's original residents in despair, faith is broken, and trespassers spray painting swastikas on original infrastructures.

The Jewish village was used and exploited when convenient and then became a target of hate when one antisemite presented a baseless argument. The book is an unfortunately accurate representation of how antisemitism does not require reason, just a Jewish target. It's a great book, I highly recommend.

Despite all of the resources I read before writing this entry, I do not feel wary or discouraged to proudly embrace Judaism. I do not feel that hate from others would risk my personal relationship with God and the Jewish community. Some may ask why I have chosen to find my way back home to Judaism if "God is so cruel to Jews," and to that I will conclude this entry with a quote from When Bad Things Happen to God People by Harold Kushner:

"The painful things that happen to us are no punishments for our misbehaviors, nor are they in any way part of some grand design on God's part. Because the tragedy is not God's will, we need not feel hurt or betrayed by God when tragedy strikes. We can turn to Him for help in overcoming it, precisely because we can tell ourselves that God is as outraged by it as we are."

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This entry kind of jumped all over the place and I'm sure it is all things you have heard before, but there was so much that I read that I didn't know before. The keyboard couldn't really keep up with my thoughts. I'm sure I'll revisit this topic, hopefully with more structure.