Entries in the 'Anti-Semitism' Category

“American Jewry Should Stay Out of Israel’s Internal Affairs” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “American Jewry Should Stay Out of Israel’s Internal Affairs

The results of the general election in Israel are very difficult to swallow for many American Jews. Not only did they prefer Yair Lapid to Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister, they loathe Netanyahu’s likely coalition partners. The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman was explicit about it, writing, “The Israel we know is gone,” and “Lord save us if this [Right leaning government] is a harbinger of what’s coming our way [to America].” He also stated that every Jewish student who supports Israel and every Zionist American Jew will have to rethink their support, and every Israel supporting politician will dread being interviewed about Israel.

Friedman is not alone. In the weeks and months leading up to the election, Jewish American organizations poured millions of dollars into the Arab society in Israel to encourage them to vote in order to weaken Israel’s Right, since they vote for Arab and anti-Zionist or Islamist parties. Sami Abu Shehadeh, leader of the Israeli Arab anti-Zionist Islamist party Balad, asked in dismay during an interview [in Hebrew] on Israel’s Channel 13: “Why would an American Jew, who doesn’t understand us [Arabs], who doesn’t know where we live, pour millions of dollars into building all kinds of mechanisms to raise the voting percentage—busses, phone calls, people going door to door, etc.”

The answer to Abu Shehadeh’s question is clear and simple: They did this to prevent the State of Israel from democratically electing a government according to the will of the majority of the people. The truth is that the majority of American Jews think only about making their lives in America calmer and more convenient. For them, Israel is a pain in the neck. They want an Israeli government that aligns itself with American interests, at the expense of its own. This is how the majority of American Jews feel about Israel, and anyone who says otherwise is, well, a politician.

I want to be clear about this: American Jews have no right to interfere with internal affairs in Israel, certainly not in the results of the election. They do not live in Israel; they are not responsible for what is happening here, and they do not have Israel’s best interest in mind, only their own.

There is an oft-cited argument that because American Jews donate to Israel, they deserve to have a say in Israel’s affairs. If it were up to me, I would ban all money transfers from America to Israel, no donations, and no support. We will do just fine without it. Only those who live here should have a say in who runs the country.

Besides, Israel’s position in the world and the way that non-Jewish Americans relate to Israel and to Jews in America has nothing to do with the identity of Israel’s prime minister. Israel’s status is determined by the level of Israel’s internal cohesion. The more united Israeli society is, the more it garners the world’s support.

Through their donations, American Jews increase division in the Israeli society, leading to more hatred of Israel and antisemitism in their own country and around the world. By trying to work only for its own interest, American Jewry is producing the very result it is trying to avoid: intensification of antisemitism. As is always the case with Jews, we have no enemies other than our own selfishness.
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“A Nation that Is Not a Nation” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “A Nation that Is Not a Nation

A week before the general election that was held this Tuesday, the newspapers Israel Hayom and Haaretz published two separate surveys, both concluding that contrary to the common perception of Israelis as preoccupied with problems of defense and terror, they are actually troubled by the cost of living. Of course, governability (huge parts of the country being terrorized by Bedouin and Arab mobs), Iran’s nuclear program, and social fragmentation are also major concerns, but people are deeply troubled by the fact that some basic products at the supermarket have simply become unaffordable.

I must admit; these are not my concerns. I have one, and only one concern. It is not that I do not feel the pain of rising costs or do not worry about terror. However, I feel that we will not solve any of our problems before we solve a far more fundamental problem: We are not a nation. We call ourselves the Israeli nation and say that Israel is our country, our homeland, but we are not a nation, nor do we feel like one.

To be a nation, we must have a minimal level of national solidarity, a sense that we share a common fate and certain common values or beliefs. Currently, there is nothing that holds the factions of the nation together.

There is only one solution to our problem: To drop all discourse on any matter, as urgent as it may seem, and focus on one and only topic: Fostering national unity. This is not true for all the nations, but for the Israeli nation, it is critical for our survival.

Because our nation was originally founded by people who came from different countries, nations, and cultures, there was nothing to hold us together but the conviction that unity is a value in and of itself, and in fact a value that is more noble than any other value. Moreover, our ancestors joined the Israeli nation in the first place because it placed unity above all other values, and our ancestors sympathized with the idea.

Because our ancestors came from all the nations of the world and forged a new nation based on unity, they became a model for world unity, an example that everyone could sympathize with and follow, since their own representatives were among the members of this novel nation. This is why we were given the mission of bringing about Tikkun Olam (world correction) by setting an example of unity and solidarity above differences.

But we abandoned our unity, and in so doing, abandoned the one thing that had made us a nation. Since we began to hate each other for no cause, we ceased to be a nation. This division was, is, and always will be our first and foremost problem. In fact, it is our only problem.

I hope that the new government will have a solid enough basis, and the required courage to forge an initiative to unite the Israeli nation above all its factions and fractions. If we succeed, we will not be troubled by high cost of living, by enemies who want to destroy us, or by any of the problems that have haunted us since we succumbed to hatred two millennia ago.

* For more on the importance of Israel’s unity, read my book The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, and my ‎latest publication: New Antisemitism: Mutation of a Long-lived Hatred.‎
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“The Other Side of the Coin” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “The Other Side of the Coin

A few weeks ago, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented an extremely rare 2000-year-old coin that was stolen and smuggled out of Israel, and returned following an intelligence operation by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York. The date on the silver quarter shekel coin is that of the fourth year of the Jewish Great Revolt (66-73 CE) against the Roman Empire. These days, when even organizations that are part of the United Nations deny Israel’s historic connection to Jerusalem, this coin proves it undeniably. Regrettably, no one cares about the truth, and declarations about Israel’s “invasion” into Palestine will continue, since historic truth has nothing to do with politics.

Two hundred years ago, there were no people who defined themselves as Palestinians and demanded sovereignty, much less two thousand years ago. However, this will do nothing to reverse the charges against Israel. No one will take notice of the little coin or treat it as a proof.

The root of the problem is not whether we were here or not, or whether or not the world recognizes our historic connection to the land of Israel. Regardless of history, the world does not want us here, or anywhere else, and this is why it treats us this way. If it did not hate us, we would not need to prove that we belong here. Since it hates us, no proof will help us win the world’s favor.

Humanity’s subconscious complaint against us is that we do not belong here because we are not doing what we are supposed to do, what the people of Israel were intended to do and were obligated to give to the world. Since we are not fulfilling our duty to the world, the world does not feel that we should be here or that we should be regarded as the authentic people of Israel.

Even if most people cannot articulate their grievances against us, they feel that we are not carrying out our mission; they do not understand why the world needs us, the eternal pariahs. If we did what we should, they would feel it and would immediately embrace us.

Our great “sin,” for which we are denounced throughout the world, is indeed surprising. It pertains not to how we should treat other nations, but to how we should treat one another, our fellow Jews.

For the most part, only our sages and spiritual leaders knew that our negative attitude to one another is the root cause of our problems. In every generation, they stressed that only unity and love of others would save us from adversity. They warned that unless we unite, disasters would befall us at the hands of villains from among the nations.

Our sages also made unity our motto. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is our brainchild, as are mutual responsibility, leaving part of our crops for the poor, and many other social laws. In fact, the whole concept of Tikkun Olam (correction of the world) that Jews are often concerned with stems from the notion that we have the power to make the world a better place, and that the way to achieve this is through unity.

However, what we tend to forget is that to achieve unity, the world needs a lighthouse, a beacon that sets the course. In other words, we tend to forget that we should lead the world not by preaching about unity and love of others, but by living it out among ourselves. When we tell the world we love our neighbors, yet uninhibitedly deride our fellow Jews and show them nothing but disdain, we lose all credibility.

Worse yet, because our nation was made to be a model nation, the example that the world takes from us is how we treat each other. Currently, it is an example of hatred and division. In such a state, we bring no Tikkun (correction) to the world, but only strife and sorrow.

When we stop trying to prove that we belong here, and begin to earn our presence through our efforts to unite, the world will finally believe us. If we embrace each other, the world will embrace us. If we do not, the world will punish us just as it has been doing whenever we abandon our unity.
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“Debunking the Myth of Jewish Wisdom” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “Debunking the Myth of Jewish Wisdom

Jews have a reputation of being smart. Indeed, if you look at the list of Nobel Prize laureates, you will notice that Jewish sounding names are far more common than their share of the world’s population. There is also the famous wisdom of King Solomon, who was regarded as the wisest of men. However, if you examine the chronicles of the Jewish people and our conduct as a nation, you will find that we march from folly to folly, and never seem to learn, as if our wisdom has remained with King Solomon, and all we have is talent for math, science, and finances.

On Sunday, former president Donald Trump criticized American Jewry for their attitude toward Israel. He wrote that they must “get their act together” and show more appreciation for the state of Israel “before it is too late.”

Trump did not specify what he meant by “too late,” but Jewish history makes it very clear what that might be, although I cannot be certain that this is what Trump meant. Jewish history proves one thing, and if we were wiser, we would learn from it: When we are together, united as one, we thrive. When we are divided, we suffer. Accordingly, “getting our act together” means restoring our shattered unity and transcending the alienation between us.

Our history confirms that Jews are a nation on a mission to correct the world; this is why our motto is Tikkun Olam (correction of the world). We did not choose it; it was imposed on us.

However, we were chosen for a reason: We did what no one else has done before we established our nationhood, or since. The Jewish nation emerged from an eclectic mixture of strangers from foreign tribes and nations who had one thing in common: the conviction that living in unity and solidarity is the only viable way for humanity to exist. This is why we placed love of others above all other values.

Because unity of all people is indeed the most sublime value, we were tasked with spreading it. Since there were times when we achieved it, such as at the foot of Mt. Sinai and at other rare occasions and periods in our history, we were also tasked with setting an example, with being a model nation, a “light to the nations.”

In time, however, we have abandoned our mission and discarded our core values. Instead of being a light to the nations, we have become a darkness to the nations, setting a model of division, or as our sages called it sinaat hinam (unfounded hatred, hatred for no reason).

I respect Donald Trump and I respect his words because he respects our unity. His gut feeling that Jews should stick together does not stem from antisemitism; nor are they an attempt to play into antisemitic tropes, as some of his critics argue. Rather, his words stem from a conviction that this is the way Jews should treat one another, that Jewish unity is good for the Jews and good for the world.

He is absolutely right. Our insistence on distinguishing between American Jewry and the State of Israel works against us. Rather than mitigate antisemitism in America, this division is the very reason that antisemitism is growing.

Regardless of Israel’s actions or of the actions of American Jewry, the very fact that Jews are divided among themselves fuels the world’s anger against them because it is the opposite example of the one they should give.

At the moment, the chasm between American Jewry and Israel seems wider than the ocean that lies between us. The two communities are like two continents moving farther and farther apart. Unless we get our act together, just as Trump said, and pull together as one nation, above the alienation and hatred between us, a modern Hitler of some sort will rise and do to us what our detractors have done to us throughout our millennia of Jewish folly.

“Cajoling Jew-Haters Does Not Abate Antisemitism” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Cajoling Jew-Haters Does Not Abate Antisemitism

Earlier this week, I wrote about the new report by the policy planning think tank Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) that revealed the depth of antisemitism on the Left and how dangerous it is. In that post, I intentionally left out the most troubling part of the report, which it defined as “Jewish communal disunity.” Our worst enemy is not this or that person who hates Jews; our worst enemy is our own hatred for each other.

According to the report, much of the Jewish establishment urged the Biden administration to make ‎‎the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism a national priority, in line with most western countries and the official policy of the UN. However, while this was happening, “key progressive Jewish ‎groups lobbied the administration against its adoption.” Moreover, “Jewish anti-Zionists play ‎increasingly prominent roles in left-wing policy and discourse arenas.”

During the Spanish Inquisition, our worst detractors and persecutors were former Jews. In the 1930s, there were German Jews and Jewish organizations that joined the Third Reich and fully endorsed its racist ideology and policy against Jews. There have always been Jews who joined Jew-haters, thinking that by doing so, they will save their skins. It has always made things worse for the Jews, much worse.

In fact, the majority of arguments that antisemites use against Jews come to them from self-hating Jews. They provide Jew-haters with ammunition in the form of arguments against Jews, advise them how to use it against Jews effectively, and chant along with them their venomous slogans. Self-hating Jews portray Jew-haters as victims in order to justify their antisemitism and their violence against Jews.

Hoping to win the hearts of our enemies, antisemitic Jews become more sinister and malicious toward Jews than any non-Jew antisemite could ever be. Gentile antisemites feel a visceral anger toward us. Jewish antisemites make hating Jews an ideological issue, and ideologies are those responsible for genocides, not gut hatred.

I can understand the hatred of some Jews for their own people. It is not easy being born into a group that is always held responsible for everything that is wrong with the world. However, joining the ranks of the detractors does not relieve us from our duty. On the contrary, it only deepens the haters’ loathing and makes them more aggressive.

The only cure to Jew-hatred is for Jews to care for one another. The gut feeling of antisemites that the Jews are responsible for the problems in the world is correct, but self-hatred among Jews does not save the haters, it exacerbates the hatred of non-Jews. The “fault” of the Jews is not that they are harming the world on purpose, but that they are divided, contrary to their mission—to be a model of unity.

There is a reason why our Hebrew ancestors conceived such sublime notions as mutual responsibility, charity, mercy, and loving others as ourselves. They not only envisioned these ideas, they also tried to live them out. When they succeeded, our nation thrived; when they failed, our nation suffered.

Possibly the worst antisemite in American history, Henry Ford, inserted many phrases in his antisemitic compilation, The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem, which seem to contradict his anti-Jewish narrative. Among them is this intriguing statement: ‎“Modern reformers, who are constructing model social systems, … would do ‎well to look into the social system under which the early Jews were organized.”

We, too, must return to our roots, to the ideology that had fashioned us into a nation. We must strive to love each other above all our differences and all the hatred that may surface between us. Only when we unite are we a model nation. Therefore, only when we unite does the world embrace us.

Any division among us, for whatever reason, aggravates antisemitism because division among us contradicts the calling and mission of our people. The gut feeling that antisemites feel will change from hate to love no sooner than when we rise above our division and unite despite our mutual abhorrence.

For more on antisemitism and its history, read my books, New Antisemitism: Mutation of a Long-lived Hatred, and The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism.
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“A Hard Awakening – There Is Antisemitism on the Left” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “A Hard Awakening – There Is Antisemitism on the Left

The 2022 report by the policy planning think tank Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), titled Annual Assessment: The Situation and Dynamics of the Jewish People, has revealed many things about the current state of world Jewry. Particularly, it has acknowledged a painful truth: While there is antisemitism on the Right, there is more of it on the Left, it is more sinister, and more institutionalized. Now we can talk about the peril that lurks for the Jews in the “enlightened” Left.

It may be surprising but the US, France, the UK, and Germany, certainly among the strongholds of democracy, are also today’s most active hotbeds of antisemitism. This is true not only in terms of antisemitic attacks, but also, and perhaps mainly, in terms of ideological justification for hatred of Jews, the Jewish state, and excommunicating them from the circles of society.

For example, the report talks about “Normalization of the antisemitic discourse,” where “Antisemitic discourse is becoming normalized and is penetrating mainstream national politics on university campuses and on the street,” with “a clear rise in anti-Israel or anti-Zionist expressions from progressive groups that have significantly crossed into antisemitic territory.”

Worse yet, “Identity politics in the progressive discourse places Jews into the ‘oppressors’ camp (white skin color, social privilege, and power). On this basis, Jewish support for Israel is sometimes equated with complicity with racist policies.”

Western Europe, too, is experiencing “progressive” antisemitism. In France, Muslims and progressives rise above the ideological chasm between them and unite for the “noble” cause of bashing Israel and Jews. “The growing recognition of the cardinal role of Islamist antisemitism in the resurgence of Judeophobia is challenged by ‘woke’ ideology and the intersectionality movement, which jumped from academic theory into left-wing political activism,” details the report. “This ideology incorporates a post-modern corpus of theories, a fusion of the Frankfurt school’s neo-Marxist ideas and the ‘French theory’ that garnered considerable academic truck (sic) in the United States beginning in the 1980s. The common fight against imperialism, colonialism, capitalism, and widespread class stratification has thus manifested itself in a convergence of struggles between the radical left and radical Islam, and has in some cases translated into virulent antisemitism.”

Across the channel, the UK is experiencing its own wave of woke antisemitism. “Jewish communities perceive a lack of support in combating antisemitic phenomena,” says the report, “particularly within progressive left circles. British Jews grapple with a frequently imposed framing of Jews in progressive discourse. This framing is an obstacle to fighting antisemitism and contributes significantly to failures to recognize and stand against antisemitism among the broader left.”

I am glad that the cloak of civility has been lifted, or is at least beginning to be lifted from the face of the Left. The “civilized” and “enlightened” nations have always been our worst oppressors. This was true in antiquity, when Babel demolished the first Kingdom of Israel, and Rome demolished the second. It was also true in the late Middle Ages with the Spanish Inquisition, and in the previous century with Germany’s Third Reich.

As the report details, public figures on the Left do not portray themselves as antisemitic. Instead, they disguise their venom behind highbrow contentions of injustice to Palestinians, migrants, people of color, underprivileged population groups, gender equality, and everything and anything related to identity politics. However, the implicit, and sometimes explicit culprit will almost always somehow turn out to be Jewish, the Jews as a whole, or the Jewish state.

This is not antisemitism from the street, from the populace; it is institutional antisemitism, antisemitism as a policy and as a political instrument. Antisemitism from the street is violent, and can be homicidal. Institutional antisemitism is suave, and can be genocidal.

Besides noting the rising antisemitism on the Left, the report also notes the disunity within the Jewish community, particularly with regard to dealing with antisemitism. I will address this issue in one of my coming posts, but I should point out here that joining the ranks of the Left will not save Jews from the whip when it lashes. Now that it is clear that antisemitism is spreading through all parts of society, and especially in democratic countries, it is time for Jewish unity as an antidote for Jew-hatred.

You can find more on contemporary antisemitism and its history in my books, New Antisemitism: Mutation of a Long-lived Hatred, and The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism.
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“Why does it seem like most of the world hates Israel?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: Why does it seem like most of the world hates Israel?

Whether we know it or not, we in Israel are in a game—that we need to receive blows, and to be treated badly until we straighten out properly toward the upper force. Then, the evil against us will invert into good.

The upper force—a force of bestowal, love and connection that we call “the Creator” (Heb. “Boreh”), “nature” (“HaTeva”), “upper light” (“Ohr Elyon”), and several other names—currently does not like us, because we are not living up to our role in the world.

On one hand, those who are pro-Israel like to tell themselves that Israel is among the top countries in several areas such as humanitarian support, technology, medicine and science, but on the other hand, we see that despite Israel’s achievements in these areas, the general attitude from the world toward Israel continues worsening and thus it is not worthwhile convincing ourselves of our seeming righteousness.

Our many corporeal achievements fail to nail what the upper force ultimately wants from us, which is to positively connect with other Jews in the world. Positively connecting means reaching a state where the love of Israel dwells among us upon all of our differences and divisions.

While we differ on many issues, we need to override them with the upper sentence, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” regardless of who is right or wrong. Such love is due to us all belonging to a single nation that was founded on the idea of the love of Israel. Moreover, the more poignant our differences, the more we should be elevating love over them, as it is written, “Love will cover all crimes.” In other words, even though hatred dwells between us, we should nonetheless each try to develop a sense of love toward each other. We would then start understanding how the world consists of two opposite forces—positive and negative—and how to work with them.

To be good in the eyes of the upper force means showing our love to each other, helping each other develop ties of love, and by doing so, become a conduit for the upper force of love, giving and connection to spread throughout the world. If we conducted ourselves accordingly, then the hatred toward us would subside, and in its place would emerge a great love and reverence for a nation that brings an immense positive unifying force into the world. It would also help the world feel that the Jewish nation is a very special and unique part in the functioning of the general nature of the world.

Based on the video “Why Does it Seem Like Most of the World Hates Israel?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

“Nine UC Berkeley Law Students Sign Illegal Bylaw” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “Nine UC Berkeley Law Students Sign Illegal Bylaw

Antisemitism is racism, which is illegal in the United States. Anti-Zionism, that is, “targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity,” according to the US government, is a manifestation of antisemitism, and therefore illegal. Yet, this did not stop nine student groups at the UC Berkeley law school from signing an openly racist statement against Zionists, anyone who supports them, and the State of Israel collectively. The nine organizations pledge to ban “speakers that have expressed and continued to hold views … in support of Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel, and the occupation of Palestine,” and to support the BDS movement. They signed it, purportedly for the purpose of “protecting the safety and welfare of Palestinian students.”

You could argue that nine student organizations out of more than a hundred that exist in UC Berkeley’s law school is a small minority, but only a few years ago, the very idea of composing such a statement would have been unthinkable, let alone signing it.

Also, if you consider that even though antisemitism is illegal in the US, no one has taken any measures against these groups, other than condemning them, and that, too, was voiced mainly by Jews, it is clear that antisemitic views are far more prevalent under the surface. If this trend continues, and it seems to be accelerating, it will not be long before the observation of Berkeley Law alum Kenneth Marcus comes true, that the incident is a sign of “ university spaces go[ing] as the Nazis’ infamous call, judenfrei. Jewish-free.”

When I spoke to students in California in 2004 and warned them that this is where things were going, they did not believe me. When I spoke in 2014 to organizations trying to fight against antisemitism on US campuses, and warned them that this is where things were going, they did not believe me. Now they are alarmed that it is happening, but they still resist the only solution to their plight: their own unity.

It needs to be said in plain words: If American Jewry does not unite, and unity may well begin with Jewish students, the demand to make Berkeley Zionist-free will spread throughout the country. The demand will not confine itself to banning explicit Zionists, but also those who might be covert supporters of Zionism, namely all the Jews.

Just as Spain expelled all the Jews because it suspected them of secretly aspiring to convert Christians to Judaism, anyone who supports, or might support Zionism will become a suspect, and therefore an outcast. Just as it did not help the Jews to declare, sincerely by the way, that they were not trying to convert Christians, it will not help American Jews to state that they do not support Zionism or the State of Israel.

Antisemitism is already omnipresent in the “Land of the Free.” If an Arab student shows support for Palestine, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, or any other explicitly Muslim country, that support is fiercely protected by human rights groups and by university faculty and administration as a legitimate expression of free speech. But on campuses, that same right is denied of Jewish students who support Israel; they are afraid not only to show support for the Jewish state, but even to identify as Jews or wear Jewish insignia such as the Star of David.

The best lesson that Jewish students should learn is why they are hated. They feel that they did nothing wrong, but this is clearly not the view of many of their peers, and many more are joining their indicters. The cycle of Jewish history has not changed since the inception of the nation: They are welcome, tolerated, hated, and finally expelled (or exterminated) everywhere they go.

The only antidote to Jew-hatred is Jewish unity—not against antisemitism, but caring for the sake of caring. Solidarity has been our only source of strength, since our vocation is to show exemplary unity, mutual responsibility, and caring for others as ourselves.

Our strength is in our unity because the universe is a united entity, and only people feel apart. The Jewish people became a nation when they managed to unite above their separation and become similar to the rest of nature; this is why they were tasked with being an example.

Since then, humanity has fixed its eyes on us and follows our example. When we are apart, we are willy-nilly an example of division, so the world accuses us of inciting conflicts. When we are united, we are an example of unity, so the world embraces us.

This is the message I have been trying to convey to Jewish students in America since 2004. If they embrace the message and unite, it will be the most valuable lesson they will ever learn, and the world will thank them for it.
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“Reflections on Self-Hatred” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “Reflections on Self-Hatred

One of the things that election campaigns in Israel highlight is self-hatred. Some parties in the Israeli parliament are overtly and explicitly anti-Zionist. That is, they oppose the very existence of the Jewish state. The fact that they even exist proves more than anything the freedom of expression that exists in Israel, but what is truly unique is the fact that there are quite a few Jews among the leaders of these parties. They support terrorists and terrorism, deny Israel’s right to defend its civilians, mourn the loss of every terrorist, and do not mourn the death of unarmed civilians in terrorist attacks.

In any other country, they would be considered traitors. In Israel, they continue to express themselves freely and openly in the name of free speech, and the State of Israel does not feel it has the right to stop them.

For Jews, this type of self-hatred is nothing new. In the days of the Third Reich, some Jews were just as avid about the Nazi ideology as the German Nazis. In the days of the Spanish Inquisition, there were Jews and former Jews who personally persecuted Jews. In the days of the Great Revolt, the commander of the Roman army that destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple was Jewish, and the list goes on and on.

Self-hatred goes hand in hand with Judaism from its inception because the Jewish people were founded in order to correct the world. We invented the term Tikkun Olam (correction of the world), and to this day, we debate over its meaning. That is, we still feel that we must partake in the correction of the world, but we are unsure as to how we should go about it, or what correction of the world even means.

When a Jew hates Jews, it is not so much hatred for the Jews, as it is denial of one’s personal responsibility, an attempt to avoid the obligation to partake in the correction of the world.

However, just as Prophet Jonah could not run away from his vocation to save the gentile city of Nineveh, the Jews cannot escape from their vocation to save the world. The Book of Jonah became the centerpiece of the closing prayer on the Jewish Day of Atonement precisely in order to remind us of our calling.

The nations, for their part, hate us because they feel dependent on us. This is why they blame us for their woes. They may not understand how we are meant to ease their hardships, but they sense that it is our responsibility.

They are right; their woes are our responsibility. Tikkun Olam depends on our behavior. However, it does not depend on our behavior toward them, but toward each other. We did not become a nation until we pledged to love each other “as one man with one heart.” Only once we accomplished this, we were tasked with being “a light to the nations.”

In other words, all we have to do is unite among us as one man with one heart, and that will make us a light to the nations. Our responsibility to the world is to unite among ourselves.

As our history of self-hatred proves, this is far easier said than done. The last thing we want is another episode of Jews slaughtering Jews, as it happened in Jerusalem before the Jewish commander of the Roman army marched in to finish the destruction of the city.

Yet, we cannot escape our calling. Jew-hatred exists because Jews hate each other. When Jews turn away from Jews and toward their enemies, it does not appease our enemies; it intensifies their hatred even more because by hating each other and loving our enemies, we move further away from unity and deeper into division. Our only escape from antisemitism is internal unity. The cure for antisemitism does not lie in anything other than in Jews curing their hatred for each other.

“New Antisemitism: Mutation of a Long-lived Hatred” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “New Antisemitism: Mutation of a Long-lived Hatred

After publishing The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, I felt that while the explanations in it covered the history of the Jewish people, the book did not address current expressions of the oldest hatred. In light of the exponential rise in antisemitism since the turn of the century, the need to publish such a composition became increasingly urgent. Now, thanks to the great efforts of Norma Livne, the editor in chief of my latest book, the picture is complete.

New Antisemitism: Mutation of a Long-Lived Hatred not only covers the myriad exhibitions of antisemitism around the world, it also details a unique solution that derives directly from the ancient wisdom of our sages.

Current solutions focus on curbing displays of Jew-hatred or fighting it on the legal arena and on social media platforms. However, the results speak for themselves: These methods do not work. At best, they are slowing down overt displays of antisemitism, but they are fighting a losing battle. Already, antisemitism, a taboo until only a few years ago, has become mainstream, a legitimate topic of discussion.

New Antisemitism suggests an additional approach, a more proactive one, to complement the arsenal of weapons against antisemitism. Relying on the legacy of our sages, the book celebrates the power Jewish inner solidarity as an antidote to Jew-hatred. It suggests a revolutionary idea: The world hates Jews only as much as Jews hate one another.

In a reality of escalating violence against Jews on one hand, and Jewish helplessness against it on the other hand, this idea provides a feasible and powerful solution, which requires nothing but resolve on the part of the Jews. For this reason, I believe that New Antisemitism: Mutation of a Long-Lived Hatred is a must-read for anyone who seeks to defeat the indefatigable nature of this social virus, and is willing to employ its long-overlooked, practically free solution that lives in the heart of every Jew, namely Jewish unity.

I wish to convey my deepest gratitude to all the editors, proofreaders, designers, researchers, and everyone who helped in publishing the book for their hard work, and for making it into a composition that can benefit all of humanity, and first and foremost, the Jewish people. They put their heart and soul into the work, and I believe that the world can be a better place thanks to their efforts.
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