New Life 1207 – The Evolution Of Anti-Semitism
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

Anti-Semitism derives from the feeling that there is an opposite, altruistic characteristic within Jews that is not in others. “Israel” aims for the positive higher force that exists in nature in contrast to humanity, which aims for the egoistic, negative force. A “Jew” is not a nationality but the awakening of a point within a person that draws him toward the positive force of nature. The whole of humanity feels no attraction toward unification and therefore feels a gap, a rift, between it and the Jews. Each and every nation has its own feeling of anti-Semitism about the Jews according to its root and its level of egoistic development. It is up to the Jews to connect with love and to provide the world with a model for a new life.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 1207 – The Evolution Of Anti-Semitism,” 2/11/20

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Coronavirus and Anti-Semitism

Question: Until recently, you dealt with problems of anti-Semitism, you wrote articles and books on this topic. Suddenly there is this virus, and now you are more engaged in explaining where this blow comes from. Why?

Answer: No, I am not particularly engaged with the virus. I understand why it was given to us. This is a fairly simple task. It cannot be resolved as anti-Semitism where it is necessary to explain everything on an ideological level.

Question: Is there any connection between what is happening now and anti-Semitism?

Answer: There soon will be. Soon Jews will be accused of deliberately launching this virus through China and Iran, that is, through their detractors.

Comment: It already is in the Iranian media.

My Response: In Iran, this is understandable. Soon it will be all over the news and people will talk about it. However, there are a lot of things we can do. That is when I will start explaining the reasons for anti-Semitism again.

For now it is very difficult to explain to people the connection between the virus and the Jews, between their historical role and the egoistic connection of different nations.
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From KabTV’s “Coronavirus Is Changing Reality,” 4/12/20

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The Times of Israel published my new article “Anti-Semitism: The Virus Break Is Over”

Before COVID-19 took over the world by storm, the newspapers were very often focused on the spreading global anti-Semitism. The coronavirus put people on survival mode, and when you’re busy saving your life and the lives of your loved ones, there is little energy to hate.

But now, it seems, the hiatus from anti-Semitism is almost over and Jew-hatred is returning. It was obvious from the get go that Jews shouldn’t pin their hopes on the superbug to spare them the wrath of the nations, but seeing the return of anti-Semitism even before the peak of the pandemic, is certainly cause for concern.

As pundits and environmentalists around the world have been asserting day and night, the outbreak is a product of our egoism. Our greed, profiteering, and exploitation of nature and each other have depleted Earth’s resources, driven animals from their natural habitats and into unhealthy proximity to humans, and pushed tens of millions of people below the income threshold that allows for maintaining proper health. This is a breeding ground for germs of all sorts, a biological bomb waiting to explode.

In simple terms, our ego has depleted the planet, pushed it off balance, and now the planet is taking back the helm and restoring balance, at our expense. It is not revenge, but an act of restoring balance.

Blame the CEO

If the coronavirus taught us anything, it is that we cannot keep dancing only to the tune of our egos; we have got to balance it. Yet, how do we do that?

I elaborated extensively on answering this question in my books Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour and in my latest publication, The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism: Historical facts on anti-Semitism as a reflection of Jewish social discord. Succinctly, anti-Semites blame us for all that’s wrong with the world since they feel that we control the world, so anything that’s wrong with it, it is because of us. In the same way you blame the CEO of a company when it does not perform well, anti-Semites blame the Jews when the world does not perform well. Today, according to the ADL and many other NGOs monitoring Jew-hatred, a great, and growing number of people in the world are anti-Semitic. Couple that with the fact that the world has thrown a pandemic on humanity and you have a perfect storm threatening to explode on the heads of the Jews worldwide.

The odd voices on the fringes of the Left and the Right shrieking that the Jews are to blame for everything are the droplets that come before the rain. But the clouds in the very near horizon are dark, heavy, and truly menacing.

Finding Shelter in Each Other

The Jews have not run out of time. The hiatus isn’t over yet. Their shelter, as always, is in their unity. This is, always has been, and always will be their canopy, their shelter from the storm. Every Jewish leader since the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has urged Jews to unite in order to avert affliction.

However, especially today, our unity cannot be for our own sake. We are not the only ones who need unity; the whole world needs it. We, Israel, are blamed for the destruction of the world by egoism; therefore, we are the ones who must show the way out of it by uniting above our own. If we unite and become a role model of unity, we will be the modern version of “a light unto nations,” the exemplar that the world needs today.

With the world’s enslavement to egoism, who better than us can lead the way to freedom in the days of Passover? If we unite in order to help each other rise above our egos, this is the only example that the world needs to see. This is why unity is so precious to us and why it is our only hope.
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From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 3/31/20

The resurgence of anti-Semitism on the fringes of society marks the onset a new wave of Jew-hatred. Anti-Semitism does not develop linearly, but in waves, each one higher than the former. Therefore, we should expect the wave that’s coming now to be stronger, crueler, and more pervasive than even the wave that struck before the outbreak of COVID-19. Our protection against it is, has been, and always will be unity, but for the purpose of setting an example of unity, not for the purpose of saving ourselves.

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Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Prof. Stephen Bronner, co-director of the International Council for Diplomacy and Dialogue and the author of A Rumor About the Jews: Anti-Semitism, Conspiracy, and the Protocols of Zion seek the optimal way to balance society.

Two forces operate reality: positive and negative. The negative force is the continuously evolving human ego—a desire to enjoy at the expense of others. It develops naturally, and while erupting, causes crises and disintegration. The positive force is one of love and bestowal, an altruistic force. It becomes revealed in positive human connections. We subconsciously yearn for altruism, but we face manifestations of the ego around us.

How can we get rid of our ego?

We shouldn’t get rid of anything. Both altruism and egoism, love and hatred, are necessary for our development. Humanity has to find a conscious balance between these two forces, and the wisdom of Kabbalah tells us how.

We exist under the laws of nature, and thus are subject to them. Therefore, if people create such an attitude to hatred and love where one covers the other (“love covers all transgressions”), they will build a structure that will fit the integral system of nature, and according to equivalence of form with nature, reach perfect and complete balance.

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The Times of Israel published my new article “How to Transform Anti-Semitism in US Campuses into Healthy Dialogue”

“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lay down with the kid.” (Isaiah 11:6)

The seeds of anti-Semitism are being methodically planted and harvested on US campuses. American universities have become epicenters of Jew-hatred dressed as so-called “legitimate criticism” of Israel and its policies. Instead of being places for ideological progress and enlightenment, US colleges and universities have been transformed into hotbeds of fundamentalist political agendas of vicious anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli sentiment sponsored by special interest groups.

Pro-BDS activists claim that adopting the definition of anti-Zionism as a form of anti-Semitism, as marked by The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), infringes on free speech. The same claim was leveled—including from Jewish groups—against President Trump’s executive order to limit federal funding to universities accused of discriminating against the Jewish nation.

However, if we delve deeper, we will find out that there is a very thin line that separates between free speech and anarchy. This line is a quality of our very human nature and we should understand it well so we can use it properly and succeed in establishing unbiased educational institutions and healthy societies.

Ego, the Root Cause of Hatred

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the material of creation in all its stages and parts is the will to receive enjoyment. This will to receive is inherent to human nature and there is nothing other than it in the world. As opposed to the inanimate, vegetative and animal levels of nature, which behave instinctively, humans are ruled by the ego: the will to receive at the expense of others. This same ego, if we can change its direction from self-benefit to benefiting others, from receiving to giving, is intended to be used as the driving force to elevate creation to its highest point. However, if we persist in the unchecked selfish use of the desire to receive commonly seen today, we will continue to experience social decline, prejudice and bigotry in every sphere of life, and higher education institutions will be no exceptions.

Is it possible to maintain a positive environment on US campuses without canceling or oppressing any opinion?

This is where the law coined by one of our greatest sages, King Solomon becomes indispensable: “Hate stirs strife, and love covers all crimes.” This rule indicates that in order to build a healthy and strong society which takes into account different opinions and positions, a society that grows and flourishes, we need to overcome the ego and cover it with love. That is, to overcome the desire to exploit one another and instead, cultivate feelings of love, respect and consideration, the feeling that we are one.

Pluralism, Not Anarchy

The more opinions are shared among us, the more blooming results we develop and achieve in all forms of communications between us. As my mentor, Kabbalist Rav Baruch Ashlag (The Rabash) wrote, “As their faces differ, their views differ.” (The Writings of Rabash). We can learn from the Jewish sages how they brought forth a discussion and pertinent debate, precisely to strengthen unity, find out the truth, and bring about conciliation.

Without the filters of love for the other, without the desire to bestow, every debate turns into a cruel war of opinions and conflicts that is irresolvable until one side vanquishes the other. Therefore, before any opinion is expressed we should ask: is my opinion accompanied with the proper intention? When we come to negotiate, is the conversation held above and beyond considerations of personal benefit?

If the answers are affirmative, then we can engage in any discussion, even the most stormy and controversial, with no holds barred. In the ideal complete structure in which humanity exists as one body, all the organs and parts of that body have their specific functions and are completely unique yet interact harmoniously for the benefit of the whole. Similarly, society should make space for and preserve the differences between people while rising above them to maintain balance.

Regarding this matter, the book Likutey Etzot (Assorted Counsels) describes the correct approach toward such balance:

“The essence of peace is to connect two opposites. Hence, do not be alarmed if you see a person whose view is the complete opposite of yours and you think that you will never be able to make peace with him. Also, when you see two people who are completely opposite to each other, do not say that it is impossible to make peace between them. On the contrary, the essence of peace is to try to make peace between two opposites.”
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Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Prof. Stephen Bronner, co-director of the International Council for Diplomacy and Dialogue and the author of A Rumor About the Jews: Anti-Semitism, Conspiracy, and the Protocols of Zion talk about the role model for humanity that Jews have to become.

How can you be a role model if you are hated?

The solution is in its initial root. Jews as a nation originated in ancient Babylon according to the principle “love covers all transgressions.” They have an inborn inclination to implement the method of balancing society by building positive human connection above their egoistic nature and differences.

Today, when the world suffers from crises and viruses, there is an urgent demand for a method that positively connects society. Therefore, if the Jewish people regain awareness of what they once had achieved in history upon the modern global-scale social division, they will become an example of unity for everyone, a “light unto the nations.”

People have no natural inclination to unite above rejections between them, but when they hear and see how unity among people makes the world a better, healthier, and happier place, they will follow this direction and build a society based on, as Prof. Bronner mentions, cosmopolitan traditions.

When we all find the balance between the opposing forces of nature—altruism and egoism—everyone will experience a good future. Jews have been given the ability to take the first step there.
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Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Prof. Stephen Bronner, co-director of the International Council for Diplomacy and Dialogue and the author of A Rumor About the Jews: Anti-Semitism, Conspiracy, and the Protocols of Zion discuss the roots and possible solution for anti-Semitism.

Anti-Semitism is a multifaceted phenomenon. It manifests in different forms and, according to the wisdom of Kabbalah, it is the consequence of the Jewish people who have no awareness of their role in the world, and thus, also have no willingness to carry it out.

What is that role? The role of the Jewish people is to implement the method of connection above our selfish attitudes toward each other and pass it to the world, becoming a “light unto the nations,” as it is written in the scriptures.

According to their historical background, Jews originated around 3,800 years ago in ancient Babylon as a collection of 70 different nations united by the ideological principle, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Since this principle contradicted the Mesopotamian lifestyle, King Nimrod expelled the Jews from Babylon, and they embarked in the direction of the land of Canaan.

Over time, people could not observe the condition of “love your neighbor as yourself,” and the original spiritual root of the Jews—unity above all differences—became forgotten and replaced by customs. This is how religions and practices emerged, as compensation for the method of connection that has since been lost.

Nevertheless, the Jews still bear this method within. Whether or not they are aware of it, or and whether or not they refuse to perform it, the Jewish people have an inner calling to unite and spread unity above differences to the world. Hatred from the nations of the world is a subconscious demand upon the Jews to carry out this role.

Therefore, to solve the problem of anti-Semitism, Jews need to present an example of uniting above differences, and by doing so, let the world follow them, ultimately paving the path to balance with nature, harmony and social cohesion.

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The Times of Israel published my new article “The world of academia: an anti-Semitic stronghold”

Hatred against Jews and Israel is no longer marginal but mainstream on college campuses. In the US, for example, a group of Jewish Harvard students formed an anti-Zionist coalition that included support for BDS, while a Jewish student, Adela Cojab, sued NYU alleging her alma mater does not do enough to combat anti-Semitism. Such polarized environments prevail on campuses today, where anti-Semitic incidents have risen dramatically in recent years.

Anti-Zionist sentiments are also evident across the ocean. In Germany, 20% of academics support the right to reject the existence of the state of Israel as part of free speech on campus, revealed a recent study commissioned by the Christian Democratic Union’s think tank.

Why has academia become such a bastion of anti-Israel hatred?

Freedom to Attack

According to monitoring groups, in America, there were 201 anti-Semitic incidents on US university and college campuses in 2018 alone, involving harassment, vandalism and physical assault. Many more cases go unreported because of the inaction of faculties to combat discrimination against Jewish students, especially when prejudice and anti-Israeli initiatives come from Jews themselves—Jewish Voice for Peace being the most vociferous group, active with numerous chapters on campuses across America.

President Trump signed an executive order to combat anti-Semitism on campuses conditioning governmental funding upon whether or not universities fail to reject anti-Jewish bias. But even those in favor of the initiative question whether its enforcement is realistic since fighting bigotry might contradict freedom of speech.

What Built the Bastion of Hatred?

Academia, the stronghold of the learned and educated, has become a fertile hothouse of bigotry and discrimination for various reasons. First, because among students there will always be people proficient in the art of rhetoric who can formulate their ideas assertively to justify such motions as boycotts, using logic difficult to disagree with. These opinionated people also understand how to propagandize and spread their hatred to reach the media and wide audiences. After all, academia is society’s source of education, from where society’s leaders and presidents have emerged. Academia is known for its diversity and permissive libertarianism, an arena that tolerates the expression of whatever comes to mind, even if it might hurt someone else.

Secondly, the roots of modern anti-Semitism were laid decades ago and have been nurtured patiently and cunningly. Its complex rationalizations did not suddenly spring out of thin air to become what they are today: mature and strong hatred. Anti-Semitism is so strong that it is almost impossible to tackle.

What Money Can Buy

It is suspected that radical Muslim elements penetrated and politicized universities many years ago to secure their place of influence with the help of generous financial support, as is currently being investigated by the US Dept. of Education. He who pays has tacit permission to establish courses, programs and departments, according to his views and ideas, even at the expense of erasing other points of view and people. By quietly and steadily employing subversive operatives in key positions it becomes increasingly impossible to close the door to further infiltration.

Pluralism, Not Anarchy

Jews can no longer ignore what is happening right in front of their eyes and continue with a business-as-usual attitude, as if this is a small and passing discomfort. The animosity will not vanish until people realize that freedom should not be confused with anarchy, bigotry, discrimination and even physical attack to threaten or attempt annihilation. And Jews—a people with a vast history of pluralistic debate among their sages to reach truth and wisdom—can and should play a crucial role in fostering an understanding of true freedom for society.

Dialog should be encouraged with the intended end result of bringing about unity and brotherhood. Kabbalist Rav Yehuda Ashlag wrote in his essay “The Freedom” about the importance of the fundamental human value of freedom:

“Just as people’s faces differ, so their views differ. Therefore, society is cautioned to preserve the freedom of expression of the individual. Each individual should maintain his integrity, and the contradiction and oppositeness between people should remain forever, to forever secure the progress of the free society.”

But, as the wisdom of Kabbalah explains, freedom can work only if it is accompanied by the principle, “love covers all crimes” (Prov 10:12) as a basis to reach unity and brotherhood above our differences.

A plethora of ideas and thoughts based on selfish egoistic interests only result in conflicts and wars. On the other hand, when we rise above human egoism, covering it with love, a myriad of ideas and thoughts develop and enrich all kinds of means of communication and connection.

The Jewish people with their long tradition of pluralistic discourse are uniquely situated to play a crucial role in fostering the understanding of true freedom by first implementing among themselves the method of connection above differences and then passing on to humanity the positive force that is generated. It will calm down anti-Semitism and pave the path to a bright future of mutual understanding and harmonious relations. Attaining such an elevated state is the ultimate role of Jews, i.e., to be “light unto the nations.”
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1. Created out of egoism, we must try to annul it between us with reciprocal efforts, attempting to unite in a common desire.

2. Become convinced that it’s impossible to do this on our own.

3. Understand that we were created weak like this deliberately in order to ask the Creator for help and to come closer to Him.

The reason for #Antisemitism is the root difference between the Jews and the nations of the world: back in the times of Abraham, besides egoism, the Jews received altruism as well. This allowed them to see an integral picture of the world. They must transmit it to the nations in our time. Hence the #Jews do not assimilate—they are unique, separate.
From Twitter, 2/6/20

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