The Consequences of Antisemitism

It is no secret that antisemitism is rising across the planet. Virtually every poll and metric available suggests a sharp increase in Jew hatred and antisemitic attacks worldwide following the October 7th massacre of 1,200 Jews and residents of the Jewish nation. Jew haters got a taste of blood that day, and they have not stopped calling for more. There are unfortunately far more antisemites in our world than I think any sane, rational person thought possible. If you had asked me on October 6th if I believed Jew hate was still a serious problem globally, my answer would have been far different from today.

But Jew hate has been on the rise “under our noses”, so to speak. It didn’t catch my gentile attention until that darkest of Sabbaths, but when it did it, totally shattered my world paradigm. Before, I generally thought of first world liberal democracies as being safe and sane and headed in the “right” direction. Progress moves ever forwards. Right?

Wrong. So very wrong. On October 8th, fascist mobs across the globe were chanting for more death and bloodshed while simultaneously calling for the Jews to lay down their arms—because if there’s one thing Jew haters can’t get enough of, it’s dead Jews. I knew that I had to act and act immediately and in any way that I could to stem the rising hate before it is truly too late. The consequences of antisemitism are the most dire known to man—we sacrifice our very humanity when we debase ourselves with blind, burning hate until it consumes everything we hold dear. The ashes of 20th century Europe call for our unequivocal attention and care such that the mistakes of the past never happen again.

In my letter to my alma mater last year (which has yet received not a word in reply—Oh, what a lonely existence Kassandra of Troy must have lived) I specifically detailed how the odious ‘Students for “Justice” in Palestine’ chapter and its affiliates at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have defaced and disgraced our university for years. Antisemitic chalk scribbles were about the extent of their actual “bravery” until October 7th; then, they outright called for the genocide of Jews on the campus of my alma mater. They even set up a fascist encampment on Library Mall and specifically refused to engage with “Zionists”, i.e. Jews that they don’t like. And just down the street from Madison Hillel. Words cannot describe my absolute disgust with the neo-Nazis at UW.

When discussing the consequences of an action, there are two general avenues to consider: the effect on the doer, and the effect on the outside world. Hate begets hate. Hating Jews and committing hateful acts towards them encourages others to join. As hatred becomes socially acceptable, society itself crumbles and breaks down. Malevolence becomes all-encompassing, to the point that Nazi Germany intentionally chose to keep pursuing their ‘Final Solution’ at the cost of strategic resources even as the allies closed on Berlin.

But there is also a personal cost to hate. Sometimes it is paid directly with lost opportunities, income, friendships. Sometimes the hate faces no direct challenge and so festers and builds until it seeps out as the actual manifestation of the individual, their hatred having become the very essence of their personhood. Such individuals are too far gone to ever return to what they were. The sad, lonely existence of an antisemitic asshole. The negative consequences of hate thus spread outward in often strange but yet so very predictable ways, and also reflect back on the individual engaged in hatred.

Given that this problem as framed appears to be exponential in nature, how do we mitigate the damage from this potential for catastrophe?

We must push back against hate wheresoever it exists. I found out the hard way that showing leniency to antisemitism—appeasement, if you will—only gives the Jew haters more time and ways to hurt you. You can give them all the second chances in the world; in my experience, you will only regret it. It is true that wisdom must be learned. Take it from me—make Jew haters face consequences for their actions. Don’t let them off the hook. Make them justify their hateful rhetoric out in the open. Shine a light on the ugliness of the world and perhaps it can begin to heal.

Because the consequences of not standing up to hate could not be more dire. We are flirting with atrocity not seen for 80 years. We had a taste of it already on October 7th, the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and reminiscent of the Einsatzgruppen. If your “free Palestine” requires millions of dead Jews in order to be so, perhaps consider that you may, in fact, be the baddies.

To life, and to Eretz Israel—?????