Does everyone recall when antisemitism was considered bad? It may be tough to recall, since it was the case all the way back to…a few months ago. Back then it was a flippant label to toss around at Republicans, becoming this year’s latest intolerance trope. Of course, as usual with these blanket political accusations, the presence of factual reality always arises. The history of GOP support of Israel is just one of those conflicts.
What is the more bizarre reality to emerge in the past month since Hamas launched barbaric attacks on the citizens of Israel is that after all of the supposition and accusatory attacks, when presented with near-daily examples of intolerance and outright hatred of Jewish people the same press turns timid. Protests have erupted across the country with claims of Israeli genocide, and even the echoing of Palestinian calls to eradicate that nation, but curiously the usual finger-pointing is no longer in play.
This is a pattern of behavior from the media, which loves to hurl the invective when convenient, but once presented with cases of blatant Jewish intolerance the narrative shifts dramatically. After demonstrating the knee-jerk manner they would level the charge at Republicans, when blatant cases of Jewish intolerance emerge the press lunges for the thesaurus to reclassify things appropriately. To underscore this behavior let’s first look at some of the wan cases of them accusing others with strained definitions.
A regular occurrence has been any time billionaire George Soros is invoked regarding his influence purchases. The most recent was when it was pointed out that he backed New York Attorney General Alvin Bragg. Many in the press attempted to deflect from this reality by saying criticizing Soros was thinly veiled antisemitism. Notably absent was any explanation on how it is antisemitic to look critically at a man who is avowed to be an atheist.
Another hobbled attempt has been regarding Ron DeSantis in Florida. When a group of idiot Wal-Mart greeter failures gathered with swastika flags in Orlando, DeSantis was accused of fostering this behavior. Then his refusal to dignify these 20-year-old costumed dolts was said to be a sign of his pro-Nazi/anti-Jewish mindset. To make this accusation, of course, the same press had to ignore that the governor - just two days prior - had been at a synagogue honoring the Holocaust and calling out antisemitism, unprovoked. But his words on a Thursday did not count as Democrats charged him on the following Monday of coddling the cosplayers.
I have encountered these alleged “Nazis” a couple of times, and they are not an impressive lot. At CPAC one year I approached them and asked what they were protesting, but they would not respond. (Clever - staging a demonstration where you do not want your message to get out.) A year later this lame scene was repeated in Tampa at another conference, and the press was making statements of Nazis flourishing during the DeSantis administration. These were the same eight stunted mooks herded by a silent middle-aged figure; these Nazis were not attracting new members where they could even form a softball team, but they are “flourishing” in Florida.
Reflecting on these impotent examples we now look at the rampant amount of Jewish intolerance spread across the country this past month, and suddenly the last thing the press wants to do is accuse anyone of antisemitism. College campuses have been hives of quivering co-eds, students claiming to be triggered by any opposing viewpoint they are unprepared to hear spoken out loud. Safe spaces need to be set up if a conservative sets food on The Quad, and the kids rush for the coloring books and bean bag chairs arranged in the dorms to shield them from speakers discussing the 1st Amendment across campus.
But now pro-Palestine groups gather to hear professors calling out to harrass Jewish students and even threaten them for what is taking place in Gaza. We have shifted from the squishes saying “Words are literally violence!” to today saying “My words calling for violence is free expression!” And the press simply shrugs. Dead-naming a trans student is considered a hate crime, but calling for the death of a Jewish student is just the free exchange of ideas.
More galling has been the repeated signs that actual violence against Jewish people in this country is not only tolerated, but the aggressors become shielded. Look at how so many from the White House and down through media outlets have been intoning lectures to not be critical of pro-Palestine protestors, out of fear that those critiques could lead to escalations. Yet what we have been seeing are severe violent acts on Jewish people becoming labeled as something else. The press is refusing to call out what are disturbing signs of violent hatred.
In the Los Angeles area, a man died at a protest after he was confronted. Rather than calling this a murder, the local news softened it to “Man dies after hitting head during Israel and Palestinian rallies ”.
When a Jordanian illegal immigrant was arrested on weapons and bomb-making charges, intended to use against Jewish targets in his area, CNN could not bring themselves to admit it was a Jewish attack planned. Instead, he was said to be targeting people “of a particular faith.”
In Detroit when a female synagogue director was murdered in her home shortly after the Israel attacks the local police and media were quick to declare the killing was not classified as a hate crime. This was the conclusion, despite no suspect even being tabbed for the murder.
This past weekend a violent pro-Palestine mob attempted to storm the White House and vandalized the protective fence and barriers. Looking over this scene, Mary Bruce of ABC News declared - in “mostly peaceful” fashion - that this clash was actually a “passionate protest”.
What else can be said of the collective permissiveness of the press than to say they have clearly chosen a side? They have shown that the prior charges of antisemitism were nothing more than a shallow convenient cudgel to apply politically. True threats against Jewish individuals are transpiring on the regular and journalists are showing where the allegiance lies.
This need to reclassify or ignore the intolerance displays the fealty or the fear the press harbors regarding Islamic aggression. Permitting and promoting these views can only be honestly described as antisemitism. Dishonestly, our press tries to pretend these examples do not exist out of a need to protect those aggressors.