Can the Jewish community do more than it has done in the United States?

By: Ricardo Israel - 12/08/2024

I am referring to the organized community and the fight against Judeophobia that has been unleashed in the US. I use both anti-Semitism and Judeophobia, although personally I prefer the second denomination. In Infobae on May 9, we asked if the community was prepared for the magnitude of the hatred that arose after October 7 and Israel's response, but the truth is that probably no one was, so the surprise was understandable.

But today the central question is another, whether the response has been as forceful as the situation demanded or whether more can be done than what has been done. In other words, how can or should act, and if it is enough to concentrate on the denunciation and condemnation of those who maintain humanity's oldest phobia in force, that is, whether defense is enough or the people, groups and those behind it must also be unmasked, using all the mechanisms allowed by the law. And as I will explain later, I believe that, with all the existing differences, there is an example in the US to imitate for these purposes, that of the African-American community.

Just as Israel lost on October 7 part of the deterrence it had against those who do not accept its right to exist, something similar took place throughout the world, when that strange idea that it did not have the same right to defend itself as other countries , urbi et orbi multiplied with various attacks in universities and on the street, on specific Jews, made of flesh and blood, just for the fact of being Jews. In the US, the community lost part of the deterrent that held back many anti-Semites, possessors of ideas that were proven false about Jewish “control” of the media or Hollywood (just having seen the awards ceremony for the Oscar to appreciate its falsehood) or the supposed economic power, or that a Jew would always put the defense of another first.

The truth is that this loss has been harmful, since a lot of Judeophobia appeared that today is shown without complexes on the streets. It is not something unique or special, but situations that have been manifesting for a long time in other Western countries and that were frequently occurring in universities, politics, the media and on the streets of, for example, came to the United States. Europe and Latin America. Or in the United Kingdom, where the community was successful in the case of Labor, which expelled the equivalent of the American “squad” from within.

In that sense, I expected more from the American Jewish community, since for me they were the standard to imitate in the world, and that is how I always highlighted it. Perhaps he had an excessively idealized vision due to lack of knowledge, but this does not change the fact that the response has been insufficient for the severity of the challenge, since in its ancient history, great tragedies have also occurred when the Jews felt safe, as demonstrated Spain with the Edict of 1492 and Germany in the 30s, and I do not mention the subsequent Holocaust here, since in its magnitude and total evil it was a unique experience, in the sense that there have been many criminal massacres in history, but only one Holocaust. one in its uniqueness.

Since everything changed on October 7 for Israel and for Jewish communities throughout the world, I would have liked to see, first of all, an in-depth review of how it acts, not certainly at the synagogue level, but how it is linked and done. represent the community in the outside society, to have a clear idea about where it is necessary to improve, accepting by the way what the Little Prince of Saint Exupery says, that it is “much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others” as well as what Darwin's Theory of Evolution teaches, in the sense that the greatest success is not obtained by the strongest but by those with the greatest capacity for adaptation.

Secondly, I would have liked to have seen an almost automatic attitude of judicialization, of taking to court the institutions and people responsible for discriminatory attitudes that violate constitutional provisions and human rights treaties, based on what took place in elite universities. , its authorities, its administrators so that there is no impunity for those who allowed a climate of intimidation against Jewish students, for the fact of being Jewish or appearing Jewish. Likewise, against those who took over those premises with violence and covered faces, so that they could be identified by name in court, since many times they were neither students nor officials, but professional activists, who also created a climate not only against the Jews, but deeply anti-American, worrying from the point of view of national security. It is not the same as what the affected or individual Jews do in courts, but it must be the community as such, through its highest representatives, that transmits the message that there will be no impunity.

Thirdly, that all necessary pressure be exerted on intelligence professionals and the FBI, to identify both those who have organized the excesses and promoted the violence and to ensure that it is not repeated, following the route of the money of those who financed demonstrations. and camping trips that took place nationwide.

Fourthly, I would have liked to see all the communication and political pressure that was capable of, at all levels, both federal, state and local.

Finally, that the community as such deny and confront those who presented themselves as Jews in marches and activities that were pro-Hamas, even if they denied it, so that it was clear that they did not represent anyone but themselves.

Basically, we must remember that the community has a tradition in the US that should serve as a basis and example for Jews in other countries.

The current moment is particularly difficult, but nevertheless recent information has appeared that shows a path of optimism so that the community can reverse what is happening, one that is particularly important in a democracy like the United States. It is about the defeat of two well-known activists against Israel and Jewish “influence”, members of the group known as the “squad”. The information says that Bronx representative Jamaal Bowman and St. Louis representative Cori Bush were defeated in the Democratic party primaries, who in their respective speeches to their supporters implied that this was due to the mobilization and contributions of Jewish organizations.

I hope it is not an excuse and is true, even if partially, since it shows a path that must be continued, and at a national level, by evidencing a partial recovery of the lost deterrence, since they were people who had not been previously confronted in the way that seems to express the result of these primaries.

However, this information coincides with other information that is not exactly good for the Jewish community, that of the list of candidates from which Kamala Harris selected her vice presidential candidate for the November presidential elections.

One of them was the governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro, who was considered even though nothing forced the candidate to do so, but the serious thing came later, since there was a rare unanimity in the sense that, on the TV channels, pages In traditional newspapers and radio programs dedicated to politics, as well as on social networks, it was said again and again that the biggest argument for his not being selected was that he was not only Jewish but also that he was a defender of Israel. And that is what is unacceptable, since another firewall was destroyed, normalizing, perhaps for the first time, the argument of the friends of Hamas, that the defense of Israel in one of the country's main parties was electorally unacceptable.

The above was news because it appeared in many media outlets, so I presume that the community made its position known in private negotiations, but if this was the case, for me the frankly disappointing thing was that something of this importance was not accompanied by public statements of the spokespersons or top leaders of the community, whose presence was needed to represent how serious what was happening was, that there were people who in important media questioned whether a Jew spoke as a Jew. Again, this being the United States, it was necessary for the community to appear publicly with all the force it has, since what happened represents the disappearance of another red line of protection, which has suddenly been erased before our eyes.

The lack of prominence of community representation is striking, because despite what is happening, the US. It continues to be a special and exceptional place for Jews, and in this regard, I am a witness to this, since on October 7th I felt the need to bear witness and for the first time I began to wear a kippah on my head everywhere and a jai on my neck, and I can say that perhaps in return, in the places I usually frequent, in addition to supermarkets and the like, I have only received expressions of sympathy and affection from people I do not know and will never see again, but perhaps they also felt the need to say that they were in these hours with Israel and the Jews.

But since this corresponds to a new reality that includes a new normal, it occurs in a field where contradictions exist. For this reason, this new scenario needs to not only look outward, but also inward, making the necessary changes to integrate all those who want to connect by offering their collaboration, big or small, and so that no one feels excluded or rejected, for which which requires that all institutions have a policy of welcoming new contributions that they want to offer, and the cases that are known where this does not occur do not help the common objective of adding and not subtracting.

Surely the way in which the community faced its insertion into the United States and that it was so successful in the past, represented the country of that time very well, but, for the same reason, a rapid adaptation to the challenge of the present time is needed, where Judeophobia shows claws and fangs in universities and in massive pro-Hamas demonstrations, where the snake has already left the nest and the anti-Semitic beast is doing its thing after having hatched from the egg, to which there is no possible return.

I believe that there is a model of proven success in the United States and it is that of the African American community that today shows the way of what to do and how to act, which, if adopted, would be a turn of the hand, since with Martin Luther King often showed the Jews as an example to consider in his fight for civil rights, although today there are many groups and individuals critical of Israel, sometimes too much, but the way they position their issues is worthy of attention and study.

It is a very successful experience about how you can obtain political power and communicational respect and from which one should learn with all humility, since it was able to overcome gigantic difficulties. In fact, it is from their spokespersons, congressmen, that I heard a great truth on TV, that in the United States today, what happened to Jewish students in those universities would not have happened to young African Americans, other things could happen to them. , but not that they were discriminated against and prevented from going to classes, just for looking Jewish.

And why wouldn't the same thing have happened to them? For two reasons, there would be an automatic response from the African-American community against the racists against whom, secondly, an immediate lesson would have been given to each and every one, that is, an exact description of what did not happen and as I have regretted. that would not have happened. For the rest, how good for them, and how bad for us, that the reaction is insufficient.

To do? Anything but what some seem to say, that there is nothing that can be done except recommend the withdrawal of young Jews from those universities, and I think that, on the contrary, what the community should do is prepare these young people to Those who wish to go to all the assemblies that are necessary, to question what the activists say, as well as provide all the legal support necessary to confront professors who are indoctrinators rather than academics. Preparation that must include solid training in the topics under discussion, so that they feel a security that many or some lack today.

The moment is opportune, how has everyone prepared for the return to school? I think I know the answer after many years of university teaching in various countries, the anti-Semites are prepared, but is the community ready?

Jews come to vote in a higher percentage than other communities, but as a small minority they have the problem that in general they do not have the numbers to be enthusiastic about competing, except in a few places, so it is not easy to be a candidate, much less win. . In the new scenario, I believe that the Jewish community is going to have to propose encouraging the greatest possible participation, creating a national program of encouragement and support that apparently does not exist today to the necessary extent, with a discourse and a narrative that serves as a foundation. , and to help recover that consensus that has been disappearing where the alliance with Israel was not questioned.

On a more general level, the experience lived with the adoption of resolutions against Israel in places where there is little knowledge about the Middle East, should also make the community react, in the sense of promoting participation in elections that allow access to the boards schoolchildren, and debates and resources with a strong impact on everything that has to do with public education. This has been taken advantage of in poorly attended assemblies, including municipal ones, where clearly anti-Semitic resolutions have been approved. This element should never be forgotten, that American democracy is experienced not only in elections for Congress or the White House, but also in a variety of different levels, something so old that in the 19th century it impressed the French aristocrat Alexis De Tocqueville, author of “Democracy in America” (1835), a classic that remains valid. In addition, it is a country that also elects prosecutors and judges.

If it decides to dedicate resources to this path, the Jewish community must not forget two things, its traditional role as the “canary in the mine”, since what happens to it warns of situations that will later punish the rest of society. and that the fight is not only for her and for the existence of the State of Israel, but also for the very idea of the West, which for now has it facing Iran alone, which since 1979 has said that the United States is its great enemy, the “great Satan”, Israel being only the “little Satan”.

I'm no one to tell the community what to do, but at least I have enough experience and track record to say what I would like to see. The first thing is the internal review, with humility and self-criticism, which allows space and welcomes all those who want to contribute. Then, the willingness to judicialize the attacks that are being received, even internationalizing the courts when appropriate. What must preside over this effort is the fight against all impunity, that is, against all anti-Semitic acts, where the criterion to be used must be the definition promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), of growing international acceptance.

Also promote examples where the law has been best applied. In that sense, we must observe what has happened in States where Jews have been better protected, as is the case of Florida, where the same has not been seen on its streets or in its universities as in other places, being the question of why the difference, when there are clear constitutional mandates for the inhabitants and authorities of the entire country.

The ideal is that what is presented must have very precise data and a very strong presence of the national leadership, so that it is understood that it is the Jewish community as such and not some Jews who are behind it, so that it is perceived that the response will be institutional.

At this stage, everything possible must be done to delegitimize and shame those who call themselves Jews and who claim a representation that they lack to attack Israel, alongside its enemies, those who want to destroy it. Finally, a very strong institutional presence in the media, so that there is no debate in important media without their presence, since there is an appreciable number of people who consider that there is nothing objectionable or that it is a lie that there were rapes and kidnappings. of old people and babies by Hamas on October 7 simply because they were Jews, as well as how unfair it is that the demands are made only to Israel and (almost) nothing to those who started this war.

What began as a certain disappointment has transformed into concern, since time has advanced and there is still no attitude, a willingness to confront the challenge of the present time. He thought, perhaps wrongly, that the Jewish community in Chile and the United States were different models, and the truth is that, except for obvious differences in resources, they are more similar than he thought a few years ago.

Because it was the United States, I expected more from the United States. Today, Chile in the person of Gabriel Boric has for the first time in its history an anti-Semite in the presidency, not only against Israel, but also distanced from Chileans of Jewish origin, not only now, but throughout his entire career. In fact, during the presidency he has changed his mind on many things, but nothing on his Judeophobia, confirming how persistent this phobia is.

I think that the Jewish community in the United States should seriously consider the possibility of an avowed anti-Semite, proud to be one, reaching the White House, not now, but in the near future, and otherwise work actively against that possibility, is the best attitude so that it ultimately does not come to fruition.

In summary and in conclusion, let it be understood by everyone that no one is going to do for the Jews what they are not willing to do for themselves.

@israelzipper

PhD in Political Science (U. of Essex), Graduate in Law (U. of Barcelona), Lawyer (U. of Chile), former presidential candidate (Chile, 2013)

«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».