When I was a kid, my grandfather said that antisemites were ignorant, bitter people, and to remember that we Jews were smarter than them. That's the way I've always thought of them. The louder they get, the larger my Star of David gets.
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"Last year I wrote an article called “The Answer Is: It’s Antisemitism.” In it, I talked about the inability for many people to accept the reality of antisemitism.
"Eight months later, almost two years since October 7, too many people seem as unwilling as ever to accept the situation.
"Recently,
I was listening to a podcast called “Boundless Insights,” hosted by
Aviva Klompas. Her guest that day was urban warfare expert John Spencer.
It’s worth listening
to the episode, but it reminded me once again of the unfortunate
tendency so many of us have to “ask questions” about potential
antisemitism, which seems more like wishful thinking, or probably more
realistically denial, rather than admit that hating Jews is the ONLY
motivation necessary for antisemites to do what they do.
"Spencer
went into detail about the obvious double standard that the world is
applying to Israel in Gaza, many of which have never been seen before
during the incredibly long history of warfare. It struck me that he
claimed that the ridiculous standard applied to Israel “is really
problematic for the future of war.” What he meant was, as just one
example, demanding that Israel feed its attackers sets a dangerous
standard for future wars. Why? Because doing so only prolongs a war and
may even lessen the chances of victory.
"That worry
would make much more sense if we were talking about other nations, but
we are not. We are talking about Israel. What he misses is that other
countries will never be held to the standards that
Israel is being held to right now. So, it won’t be a problem in the
future (unless one of the combatants is Israel).
"How
do I know that? Because no country has ever been held to these
ridiculous standards before (other examples are demanding combatant to
civilian kill ratios while the war is still raging, obediently accepting
war stats coming from terrorists, demanding a “day after” plan well
before the end was in sight, and many, many more).
"Israel
is attacked in a pre-civilizational, barbaric, subhuman way – and the
world expects it to then treat its enemies not humanely - but stupidly.
So given that has never happened before, there is no reason to believe
that it would ever happen again (again, minus Israel as part of the
equation).
"Spencer failed to realize that these
standards didn’t materialize out of thin air. Millenia of rules
regarding warfare weren’t suddenly randomly suspended this time around.
The new rules were created and are being applied specifically because it
was Israel that was attacked - and it is Israel that is fighting back.
In other words: it’s obvious that these rules not only didn’t
materialize out of the ether but were created specifically to make it
harder for a Jewish army, fighting an existential war on behalf of the
Jewish people, to win.
"He followed up by saying that the problem is “really nuanced” and seemed totally mystified by the double standards.
"Incredible.
"For
her part the host asked him “Do you think that this Western outrage is a
product of misinformation? Or do you think that there is something
deeper, or more ideological about what is playing out?... we’re very
quick to call it antisemitism. Or is it just the first time that it has
happened?”
"I don’t know very much about Aviva
Klompas – but HOW can anyone even ask those questions? OBVIOUSLY, the
“Western outrage” (meaning Hamas supporters in the West) prompted by
“misinformation” is only possible because the legions of Hamas
supporters in the West want to believe that
“misinformation.” And no, it is not “ideological.” It is antisemitism,
and her comment implying that we are “quick” to call something
antisemitic, seems to be an attempt to try to shift obvious Jew hatred
away from what it is, and make it something more intellectually
appetizing.
"I don’t get it. Why is this so hard for people?
"All
of this is happening for only one reason: people want to believe the
relentless (and relentlessly stupid) propaganda coming from Hamas, and
its supporters. That includes the entirety of the mainstream media, and
despicable organizations like the United Nations.
"The
so called “famine” is the latest, and most obvious, example. The entire
Hamas supporting, Jew hating, Israel hating world knows that there is
no famine in Gaza. Yet even well-meaning people try to use the “famine”
to ding Hamas with lines about “Hamas starving its own people” so “free
Gaza from Hamas.”
"Hamas definitely steals aid and
sells it. But that fact doesn’t equal a “famine.” People seem to have a
hard time separating things sometimes. Hamas stealing food, doesn’t mean
that their lies about a Famine are real. Just because it is correct to
blame Hamas for stealing food, doesn’t mean that the food was necessary
in the first place.
"Regardless, it is an inane way
of thinking when 90% of the Gazan population supported Hamas in the
aftermath of 10/7, and even those that don’t still virulently hate Jews
and hate Israel. (Another thing people seem to have a hard time
separating: opposing Hamas in Gaza, or Islamism in the West does not
equal a love for Jews and Israel)
"That there is no famine has always seemed obvious to me. Famines look like this, this, this, and THIS.
Whereas every similar image issued by Hamas has proven to be a child
with an unrelated medical condition, generated by artificial
intelligence, staged, or taken in different places and times. The most
famous example of this is the picture that the New York Times put on its
front page (and pushed by dozens of other major, and minor, news
outlets). It claimed that the child was starving; it turned out
that he had a genetic condition and was taken out of Gaza with the help
of… Israel. An early clue was that in an alternate picture, the child’s
sibling was also pictured and looked 100% healthy.
"On the other hand, there was the harrowing image
of Israeli hostage Evyatar David, who was forced to dig his own grave -
and count how many days he’s gone without food. In at least one image
issued by Hamas a very healthy-looking arm of a terrorist is visible.
"Even
more obviously, given how duplicitous Hamas is, and its skill at PR,
there is no doubt that if thousands were starving in Gaza, we would be
flooded with images of starvation every single day. There are also
videos every week of Palestinians staging death/starvation. This was all over X last week, and it is typical.
"Nations that have actual famines do not need to manufacture proof.
"Not
only did the worldwide media happily present the lies as fact, but a
famine watchdog group, affiliated with the U.N., the Integrated Food
Security Phase Classification (IPC), changed its definition
of “famine” in order to further propagate the lie. The New York Times,
CNN, NPR, and ABC News all happily used the IPC’s reporting, with the
newly manipulated metrics, to accuse Israel of mass starvation.
"Then
there is the issue of France, Canada, Australia, and probably The UK
recognizing a “Palestinian” state. Islamist Jew haters viciously attack
the civilian population of Israel, they kidnap hundreds of people, and
the attackers are rewarded with their own state.
"The
world is even doing what it can to stop us from reminding the world of
exactly what took place on October 7, 2023. The Toronto Film Festival pulled a documentary (since reinstated after massive pressure from the pro-Israel public) on October 7th.
Why? They insanely claimed that the filmmakers didn’t procure the
rights to the footage from Hamas’ GoPro cameras used during the
animalistic attacks.
"Even with this (and sadly much
more – I can’t even begin to scratch the surface each month), people
still ask why this is happening. Why the double standards? Why are there
Hamas supporters all over the West? Why do so many college students
support Hamas? Why many members of minorities, who Jews historically
stood by during their own struggles, hate us now? Why is Europe doing
almost nothing to stop antisemitism? Etc. etc. etc.
"The
answer to ANY questions like this is: antisemitism. They do what they
do because they hate us. There is no deeper meaning, there is no nuance,
there are no rational explanation - for any of it.
"Yet people still try to explain it rationally or pretend that there must be some other answer than they just hate us.
"People
have hated us for over 3,000 years. They hated us before Israel
existed. They hated us before Netanyahu was on the scene. They hated us
before Israel went to war against Hamas.
"As my father would have said “They hate us because they hate us.”
"A very good, longtime friend (he is also a Chabadnik), wrote me recently, and we discussed how our attitudes have changed since October 7th. I said this to him:
“I
always knew that as Jews, we occupy a different place in the world, but
the hope that society has evolved in any way is gone. Which is ok with
me in a way because I always knew that as Jews, we could only rely on
each other. People don't change in the big picture (individuals are a
different story). I wouldn't trade being a Jew for ANYTHING. So, if this
is what we're supposed to go through now, it's still a tiny fraction of
what our ancestors went through. We had it much easier than they ever
did for 70 years, especially in the West, and now that is changing. B'H
we had it so good for so long. Look what that period did for Chabad, and
as a result the entire Jewish people.”
"So stop
looking for reasons. This is the way it is. Identify antisemitism, then
fight it ANY way you can, but be proud that as Jews, this is just how it
is. If that’s not satisfying enough, remember that it is impossible to
overvalue being a Jew. We all know that this is part of it. Ultimately,
thank G-d, we always prevail. We will this time too. Concentrate on the
infinite beauty of Jewishness, be aware of our enemies, fight back, but
look for intellectual satisfaction with Judaism – what our enemies think
is their problem.
"Never be afraid. Never give up.
"Am Yisrael Chai."
This article originally appeared in Orange County Jewish Life.
Joshua Namm is a longtime Jewish community pro, passionate Israel advocate, and co-founder/co-CEO of Moptu, a unique social platform designed specifically for article sharing, and dedicated to the principle of free speech.
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