Michael Gerson wonders about the roots of anti-Semitism, asking, “Why the Jews?”
Why the Jews? It is a question that must often have been asked during pogroms and in ghettos and in prison camps. There are many answers, and none of them adequate. Anti-Semitism in the West has undeniable theological roots—the distortion of a faith, founded by a Jewish teacher, to justify the persecution of Jews. Anti-Semitism has been fed by government incitement and by blood libels that never seem to die. It found resonance in various forms of nationalism and nativism, in the bent science of eugenics, and eventually in totalitarian ideology.
David Berger, the editor of “History and Hate,” writes, “We shall never fully understand anti-Semitism. Deep-rooted, complex, endlessly persistent, constantly changing yet remaining the same, it is a phenomenon that stands at the intersection of history, sociology, economics, political science, religion and psychology.”
But we do know that anti-Semitism has always been a kind of test—a reliable measure of a nation’s moral and social health. When the rights of Jews are violated, all human rights are insecure. When Jews and Jewish institutions are targeted, all minorities have reason for fear. And by this standard, America has cause for introspection.
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