Antisemitic rants and hate speech make the unthinkable more likely

The last thing I wanted to have to do was write yet another column decrying the dramatic rise in antisemitism in the United States, but after Kanye West (now known as Ye)’s rant when he called for “death to Jews” ---- and after several fresh instances of the rising tide of antisemitism --- I felt compelled to write this column.
It’s getting increasingly scary these days when so many people are either endorsing antisemitic tropes and language or are indifferent to them, including numerous politicians.
This column appeared Friday, Nov. 4 in The Sun Chronicle. (LINK: https://www.thesunchronicle.com/opinion/columns/larry-kessler-think-it-cant-happen-here/article_4f1aef88-7ae9-57e0-b6e3-23e61709474a.html)

Enough is enough, or is it?
Are Americans waking up to the disturbing resurgence of antisemitism to the point where they’ll stand up to those trying to make it open season on Jews?
Or, will the millions either embracing or acting indifferently toward antisemitic rants by the likes of entertainer Ye (formerly Kanye West) -- who on Twitter called for “death to Jews” -- continue their hateful view of the Jewish people until the unthinkable happens?
The way it’s been going lately, with hate speech that was once mainly limited to extremist groups on social media now being endorsed or ignored by many politicians and their followers, something like a Holocaust taking place here -- once an unthinkable concept -- is no longer.
Recent events have shown how dangerously close we are to the demonizing of Jews by people like the Germans during the rise of the Nazis In the 1930s.
Ye, in a post on Twitter (since deleted) to his millions of followers, wrote that he was going to go "death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE." Some companies, including Adidas, eventually cut their ties with Ye over the post, but his Twitter account remains. (New Twitter owner Elon Musk said Ye’s account was restored before he took over.)
But such despicable expressions of hate are only the tip of the iceberg.
During a University of Florida-University of Georgia football game Oct. 29, for instance, the phrase “Kanye is right about the jews” was projected on the outside of one of the end zones at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
In late October in Los Angeles a half-dozen people unfurled antisemitic banners over the 405 Freeway.
In Massachusetts, similar banners were spread across overpasses on highways in Saugus and Danvers in September, and just days ago, swastikas were found on a family’s lawn in Stoneham.
Locally, the race for Bristol County sheriff between Republican incumbent Thomas Hodgson and his Democratic challenger, Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux, became tainted by such tactics after Hodgson, in attacking Heroux and Democrats as being soft on crime, embraced an antisemitic Internet conspiracy theory popular among far-right groups by invoking the name of billionaire George Soros, a Hungarian-American Jew and a Holocaust survivor.
Hodgson posted a 30-second video on Twitter showing scenes of violent crime in New York and Chicago and, in a voice-over, said it’s “because politicians supported by George Soros and his followers don’t believe criminals should be in jail.”
Including wealthy Jews in such political ads mimics the propaganda pushed by far-right groups targeting Jews. The Anti-Defamation League, on its website, adds context to why such tactics are antisemitic.
“Soros figured prominently in a significant number of antisemitic tweets,” the ADL said, including saying he’s trying to undermine all of Western civilization. The ADL added: “Even if no antisemitic insinuation is intended, casting a Jewish individual as a puppet master who manipulates national events for malign purposes has the effect of mainstreaming antisemitic tropes.”
Hodgson campaign spokesperson Holly Robichaud responded by denying any antisemitic intent, saying of Democrats who leveled the criticism: “This is a completely false claim. Shame on them.”
If you think hate speech is no big deal, you’re wrong, because such talk inevitably leads to violence, as it tragically did four years ago, when the deadliest attack on American Jews resulted in 11 being killed during a Sabbath service at a Pittsburgh synagogue.
Many people, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is Jewish, condemned the latest incidents, but Kraft went further. A nonprofit he founded aired an ad during the Oct. 30 Patriots-New York Jets game that condemned anti-Jewish hate speech and encouraged non-Jews to speak up.
The 30-second spot from Kraft's Foundation to Combat Antisemitism said: "We hear you today. We must hear you tomorrow. There are less than 8 million Jewish people in this country. Fewer than are watching this ad. They need you to add your voice." The ad ended with the hashtag: #StandUptoJewishHate.
Kraft, in a statement on the dramatic rise in antisemitism, said: "I have committed tremendous resources toward this effort and am vowing to do more. I encourage others to join in these efforts. My hope is this commercial will continue to enhance the national conversation about the need to speak out against hatred of all types, and particularly to stand up to Jewish hate.”
As welcome as Kraft’s efforts are, they seem powerless against the tidal wave of hate that’s engulfing the nation -- and Jews aren’t the only targets. Many state legislators are proposing and-or have passed laws to curb the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. In addition, many other non-whites have been targeted, with Asian-Americans being persecuted nationwide, especially since the pandemic started, and Blacks having their voting rights curtailed through redistricting.
But what’s particularly disturbing and disgusting about using antisemitic tropes for political gain is that such actions are reminiscent of the strategy used by Hitler.
Antisemitism, of course, isn’t new. Jews have been targeted for centuries, and when I grew up in Dorchester in the 1950s and '60s, it was still commonplace for Jews to be excluded from many organizations and workplaces. My father was denied employment at The Boston Globe because in the 1950s, you could ask prospective employees their religion and he was told the Globe didn’t hire Jews.
Now, 77 years after the Allies liberated the Nazi death camps, neo-Nazis are using the same rhetoric, and with Holocaust survivors down to a precious few, it seems as if most Americans have forgotten.
That’s why American Jews are frightened and will continue to be scared until a majority of Americans say enough is enough to people who insist on demonizing them as a prelude to their extermination.
Think it can’t happen here? Many Germans who didn’t speak up when Hitler got going thought it’d never happen there, either.
Larry Kessler is a retired Sun Chronicle local news editor and can be reached at larrythek65@gmail.com. He blogs at larrytheklineup.blogspot.com

ADL stats show antisemitism’s dangerous rise

These statistics by the Anti-Defamation League show a dramatic rise in antisemitism in recent years:
* Nationally, the Anti-Defamation League recorded 2,717 incidents of harassment, vandalism or violence targeting Jews in 2021 --- the highest yearly total since it began tracking such incidents in 1979.
* A report issued in April by the ADL of New England, which covers every state in the region except Connecticut, reported that antisemitic incidents increased by 42 percent in 2021.
* The same report noted that the increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the region was higher than the 34 percent hike nationally in 2021.
* There were 108 antisemitic incidents reported in Massachusetts in 2021, a 48 percent increase from 2020, when 73 were reported.
* There were 108 antisemitic incidents reported in Massachusetts in 2021, a 48 percent increase from 2020, when 73 were reported.

Source: The Anti-Defamation League