Between Kanye and the Midterms, the Unsettling Stream of Antisemitism

[applegrove]

Between Kanye and the Midterms, the Unsettling Stream of Antisemitism

For American Jews, this fall has become increasingly worrisome. On Thursday alone, the F.B.I. warned of threats to New Jersey synagogues and the Nets suspended Kyrie Irving.


By Michael Paulson and Ruth Graham

Nov. 4, 2022

Updated 7:25 p.m. ET

https://politicalwire.com/2022/11/04/the-unsettling-stream-of-antisemitism/

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/us/kanye-antisemitism-midterms.html

"SNIP......

Simon Taylor was on his way to an appointment in Flatbush when he pulled into a local filling station one afternoon last week. It was a lovely fall day in Brooklyn, but as he began to fuel up, the climate turned sour: Another customer, spotting the skullcap atop Rabbi Taylor’s head, launched into an expletive-laden rant about how much he hated Jews, and then, when the rabbi photographed his license plate, started chasing him with an upraised fist.

Rabbi Taylor, a 38-year-old father of five who oversees social services and disaster relief programs for an umbrella organization of Orthodox Jews, was shaken. A native of England who now lives on Long Island, he wondered if the incident was connected to a mainstreaming of antisemitic rhetoric in America.

“I’ve never had anything like this in New York, and it definitely felt to me like this whole Kanye West thing had something to do with it,” said Rabbi Taylor, referring to the ugly utterances of the hip-hop legend Kanye West, now known as Ye. “All it takes is a couple influential people to say things, and suddenly it becomes very tense.”

For Jews in America, things are tense indeed. Next week’s midterm elections feel to some like a referendum on democracy’s direction. There is a war in Europe. The economy seems to be teetering. It is a perilous time, and perilous times have never been great for Jews.

.......SNIP"

Applegrove: When haters look for a scapegoat they focus in on those who are seemingly weak, or at least weak in numbers, because they need to feel big. The haters are small and weak and it shows. Others follow their lead to show fealty. Fight this trend with everything you got.

[David__77]

1. It seems like a very significant shift to me.

The postwar civic political framework is in important respects finished. There are fascists on the loose and it will take some unconventional approaches to handle that.

[applegrove]

2. Yes I agree. The bonds between us all are purposely being frayed. The northern US states

and Canada traditionally had high Civil society participation. The US South not so much. Less developed nations in the world are copying that everywhere, increasing civil society despite poverty and crime. Now, all of a suddn, when you do something nice for your community in the US you get attacked: like wearing a mask or processing ballots. Time to fight for a cooperative model of political economy and civil society instead of a hateful one where people are attacked for just being who they are.