As an American-Canadian dual citizen, and a Jewish guy, watching all of this unfold has been the most haunting experience. To actually understand and witness the spread of antisemitism in the world, while the angry mob can't recognize that it's the angry mob, is beyond words.
Having said all that, America is safer than Canada for Jewish people right now. Canada is feeling like it will be a very scary place to be Jewish in 10 years if things don't change.
And I think the answer is projection. Eve Barlow writes a lot about DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender), a common technique of abusers. They flip the script and accuse the person being attacked of being the aggressor. So, as societies have done throughout history, Jewish people stand in to absolve them of their sins, they project their insecurities onto us to feel better about themselves.
Another dual citizen here. Around 15 years ago I began to feel uneasy living in Canada and I pushed my husband to buy a place in Israel - an apartment big enough to live in with four kids but small enough to rent out. We moved to Israel with four teens in 2015 and now I am so relieved we listened to my gut instinct - even the Thornhill Ontario bubble has been penetrated by evil. I couldn’t imagine still living there now.
U said it (not usaid tho!) yup, we are the best target fer the misdirected blame of the plagued masses (fer whatever ails 'em or ails society). Even the loud mouths among us (countin' myself in thar) cannot compete with the screeds an' eviDENSE (slings, arrows, outrageous eight-by-ten color glossy photographs with circles and MORE arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one pointin' to a dead Gazan baby with sunken eyes!) of social effin' Me-DIA!
That said, I think we could all use a tried an' true friend like Pat Johnson! (a fella who knows us not individually but as a people an' stands up fer us even when we ourselfs are gob-smacked speechless!)
An' of COURSE I'm freakin' out! (those 've us with kiddos are already scopin' out attics!)
I have a few and they are truly exceptional people. My one friend who shared an office with me for years, used the word Zionist as an epithet on October 10. She had a Jewish anti- Zionist friend. After I explained things, she completely understood and has been one of the best allies.
My other friends, living in our somewhat hostile neighbourhood filled with academics chose to light a Hanukkia this year and keep it in the window. They would’ve hidden people during the Holocaust.
Some people do get it, just like Pat but they are special.
I am sharing this article with every non Jew who promised that they would “hide me”, because they have all been silent.
You are more than fortunate to have true allies.
(I do have a few Facebook friends who have posted their dismay.)
I’m in the US and don’t want to be saying that we here are safer than those in Canada. We’re all in deep sh*t with what has happened in DC and in Boulder and with the hate we are all experiencing.
I risked being assaulted for an Israeli Flag, last year, in Seattle, as a gentile. In Gas Works Park. No one cared. No one cares. It’s not just you. Men are beat down and women LOVE getting to play the screaming harpy. And the violence, and threatened violence, rolls on unopposed.
Here’s a suggestion. American Jews ought to advocate for American men. The repeal of no fault divorce. Constrain the use of hormonal birth control to those with a medical need, not those who want carefree sex. Oppose abortion on demand. Repeal Title IX so that more high school men can participate in sports. Et cetera.
If Jews did this, they would have a huge Army of men morally energized to actively campaign on their behalf and defend their communities.
Just a suggestion. Or you can go it alone. Your choice.
Pat- so beautifully written. Snd it expresses very precisely what Jews are feeling. If anything remotely similar happened to ANY minority in this country, you would have tremendous noise against it from every facet of society. EXCEPT when it is Jews. Then you are on your own.
It's funny you mention Asians during covid. I used to actually listen to npr and there was an endless stream of interviews with panicking Asian women who stated fear in leaving their houses. In the meantime, Jews in Brooklyn were routinely being physically attacked but it was never covered by npr and forget about interviewing a single Jew who had been a victim. I wrote many emails to npr asking about this but of course never received an answer.
Afriad Grandma was right when she said scratch a goy find an antisemite. Too bad so many American Jews have jumped on the bandwagon I guess thinking they'll save themselves.
Pat I have been freaking out and often wondered if I should stop talking and writing about Israel, Jew hate etc etc as many in my direct environment get tired of it and prefer to move to other topics for discussion. Or they stay very quiet. Am I overdoing it? No, and your post here makes the case very clear once more. Thanks.
Listen to the NPR - every single day, they “innocently” peddle antisemitic messages. Now focused on blaming Israel for Palestinian famine when food gets delivered “inappropriately.” They are tools of islamism, they think by spreading this propaganda they are saving themselves a seat at the table. Play chess, people, maybe you will see a bit further than your own nose.
There is a very gay Jewish makeup artist named Matt Bernstein with a YouTube channel with 260K subscribers, who seemingly has segued into anti Israel propaganda (and doesn’t seem to understand that with his impeccable manicure and full face he wouldn’t last a day anywhere in the Arab/Muslim world). His latest video posted 3 days ago (with 241K views) was titled “The Antisemitism Panic”, belittling pro Israel influencers and blaming devious nonJewish malign actors for inventing this narrative (here’s looking at you, Pat).
The video’s description:
“From the river to the sea” is antisemitic. “Free Palestine” is antisemitic. Children’s YouTuber Ms. Rachel raising money for child amputees is antisemitic. ICE is kidnapping college students for antisemitism. Trump is dismantling higher education because of antisemitism. As a Jew, I’m… confused. And uncomfortable. Today, we examine the validity of The Antisemitism Panic, the dark underbelly of it, and the people pulling the strings to make it happen. Hint: they aren’t Jewish.”
The most disturbing part are the thousands of comments of which far too many were written by astonishingly ignorant “as a Jew anti Zionist Jews”, who don’t seem to understand that there is no great success in being on the last train to Auschwitz.
They'll be on the first train to Auschwitz. Their "friends" are Nazis, and they won't know when it's too late to leave. Let them be frogs in the water headed for a slow boil. Hopefully they'll wake up before then...
I’m not Jewish, but after Oct 7 something snapped in my brain at the inhumane reactions of Australia’s ‘anti-Zionist’ cheerleaders to this atrocity — left-leaning media, unions and political parties, ‘intellectuals’ and ‘activists’, many Muslim groups — all united in condemning and lecturing the world’s only Jewish state, a tiny nation that had just been horrifically violated. The anti-Israel media manipulations on this conflict are unconscionable, and relentless. I have become slightly obsessed with and upset by the injustice of this, so can’t imagine how it must feel to be Jewish. People are either oblivious to the tacit antisemitism in our left wing media and politics, don’t care as ‘it doesn’t affect them’, or approve of it. On a brighter note, in general people are coming to a more balanced view of the ‘Palestinian cause’ and starting to question its less savoury ideological underpinnings. A case of ‘you can fool some of the people some of the time …’ etc.
A friend just told me that she can’t believe I’m not upset about Palestinians, that I only talk about the hostages and the distorted media. I’m not happy that there’s suffering, but my focus is elsewhere. Apparently, that makes me insensitive. I guess that makes 5 lost friends.
That’s what I tell them - if the world called for the surrender of Hamas and the release of the hostages, there wouldn’t be so many Palestinians suffering.
As an American-Canadian dual citizen, and a Jewish guy, watching all of this unfold has been the most haunting experience. To actually understand and witness the spread of antisemitism in the world, while the angry mob can't recognize that it's the angry mob, is beyond words.
Having said all that, America is safer than Canada for Jewish people right now. Canada is feeling like it will be a very scary place to be Jewish in 10 years if things don't change.
And I think the answer is projection. Eve Barlow writes a lot about DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender), a common technique of abusers. They flip the script and accuse the person being attacked of being the aggressor. So, as societies have done throughout history, Jewish people stand in to absolve them of their sins, they project their insecurities onto us to feel better about themselves.
Another dual citizen here. Around 15 years ago I began to feel uneasy living in Canada and I pushed my husband to buy a place in Israel - an apartment big enough to live in with four kids but small enough to rent out. We moved to Israel with four teens in 2015 and now I am so relieved we listened to my gut instinct - even the Thornhill Ontario bubble has been penetrated by evil. I couldn’t imagine still living there now.
U said it (not usaid tho!) yup, we are the best target fer the misdirected blame of the plagued masses (fer whatever ails 'em or ails society). Even the loud mouths among us (countin' myself in thar) cannot compete with the screeds an' eviDENSE (slings, arrows, outrageous eight-by-ten color glossy photographs with circles and MORE arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one pointin' to a dead Gazan baby with sunken eyes!) of social effin' Me-DIA!
That said, I think we could all use a tried an' true friend like Pat Johnson! (a fella who knows us not individually but as a people an' stands up fer us even when we ourselfs are gob-smacked speechless!)
An' of COURSE I'm freakin' out! (those 've us with kiddos are already scopin' out attics!)
🙏🏼
I wish I had at least one gentile friend who gets it, but none of them do. Literally none. The situation is exactly as you describe in this essay.
I have a few and they are truly exceptional people. My one friend who shared an office with me for years, used the word Zionist as an epithet on October 10. She had a Jewish anti- Zionist friend. After I explained things, she completely understood and has been one of the best allies.
My other friends, living in our somewhat hostile neighbourhood filled with academics chose to light a Hanukkia this year and keep it in the window. They would’ve hidden people during the Holocaust.
Some people do get it, just like Pat but they are special.
I am sharing this article with every non Jew who promised that they would “hide me”, because they have all been silent.
You are more than fortunate to have true allies.
(I do have a few Facebook friends who have posted their dismay.)
I’m in the US and don’t want to be saying that we here are safer than those in Canada. We’re all in deep sh*t with what has happened in DC and in Boulder and with the hate we are all experiencing.
I have some who respect where I am, but I don’t think any really get it
I risked being assaulted for an Israeli Flag, last year, in Seattle, as a gentile. In Gas Works Park. No one cared. No one cares. It’s not just you. Men are beat down and women LOVE getting to play the screaming harpy. And the violence, and threatened violence, rolls on unopposed.
Here’s a suggestion. American Jews ought to advocate for American men. The repeal of no fault divorce. Constrain the use of hormonal birth control to those with a medical need, not those who want carefree sex. Oppose abortion on demand. Repeal Title IX so that more high school men can participate in sports. Et cetera.
If Jews did this, they would have a huge Army of men morally energized to actively campaign on their behalf and defend their communities.
Just a suggestion. Or you can go it alone. Your choice.
That took a turn I wasn’t anticipating.
How sad
Pat- so beautifully written. Snd it expresses very precisely what Jews are feeling. If anything remotely similar happened to ANY minority in this country, you would have tremendous noise against it from every facet of society. EXCEPT when it is Jews. Then you are on your own.
It's funny you mention Asians during covid. I used to actually listen to npr and there was an endless stream of interviews with panicking Asian women who stated fear in leaving their houses. In the meantime, Jews in Brooklyn were routinely being physically attacked but it was never covered by npr and forget about interviewing a single Jew who had been a victim. I wrote many emails to npr asking about this but of course never received an answer.
Afriad Grandma was right when she said scratch a goy find an antisemite. Too bad so many American Jews have jumped on the bandwagon I guess thinking they'll save themselves.
Pat I have been freaking out and often wondered if I should stop talking and writing about Israel, Jew hate etc etc as many in my direct environment get tired of it and prefer to move to other topics for discussion. Or they stay very quiet. Am I overdoing it? No, and your post here makes the case very clear once more. Thanks.
Listen to the NPR - every single day, they “innocently” peddle antisemitic messages. Now focused on blaming Israel for Palestinian famine when food gets delivered “inappropriately.” They are tools of islamism, they think by spreading this propaganda they are saving themselves a seat at the table. Play chess, people, maybe you will see a bit further than your own nose.
There is a very gay Jewish makeup artist named Matt Bernstein with a YouTube channel with 260K subscribers, who seemingly has segued into anti Israel propaganda (and doesn’t seem to understand that with his impeccable manicure and full face he wouldn’t last a day anywhere in the Arab/Muslim world). His latest video posted 3 days ago (with 241K views) was titled “The Antisemitism Panic”, belittling pro Israel influencers and blaming devious nonJewish malign actors for inventing this narrative (here’s looking at you, Pat).
The video’s description:
“From the river to the sea” is antisemitic. “Free Palestine” is antisemitic. Children’s YouTuber Ms. Rachel raising money for child amputees is antisemitic. ICE is kidnapping college students for antisemitism. Trump is dismantling higher education because of antisemitism. As a Jew, I’m… confused. And uncomfortable. Today, we examine the validity of The Antisemitism Panic, the dark underbelly of it, and the people pulling the strings to make it happen. Hint: they aren’t Jewish.”
The most disturbing part are the thousands of comments of which far too many were written by astonishingly ignorant “as a Jew anti Zionist Jews”, who don’t seem to understand that there is no great success in being on the last train to Auschwitz.
They'll be on the first train to Auschwitz. Their "friends" are Nazis, and they won't know when it's too late to leave. Let them be frogs in the water headed for a slow boil. Hopefully they'll wake up before then...
Thank you Pat. You make me feel a tad less lonely.
Thank you, Pat.
I’m not Jewish, but after Oct 7 something snapped in my brain at the inhumane reactions of Australia’s ‘anti-Zionist’ cheerleaders to this atrocity — left-leaning media, unions and political parties, ‘intellectuals’ and ‘activists’, many Muslim groups — all united in condemning and lecturing the world’s only Jewish state, a tiny nation that had just been horrifically violated. The anti-Israel media manipulations on this conflict are unconscionable, and relentless. I have become slightly obsessed with and upset by the injustice of this, so can’t imagine how it must feel to be Jewish. People are either oblivious to the tacit antisemitism in our left wing media and politics, don’t care as ‘it doesn’t affect them’, or approve of it. On a brighter note, in general people are coming to a more balanced view of the ‘Palestinian cause’ and starting to question its less savoury ideological underpinnings. A case of ‘you can fool some of the people some of the time …’ etc.
A friend just told me that she can’t believe I’m not upset about Palestinians, that I only talk about the hostages and the distorted media. I’m not happy that there’s suffering, but my focus is elsewhere. Apparently, that makes me insensitive. I guess that makes 5 lost friends.
They were never your friends.
I’m beginning to see that
Maybe you only talk about the hostages and the distorted media with your “friends” because they never do!
That’s what I tell them - if the world called for the surrender of Hamas and the release of the hostages, there wouldn’t be so many Palestinians suffering.
Yup!
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends". Martin Luther King
Bullseye. It’s the utter indifference of millions, many of whose causes we supported, which has left so many of us feeling bitter and abandoned.
Insightful
Very well said!