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On 2013-06-29, at 1:51 PM, Einde O'Callaghan wrote: > It may be that anti-semitism is now irrelevant in the USA, but unfortunately > it's very much alive and well in Europe (the current Hungarian government > officially propagates anti-Semitism and a fascist anti-Semitic party is a > junior partner in the government). Yes, anti-semitism hasn't disappeared, although it is less virulent and has less of a mass character that it once had, mainly I think because the Jews are no longer predominantly poor working class immigrants with alien features and an alien culture, and also because of the shocking effect of the Judeocide on popular opinion in the West. The current runs deeper in Eastern Europe, even though it is now largely judenfrei, because of the strong historical association of Jews with the region's Communist parties and regimes and because a remaining handful of Jewish capitalists continue to serve as a convenient scapegoat for demagogic politicians. The race hatred directed against more recent generations of non-white immigrants , especially Muslims, is a much more serious problem than contemporary anti-semitism, though manifestations of each should be fought equally vigorously. > This is why so many secular socialists of Jewish descent who are absolutely > non-religious still identify themselves as Jews as a sign of their opposition > to anti-Semitism. > > As on of my secular socialist Jewish friends once said when asked by some > Orthodox Jewish students in Poland why he considered himself Jewish even > though he was an atheist and didn't adhere to any Jewish religious practices: > "As long as anti-semitism continues to exist I will proclaim that I'm Jewish > and not try to hide the fact that I'm of Jewish descent." It doesn't matter to me under what banner people oppose injustice, and I can understand why your friend would have a particular interest in the issue. However, I don't think you have to be Jewish to fight anti-semitism, nor belong to a particular racial or ethnic group in order to effectively fight the forms of racism directed at it. The Marxist parties and groups, for example, were more prescient and resolute in warning about the genocidal anti-semitism of the Nazis than the religious and conservative leaders of the Jewish masses, even discounting the extraordinary pressures on the latter and the ultimately hopeless nature of the struggle. ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
