A Point of View: Anti-Semitism in America must not be ignored

I have been in Israel for a week speaking on a subject that doesn't often get a lot of attention in this country: anti-Semitism in America.

Why is it a subject that is largely ignored here? Actually, it is understandable given the immediate and urgent threats that face Israel. And even when anti-Semitism is addressed, the focus appropriately falls on Islamic anti-Semitism and European anti-Semitism.

Moreover, American Jews always like to talk about how they are the most successfully integrated Jewish community in the history of the Diaspora. So what's to worry?

I came here to talk about America and anti-Semitism not to set off alarm bells. Rather to say that despite the comfort level of American Jews, which is very real, there is no reason to be complacent. 

Israelis need to know that even in America, though hardly on the same scale as in Europe, there is that combination of daily incidents of anti-Semitism -- against individuals and Jewish institutions -- and larger conspiracy theories about Jews that are so pernicious. Of course, Israelis should always pay attention whenever there are any troubling signs coming out of America or for American Jews because both are so vitally important to Israel's security and well-being.

So what are those signs which should not be ignored? I'd say they break down into four categories.

First, are anti-Semitic incidents, including several violent attacks on Jews. The numbers, as presented in ADL's annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents, are not extraordinarily high this year. Still, incidents take place across America which leaves those who are the targets traumatized and the community a little bit less secure.

Second, and probably more unsettling, are the findings in our latest opinion poll of the American people which shows that a third of the public believes that American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America. Now mind you, we didn't ask people if they believed Jews were as loyal to Israel but more loyal. Such high numbers raise questions as to how fully accepted.

Third, is the phenomenon of the Internet, that great facilitator of information and communication, but also a facilitator for hate and anti-Semitism. It is hard to quantify anti-Semitism on the web and who is exposed to it. We do know, however, that the racists and hate groups have found a remarkable tool for recruiting to their organizations and for trying to lure the young into a life of bigotry and particularly hatred of Jews.

Finally, and most surprisingly, is the appearance in the mainstream of classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. We expect these kinds of things from the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, or Farrakhan's Nation of Islam.  We don’t expect it from professors at Harvard and the University of Chicago or from a former President of the United States. One has to go back to the period before WWII when the aviator hero Charles Lindbergh accused "powerful Jews" of dragging America into war against the Nazis to serve the interests of the Jews.

Now Jews are being accused of bringing America to war against Iraq; of controlling American Middle East policy for the benefit of Israel against American interests; and of stifling free discussion if Middle East issues.

Quite a combination of accusations -- right out of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Not that I believe most Americans buy into this claptrap. Still it circulates in respectable circles. Mearsheimer and Walt, the two professors, are welcomed on campuses across the country, as if all they did was present another point of view.

What's it all about? I believe it's an effort to intimidate American Jews, to get us to back off from exercising our rights as Americans to lobby and educate on behalf of what we believe -- the safety and security of Israel and the goal of peace in the region.

We won't be intimidated but we take these developments seriously. And Israelis need to be aware of what's going on.