#🟦 Standing Up to Jewish Hate

         Standing Up to Jewish Hate

The word antisemitism was first popularized in Germany back in the year 1879. Its originator was a German agitator and journalist named Wilhelm Marr (1819-1904). As early as 1862, Marr, a Lutheran who was, for a short while, married to a Jewish woman, published an essay entitled “The Way to Victory of Germanicism Over Judaism” (Der Weg zum Sieg des Germanismus über das Judentum. Marr’s conception of antisemitism focused on the supposed racial, as opposed to religious, characteristics of the Jews. His organization, the League of Antisemites, introduced that into the political lexicon and established the first popular political movement based entirely on anti-Jewish beliefs.

(n.b. There has long been an uncertainty as to precisely how to spell the term; is it hyphenated or not? In German, French, Spanish and many other languages, the term was never hyphenated. The unhyphenated spelling is favored by many scholars and institutions in order to dispel the idea that there is an entity ‘Semitism’ which ‘anti-Semitism’ opposes. Antisemitism should be read as a unified term so that the meaning of the generic term for modern Jew-hatred is clear. At a time of increased violence and rhetoric aimed towards Jews, it is urgent that there is clarity and no room for confusion or obfuscation when dealing with antisemitism.)

Long, long before Wilhelm Marr, there was an Egyptian priest who likely lived in the Ptolemaic kingdom in the early 3rd century, B.C.E.  His name was Manetho, and he was rather famous during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, who ruled Egypt from 284-246 BCE.  During his reign, wrote Manetho the Aegyptiaca (History of Egypt) in Greek, a major chronological source for the reigns of the kings of ancient Egypt.

In one of the volumes of his work, Manetho presented a counter-narrative to the traditional story of the Biblical work Exodus. He depicts the Jews most negatively — as Lepers and Shepherds – exuding anti-Jewish themes. While the Hebrew Bible's Exodus tells of the Jews escaping Egypt, and thus, with the help of G-d and Moses - liberating themselves, Manetho tells a different story: that Egypt expelled lepers because of their impurity who then chose to revolt against Egypt pioneered by leader Osarsiph — later revealing himself as Moses. — who imposed various anti-Egyptian laws. Together with the Shepherds, they conquered Egypt in a 'barbarous manner…set[ting] the cities and villages on fire…roasting those sacred animals…and forced the priests and prophets to be the executioners and murders of those sacred animals." (For a thorough examination of Manetho’s counter-narrative, one can check out Flavius Josephus’ Against Apion.

Hatred against Jews and Judaism - as a people, a religion, a culture and (falsely) a race, is as old as recorded history. Sometimes it is a bit better, and others one hell of a lot worse. It is both omnipresent and universal; there have long been reports of societies, kingdoms and cultures which, although never having offered a home to Jews, have nonetheless despised them. The “whys?” range from “They were complicit in killing Jesus” (I’ve never understood how anyone can kill a supposedly divine being) and “they foment and finance revolutions everywhere they go,” to “they control the banks, the media and the food supply,” and “they are avaricious, incapable of telling the truth, and are the most malodorous people on the planet.”

Depending on time, place, and contemporary circumstance the reasons for upticks in Antisemitism vary. But they always lead to the same thing: hatred. Sometimes Jews are pilloried for having killed Jesus; at others, being blamed for “poisoning the water supply” (during the medieval Bubonic Plague), of destroying the economy or funding revolutionary causes . . . do note that the majority of actors, directors and screenwriters accused of being Communists during the post-war “witch hunts” were Jewish. And the capital-H Holocaust, in which the Nazis murdered more than 6 million Jews, was not the only lower-case-h holocaust in human history: the massacre of English Jews in York (and their eventual exile) in 1190; the Spanish Inquisition of the 15th century; the notorious Kishniev Pogrom of 1903 . . . and today, the rapid rise in Antisemitic acts here in the United States, Europe and South America.

Where once the name “Rothschild” and even “Roosevelt” (whom Antisemites tried to convince unlettered people was in fact, a Jewish family) has now been replaced by “Soros.”  As recently as this past week, diehard MAGA Republicans and the cheerleaders at Fox are claiming that Donald Trump’s indictment at the hands of a NYC grand jury and D.A. Alvin Bragg was “politically motivated.” What’s the proof? That D.A. Bragg had received campaign donations from none other than billionaire George Soros . . . which, they insist, means that the Jews are behind it all. I have had a couple of nauseating conversations with people who gladly mention Soros’ name in discussing Trump’s legal woes. “Who’s George Soros?” I ask, “and what does he have to do with the indictment?” Most just answer “You know . . .“ In response, I either remain silent or simply say, “No I don’t . . . please enlighten me.” So far, no enlightenment has yet come my way.

Over the past decade or so, Antisemitic acts, statements and beliefs have grown exponentially here in the United States. This is not to say that antisemitism was barely existent before  MAGA came on the political scene, for such is certainly not the case. It has always been there . . . but until recently, operating in the shadows. In his new book Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right, Professor Matthew Dalleck shows how since the time of its founding in the late 1950s, the John Birch Society has fought tooth and nail against the ‘Jewish conspiracy’ to take over America, as well as promoting America as a Christian nation, looking to ban books which they found to be “unwholesome,” against international cooperation and against NATO and the United Nations, and funding candidates who would bind themselves to the eradication of the federal income tax, immorality, and federal funding for nearly everything save the military. Sound familiar?

What the Birchers did not have in their time were two things: first an internet, through which they could introduce, induce and inculcate tens upon tens of millions of potential supporters with their far-right ideas, and second, a potential base of radicals armed to the teeth with military-grade weaponry. In the 1950s and 60s, Birchers could only hope for a second Civil War; today, their descendants are gearing up for one. In the 1950s, Birchers were against a democratic state because it was “communistic”; today, they are in favor of a fascist state because it is not “woke” . . . even if they cannot define it.

Jewish people in America are feeling far less safe than at any time since the end of McCarthyism.  When a former POTUS invites known, vocal Antisemites to his private club for lunch; when synagogues are being bombed and Jewish philanthropists put on the hot seat, this is indeed a cause for concern.

The question is: what can we do about it?  There are certainly going to be those - both Jewish and not - who will claim that since the former POTUS has a Jewish son-in-law and Jewish grandchildren, he cannot harbor any Antisemitic tendencies.  Stuff and nonsense; to my way of thinking, Trump/Kirschner was far more a merger than a marriage; tantamount to the old saw “Some of my best friends are Jewish.”

We now come to the “blue emoji,” which will be showing up on television and computer screens more and more in the days to come.  These blue squares are meant to fill about 2.4% of each square . . . equal to the percentage of Jews living here in the United States.  Despite this small percentage, 55% of all religious hate crimes in this country relate to Jews.  This is unconscionable, to say the least.  What we are hoping is that television newscasts, blogs and other communications will contain the  #🟦 as a way of keeping the message that we - both Jews and non-Jews alike - are #Standing Up to Jewish Hate.

Last week, billionaire Robert Kraft, owner (among other things) of the New England Patriot’s football team, donated $25 million  to create the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. which uses the blue square emoji, which is already on all smartphones, as a "simple, but powerful symbol of solidarity and support for the Jewish community."

The campaign's launch follows last week's release of a report by the Anti-Defamation League asserting that Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. rose 36% in 2022. The report tracked 3,697 incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault aimed at Jewish people and communities last year. It's the third time in five years that the annual total has been the highest ever recorded since the group began collecting data in 1979.

The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, based at California State University, San Bernardino, reported last week that Jews were the most targeted of all U.S. religious groups in 2022 in 21 major cities, accounting for 78% of religious hate crimes.

During Kraft’s campaign, the blue square will take up 2.4% of television and digital screens, billboards, and social media feeds. That number as mentioned above, symbolizes that Jews make up 2.4% of the American population, yet are the victims of 55% of religious-based hate crimes. The foundation already has its own website: #StandUpToJewishHate - Uniting to Combat Antisemitism.  In announcing the creation of his foundation, Kraft said the campaign “is designed to raise awareness for the fight against antisemitism, specifically among non-Jewish audiences, and to help all Americans understand that there is a role for each of us to play in combating a problem that is unfortunately all too prevalent in communities across the country today,”  

Already, the blue square #🟦 is appearing on television shows, digital billboards and social-media sites.  The campaign is encouraging people to download the blue square and share it widely. You can also watch a clip on Twitter explaining it.

Said Kraft: “We must stand up and take action against the rise of all hate, and I hope everyone will post and share the blue square to show their support in this fight.”  Already, former New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady and former Heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson have joined the crusade.

Sadly, one cannot convince an avid anti-Semite to stop hating Jews; its a lethal part of their genome. One can, through knowledge, diligence and smarts, open the minds and hearts of those who never hated in the first place to understand that they can do their share to spread the word: a society that is not safe for Jews is ultimately not safe for anyone . . . of any color, any religion, any ethnic origin or sexual orientation.

Do check out the online ADL report Antisemitism Uncovered: A Guide to Old Myths in a New Era. To be knowledgeable is to be well armed. And while you’re at it, you may want to check out the latest statistical report from ADL about the horrifying growth of anti-Jewish, racist attacks in the United States. 

If antisemitism has grown exponentially with the growth of social media (it definitely has), perhaps we can fight it on social media as well.

 #🟦

Copyright©2023 Kurt F. Stone

Sholem Aleichem's Response to Tucker Carlson More than 160 Years Before the Fox News Mamzer Opened His Big Fat Moyl

Audio Block

Double-click here to upload or link to a .mp3. Learn more

                         Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916) at Age 24

For the past couple of weeks, in addition to all my other tasks, I have been preparing for my one-man show on the greatest of all Yiddish writers, Sholem Aleichem. I will be performing it this coming Tuesday, March 22 at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, beginning at 3:00.  If you are interested in attending, just show up at FAU’s Friedberg Hall at about 2:30 at sign up.  Or, you can call 561-297-3185.)

I’ve been appearing as the man born in 1859 as Shlomo Nohumovich Rabinovich (1859-1916) for nearly a half century now, and each time I do, I try to make “his” performance a bit different from the last time we trod the boards. The Jewish equivalent of Mark Twain, the Russian-born Rabinovich (whose penname, Sholem Aleichem, is the most common Yiddish/Hebrew greeting, meaning, roughly “How’re ya doin’?) wrote hundreds of short stories, essays, novels and plays capturing the essence of a world which no longer exists. And yet, he is terribly universal: think of Fiddler on the Roof, which, adapted from many of his stories about a Jewish dairyman named Tevye, is one of the most popular, beloved and successful musicals/movies in the history of entertainment. Oy, if only the terminally impoverished writer could have lived a bit longer, he would have become as rich as Rothschild . . . 

Sholem Aleichem (Rabinovich) was born in Pereyaslav, a small city with a large Jewish population in the Poltava Governate of the Russian Government . . . that is to say, the Ukraine . . .  in early March, 1859. His father, a prosperous merchant named Nohum Rabinovich, gave his favorite son (Nahum had 12 children), in addition to a rigidly Orthodox Jewish education, a first-class secular education in which he read everyone from Shakespeare and Dickens to Gogul and Cervantes, as well as learning math and science.  At age 18, he became tutor to Olga Loyev, the daughter of one of the wealthiest Jews in Czarist Russia.  Upon Elimelech Loyev’s death, Shlomo inherited his vast estate, liquidated it and moved to Kiev (the Yiddish pronunciation of what we today call "Kiiv,” and became a stock broker on the "bourse.”  Within a few years, Rabinovich (who had already adopted the  penname ‘Sholem Aleichem’ so that his colleagues wouldn’t know what he was doing after hours), lost  all his money.  By this time he and Olga (whose Yiddish name was "Hudel,” which would become famous years later) and their growing family, had to move from Kiev and begin a trek which would eventually see them and their 6 children (which he always referred to as his "Republic,” resettle in such cities as Odessa, Nurmi, Copenhagen, Paris, London and twice, NYC.  Olga, by the way, in order to help  support the family while her husband wrote, went on to became a dentist - the first Russian woman to do so.

Before Sholem Aleichem began publishing stories, novels and essays in Yiddish, Hebrew was the only literary language taken seriously by Jewish readers; Yiddish, the daily lingua franca of European Jews, was, from a literary point of view, only for women.  In matter of fact, all of his earliest works (including a Jewish Robinson Crusoe), were written in classical Hebrew.  His idea of writing Yiddish pieces for the masses was indeed, revolutionary.  

                            Sholem Aleichem’s Funeral Procession May 14, 1916

No matter what his financial troubles - and they were many - he continued to write . . . and write and write.  No matter where he lived and what the state of his health (he suffered from Tuberculosis, prostate disease and diabetes) he managed to publish an essay or chapter each and every week :”starring” such favorites as Tevya, Menachem Mendel and Motl, Pesya, the Cantor’s Son. His characters moved form the shetlach (small villages of the Russian/Polish “Pale of Settlement”) to New York’s Lower East Side, Paris and Johannesburg, South Africa,  provided an essential link to a world which was ever-changing.  Ironically, in his distinct cultured household, the language his "republic” spoke was Russian; none of his children were able to read their father’s works in the original.   

Always living hand-to-mouth despite his universal readership in the Jewish communities around the world, he died in poverty in New York City in May 1916, and was mourned by hundreds of thousands. (At the time, it was widely reported that upwards of 300,000 people followed his funeral march from 165 Kelly Street in the Bronx to his final resting place at the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Brooklyn. It may well have been the largest funeral procession in the history of New York City.  His ethical will was a moving work of brilliance . . . so much so that it was reprinted on the front page of the New York Times and read into the Congressional Record by New York City Representative William Stiles Bennet. 

So what in the world has all this to do with Tucker Carlson, his coterie of bahndit’n (that’s Yiddish for “gangsters”) and the ongoing dismemberment of Ukraine?  Just  the other day, Carlson, who has been accused of being “one of the biggest cheerleaders for Russia” during the now more than four-week conflict, asked viewers on his top-rated Fox News show a series of questions about whether Putin had promoted “racial discrimination” in schools, made fentanyl, attempted “to snuff out Christianity” or eaten dogs . . . all of which he suggested the Ukrainians were engaged in.  Carlson’s central question was “Why in the Hell should we be concerned with Ukraine?”  

Two quips - one humorous, one filled with anger - coming from the mouth of Sholem Aleichem’s beloved dairyman Tevye, provide the answer:

• "Why should I break my head about the outside world? Let the outside world break its own head."  and

• "Get off my land. This is still my home, my land. Get off my land."

As things turned out, of course, more than 2 million Jewish men, women and children fled the Pale of Settlement, the vast majority of whom made the perilous trek to the  United States of America where, freed of the shackles of Czarist oppression and anti-Semitism, went from being pushcart peddlers and pants pressers on New York’s Lower East Side to creating the motion picture industry, the great department stores like Saks, Macys, Sears and Gimbels, sending their children to colleges and universities and living long enough to see them win Nobel Prizes in medicine, physics, chemistry and literature, as well as Pulitzers and Oscars.  In short, Ukraine’s - and Russia’s - loss was the world’s gain.  At the same time, Sholem Aleichem was deeply aware that at some point in time, there would arise a new era of pogroms (organized massacres of particular ethnic groups . . . most notably Jews) that would once again bring about mass exoduses and unspeakable destruction.  And  though he knew that he would not be alive at that future time (he always believed that he would die before turning 60 . . . just like his father), he urged that his children and grandchildren be at the forefront of creating peace where there would be war, and love and humanity where there was senseless bigotry and hatred.

In his last will and testament, he urged that at the time of his yarzheit (the anniversary of his death) his children, grandchildren, friends and readers gather together and recite kaddish (the mourner’s prayer written mostly in Aramaic) in whatever language they best understood  and rather than shed tears, “. . . select one of my stories, one of the really joyous ones and read it aloud in whatever language they understand best, and let my name be mentioned by them with laughter than not mentioned at all.”  

Sholem Aleichem died at his home at 165 Kelly Street, the Bronx, on May 13, 1916 - the 10th of Iyar, 5676 on the Jewish calendar.  This year, the 10th of Iyar, 5782, falls on Wednesday, May 11 on the Gregorian calendar.  I for one will be heeding Reb Sholem’s request by gathering with as many of his fans as possible via “Zoom” for  the reading of one of his most humorous stories . . . in English and yet to be selected.  In that way, not only will we be honoring his last request, but answer the bandit’n  und m’shuga’im (gangsters and lunatics) who side with the heirs of the Czars.

Anyone who would like to participate in the Zoom gathering, please email me through this blog or at kfstone@kurtfstone.com Title your email “Sholem Aleichem Zoom” and do provide your name and email address.  The Zoom gathering will begin at 7:30 EDT on Wednesday May 11 and last about 45 minutes.  A link will be sent to you on the morning of May 11.

Sholem Aleichem!

Copyright©2022 Kurt F. Stone    

From Rurik to Putin is Measured in More Than a Thousand Years . . . and Less Than a Couple of Hundred Miles

Once upon a time I was really into Russian history, literature and music. I went through a long spell reading their great writers - Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Turgenev and Yevtushenko - listening to their musical masters - such as Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich - and learning about their historic underpinnings going all the way back to the days of the legendary Rurik (830 CE - 879 CE), a Varangian (that’s Scandinavian or Viking) warrior who, in the mid-to-late 9th century CE, founded the first significant dynasty in Russian history. It would be called the Rurik Dynasty. Rurik and his heirs also established a significant geographical and political formation known as Kievan Rus’, the first incarnation of modern Russia. (Notice how the name consists of two entities - Kiev and Russia - which are all over the news these days? Some things never change)

The line of Rurik (that’s a bronze statue of him on the left) continued to rule Russia well into the 16th century and the mythology surrounding the man Rurik is often referred to as the official beginning of Russian history.

All this can be read in the first book of Russian history, known variously as either The Primary Chronicle or Tales of Bygone Years, which is the history of Kievan Russia from the year 850 to about 1110.  It’s not an easy read . . . but then again, neither are novels by Dostoevsky, or poems and plays by Pushkin.  I vividly remember reading these Tales of Bygone Years sometime in the late sixties; at the time Leonid Brezhnev was First Secretary of the Communist Party, although he had yet to consolidate his power to become the regime’s ultimate leader (he would hold that post until his death in 1982, and then be replaced by the long-forgotten Yuri Andropov).

One of the things I came away with from reading this ancient work (in English translation, of course) was that even as far back as the 10th century, these mythical, eponymous figures who would one day lead the Russian Soviets, were already showing signs and symptoms of possessing an historic, geographic and political inferiority complex classically defined as “an intense personal or historic feeling of inadequacy, often resulting in the belief that one is in some way deficient, or inferior, to others.”  It has also been described to as “a sense of incompleteness” or “a gateway to narcissism.”   

In keeping up with the latest news surrounding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s shocking and - to my way of thinking, mindless - attempt to rewrite history, I see the unmistakable fingerprints of Rurik and the monks of Kievan Rus’. Like the ancients, Putin and his small inner circle of multibillionaire oligarchs are still trying to figure out who they are and where they belong  on the world stage.  Are they Europeans?  Are they Asiatic?  And what arrows do they have in their quiver to hold all the disparate nationalities, language groups, religions and time-zones (there are 11 of them ) together into a unified whole? 

 What is Putin’s ultimate goal in invading (or not) the Ukraine? To continue the process of reassembling the old Soviet Union? To earn for himself newer and greater chapters in history books yet written? To put NATO in its place? And where does this all stop? At the gates of Finland, Poland or Estonia? It seems to me that anyone who can plumb the depths of his mind and ultimate intent, is likely also capable of squaring the circle (completing a seemingly impossible task) . . . in this case, granting Russia the identity and superiority which has eluded it since the beginning of time.

Putin certainly knows and understands that invading the Eastern Ukraine is going to unleash an economic embargo against his country the likes of which haven’t been seen in decades. Russia’s two greatest assets are, of course, nuclear weapons and oil. The second is of tremendous importance.  Within the past couple of hours, Germany has pulled the plug on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline (a 765-mile-long natural gas pipeline from Russia, running under the Baltic Sea to Germany. The project is intended to enable Russia to circumvent Ukraine and other countries and pipe its gas directly into Europe), as the UK and European shares see-saw and the ruble has already sunk to a two-year low. Hauntingly, this does not seem to worry Putin at all . . . at least in public.   He no doubt understands that sanctions from the U.S., UK and other Western economic powerhouses will likely have a negative echoing affect on these economies . . . such as significant raises in the price of oil. Then again, a rise in the price of oil in Europe can be a boon to American oil companies.

Here on the home front, President Biden has, in my opinion, been handling the situation with a far greater degree of intelligence, aplomb and political craftsmanship than his predecessor ever could have hoped for. Responsible members of the Republican leadership in Congress, along with - believe it or not - the editorial page writers of the Wall Street Journal have had some pretty positive thing to say about Biden’s handling of this looming international event.

One Republican no one has heard from during the past several weeks and months is the former POTUS .. . . until just today. The former President slammed President Biden’s handling of the crisis with Russia, insisting that Vladimir Putin would never have invaded Ukraine on his watch. Touting his close relationship with the Russian autocrat (“I know Vladimir Putin very well, and he would have never done during the Trump Administration what he is doing now, no way!” ), Trump suggested on that he would have figured out a way to prevent Putin from moving troops into breakaway provinces of Ukraine, without offering any specifics. Even for Trump, the harsh attack on Biden marks a shocking break from the traditional deference that the opposition party leaders typically give to a sitting president during a mushrooming global crisis.

When all is said and done - and there is so much yet to be said and done - Putin’s reasons for invading (or not) the Ukraine are as unknowable as the Russian soul, as cold as a frigid Muscovite winter. He seems bent on earning for himself an entire chapter in the saga which began with Rurik oh so many centuries ago. At the same time, his immediate goal, Donetsk, is a mere 535 miles from the Kremlin.

The one person who likely understands Vladimir Putin the best, died 71 years before the future Russian strongman was even born: Fyodor Dostoyevsky. For in his immortal novel, The Idiot, (his own personal favorite), he writes: “Don’t let us forget that the causes of human actions are usually immeasurably more complex and varied than our subsequent explanations of them.”

Copyright©2022 Kurt F. Stone