This Musing has been on my heart for a few months now, yet I have hesitated to commit it to paper. I have pushed off writing it, partially because I know that it deserves re-write after re-write to express my thoughts well and partially because writing down my thoughts will force me to face a troubling reality head-on.
The topic troubling me: The virus of anti-Semitism that is ascendant on both the Left and the Right in the United States.
For over thirty years, my husband and I pushed back against those who used the charge of anti-Semitism as a cudgel to silence conservative Christian voices. Like the words racist and homophobic, calling someone an anti-Semite was meaningless and a form of bullying. We were passionately insistent that the allegation of anti-Semitism was not to be used to denigrate those Christian leaders who stood up for the values of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob rather than the values of the Democratic Party.
We pushed back hard against the ugly anti-Christianism manifested in media, academia, publishing, and entertainment. It was clear to us that anti-Christianism remained the last permitted bigotry in America. We warned that America was a haven of tranquility and indeed a safety belt for Jews not in spite of the Bible Belt but precisely because of it. The unique warmth that Americans felt towards Israel emanated in part from their devotion to Scripture. We warned of the perils, Heaven forbid, were America to become a post-Christian nation.
My husband regularly traveled the country defending pastors and Christian politicians whom ‘Jewish’ organizations were accusing of anti-Semitism for opposing anti-Biblical positions. He publicly defended Mel Gibson and others who were baselessly accused of anti-Semitism during the controversy of the movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” He spoke for dozens of churches and Christian groups around the country, often ending his speeches with the clarion call to action: “Onward Christian soldiers!”
Because Christian students on campuses had been silenced and marginalized for years, I was not surprised to see the violent outpouring of hatred towards Jews on college campuses after October 7, 2023. In fact, in classes for advanced degrees our children as religious Jews had united with religious Christians to have each other’s backs when faced with professors who hated traditional religion.
But that was yesterday. Now, for the very first time, I am seeing the growth of anti-Semitism coming from conservatives and libertarians on the Right as well as from pastors, priests, and churches. For the moment, hatred of Israel is masquerading as a cover for hatred of the Jews. But it would be foolish not to see behind the curtain.
In normal times, there is nothing wrong in critiquing the policies of the democratically elected government of Israel. It might be interesting to ask why that is the only country in the world that is so critiqued, but questions could be asked in good faith. As a democratic state with liberty and free speech for its Jewish, Christian, and Moslem citizens, Israel (unlike Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, or other Moslem countries) is a vibrant marketplace of openly expressed different ideas, thoughts, and beliefs. But these are not normal times.
In normal times, American citizens are free to advertise their understanding–or more frequently their ignorance–about Middle Eastern geography, Israel, Islam, Shiites and Sunnis, the history of Jews in countries like Syria or Iran, or anything else about the Middle East or history in general. Everyone is certainly entitled to have strong feelings about foreign aid and American intervention around the world, including in the Middle East. But these are not normal times.
The streets of London, the campuses of America, and the markets of Malmo prove that much of the world is engaged in a titanic struggle to define the culture within which the next generation will live. It is a contest between civilization and barbarism, between freedom and totalitarianism, between the Bible and the Koran, between life and death. In these times criticism of Israel is no longer participating in a collegial political symposium. It is taking a side in that titanic struggle.
Not acknowledging that harangues against Israel lead time and time again to Jews being assaulted, demands mental and spiritual gymnastics. Recognizing that mental illness and emotional instability are on the rise in the United States, so that those listening to maniacal anti-Israel messaging are often kegs of dynamite waiting to explode, is simply reality.
I don’t know what motivation propels influencers like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens. However, willfully or not, they are advocating an agenda that erases many of the important distinctions between America and a post-Christian and dying Europe. France and England are replacing their Jewish communities with Moslems. This is not working out well.
In 2018, my husband and I each answered a question about why we were not living in Israel. As part of his answer, my husband wrote:
“We believe that America is part of God’s plan for the security of both Israel and the world. What we do know is that when both the State of Israel and the United States of America respond to God’s wishes, there is no conflict in loving both. Conflict only arises when one or the other betrays its mission. We, like you, pray for that not to happen.”
(Ask the Rabbi – July 25, 2018)
However, it is happening. Voices in the United States, heavily amplified through social media, are building on decades of historical and moral illiteracy rampant in the country to produce legions of youth with hatred and resentment in their hearts. That is fertile ground for spreading the virus of anti-Semitism.
As a Jew, my history is replete with stories of Jews who have been massacred for their faith or heritage. But the Jewish people survive. We have outlived the Babylonians, the Romans, the Spanish, Nazi Germany, and the Soviets. We suffer greatly, but we are left standing.
There is no such Divine guarantee for the United States of America. In our book, America’s Real War, we discuss how Christianity in the U.S. differed from Christianity in Europe. I firmly believe that this country merited blessing for that choice. If it turns its back on its own core foundational values, whether it champions doing so in the name of atheism, socialism, Islam, or Christianity, it should not expect those blessings to continue. For almost 250 years, the United States was not susceptible to anti-Semitism. Today, it is.
“Jews are the canary in the coal mine,” is a frequently repeated trope. I disagree. For years now, America has had flocks of canaries in their schools, streets, offices, and homes. Take your pick: imprisoned women being forced to share a cell with men, cackles of joy when Charlie Kirk was assassinated, violent criminals being released over and over again. However, the insanity was overwhelmingly on one side of the political and cultural aisle. Now, when it comes to anti-Semitism, it is reaching across the aisle.
I’m not ready to give up hope. America is filled with millions of good people, those who don’t necessarily make headlines or populate Instagram feeds. Perhaps their families have lived here for generations or maybe they have newly arrived and are appreciative of how special the United States is.
The ultimate target of today’s diatribes is not Jews alone. It is Christians, and indeed, atheists too. It is ultimately, the freedoms enumerated in the Constitution. Americans need to know what is happening in cities like Dearborn, MI, and Plano, TX. We all need to understand the causes and implications of the terrifying story of the English Pakistani grooming gangs. We all need to be aware of the rates of “immigrant” rape in Sweden.
Naiveté and ignorance leave us unprepared to protect and defend our children. We all need to get educated and to take strong and decisive stands now. Before hate-filled extremism makes further inroads into the church and into conservative culture, American Christians need to push back. They possess the spiritual tools to see the dangers more quickly and insightfully than most others. May God grant them clarity before it is too late.
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The more I am in the Bible, the more I find myself desiring God and His Way. I am coming more toward tHaDarekh (transliterated) that Paul references in the book of Acts encompassing the Law (Torah/Tanakh) and the Prophets, rather than the modern Christian doctrines that claim separation from “Jewish” teachings and only Christian grace. Yeshua regularly called the Jews during His time on earth back to the teachings within the Law of Moses (as the Torah is traditionally refered to and He Himself references it as) and the early “Christians” (whom were called “followers of the Way”) were taught the same. We aren’t supposed to have “less”, “none”, or a “different set of” laws. No where do the prophets state that happening. In fact Paul says we are grafted into the common wealth if Israel. I choose to follow God’s Word, have entered into His [re]newed Covenant, and consider those who who are in the same Covenant my brothers and sisters. I walk the walk of Yehsua, which is the walk of the ancient path discribed in Jeremiah 6 and 18, and I chose to follow it by the help and grace of God. I follow God’s Holy Days (moedim) after He told me to learn about His Appointed Times. Once His calendar made sense to me I jumped all in, and left fake and “sanctified” holidays behind. That’s where I am at currently in my faith life.
While there is darkness and cold hearts are expanding, God is drawing me closer to Him and His family. 💞
I appreciate your writing, Kat.
I am a Christian who grew up on Long Island NY. Our next door neighbor was a Holocaust survivor who had lived in Poland as the war began. My parents were a blessing to him and his family and his wife watched over me after school each day (I learned to love potato pancakes and knishes). We would celebrate Pesach and Hannukah with them. Over time I became a prison chaplain, served in the Air Force Chaplain Corps, and have been a pastor of a church for the past five years. I know there are some great theological differences between Christians and Jews but (those who a true Christians) believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Abrahamic Covenant (and our blessings because of this). Israel and Jerusalem are the Almighty’s chosen land and city and the Jews His chosen people. Most Evangelical Christians stand with Israel and the Jews. However, many catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodist, Church of Christ have become apostate and hold to “replacement theology” (the Church replaced Israel) which is absolutely wrong and is actually the reverse of what is taught in the New Testament. Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson and some others have done great damage, to their own demise, in preaching these falsehoods. Unfortunately, many Jewish Americans are voting for leaders who are directly opposed to God and the Jewish people (this is almost unbelievable). I don’t consider them Jewish any more than I consider an Apostate Christian as a Christian. God Bless Israel and the faithful Jews. I will keep praying for all of you.
Bill
Rev. Bill, our first book, America’s Real War, grew from an attempt to explain why so many of Jewish background voted in direct opposition to God’s word. The wonder of the United States was that people from different experiences and faith could live together – that seems to be fracturing now.
I agree 100%. I am a Christian who supports Israel and the Jews. The world we live in is filled with such hate, it’s just scary. People are being polarized, which seems like a good thing. Most people are somewhat indifferent to the chaos in the world, but the times we live in is forcing people to choose between good and evil, hate and love. I see a lot of people joining our side, praise the Lord.
Kathy, the choice is so stark today. But, it has been so in the past as well and, unfortunately, many good pepople don’t see the choice until it is too late.
I wish I disagreed with the premise, but the fact is that there’s an appalling amount of baseless criticism from people who should know better. It isn’t helpful that many people who are ethnically Jewish are aligning with the other side. Make no mistake, those who thought they had succeeded in creating a “New World Order” have not abandoned, the idea, they believed that they had won and now they’re desperately eager to re-establish dominance. Along the way, some former allies are being diverted. This _may_ not be the entry into the Book of the Revelation of Saint John, but … not much is missing, either. “Keep the Faith” is more important than ever before.
Richard, it is a challenge to keep one’s spirits up – and absolutely necessary.
I read While Time Remains by Yeonmi Park. She had a similar warning.
I have not heard of this book. I will look for it.
Well-written! I too am shocked and disgusted with Tucker Carlson and Candice Owens. I really expected more from them. We (my husband & I) are standing with our Jewish friends and the State of Israel. May God continue to give us courage to do so in the future.
Debbie, I care deeply about Jews and the land of Israel. What I am hoping to convey is that there is a threat to another land that I love. — the United States. We must all pray for courage as you do.
Sixty years ago, on 28 October 1965, Vatican Council II, with the promulgation of the Declaration Nostra Aetate, opened up a new horizon of encounter, respect and spiritual hospitality. This luminous Document teaches us to meet the followers of other religions not as outsiders, but as travelling companions on the path of truth; to honour differences affirming our common humanity; and to discern, in every sincere religious search, a reflection of the one divine Mystery that embraces all creation.
In particular, it should not be forgotten that the first focus of Nostra Aetate was towards the Jewish world, which which Saint John XXIII intended to re-establish the original relationship. For the first time in the history of the Church, a doctrinal treatise on the Jewish roots of Christianity was to take shape, which on a biblical and theological level would represent a point of no return. A “bond … spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham’s stock. Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God’s saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets” (Nostra Aetate, 4). In this way, the Church, “mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel’s spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone” (ibid.). Since then, all my predecessors have condemned anti-Semitism with clear words. And so I too confirm that the Church does not tolerate anti-Semitism and fights against it, on the basis of the Gospel itself.
Pope Leo
Thank you for sharing that, Anthony. From what I am hearing, many younger Catholics are upset at reforms in the Church. I know that my husband once spoke at a Catholic pro-life event and we were shocked when more than one participant told us that their priest never mentioned opposing abortion for fear of alienating parishioners. They certainly have no respect for Joe Biden or other public leaders who present themselves as Catholics – and it was under President Biden that there was an attack on serious Catholics.
They see showing respect for Judaism as part of a weakening of the Church that they have been observing. It will take strong leadership to direct their concerns, many of which are valid, in a healthy direction.