Antisemitism: The Power of Myth - Defining Antisemitism

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Although we see ourselves as unique individuals, we tend to see others as representatives of groups. It's a natural tendency, psychologists tell us. Although it is natural to generalize, stereotypes are offensive. A stereotype is a generalization about an individual based solely on the real or imagined characteristics of a group. Stereotyping dehumanizes individuals by denying their individuality. Frank Wu, a law professor at Howard University, believes that there is a "slippery slope" leading from stereotypes about foreign governments, races, and ethnic groups to individuals by way of the catch-all phrase "you people." In his view, stereotyping can often lead to violence, because there are no clear stopping points on that "slippery slope."¹

In 1913, Jews who understood the dangers of the "slippery slope" that Wu describes founded the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In their experience, hateful words too often led to hateful acts. Yet not every crime against a Jew is an antisemitic act. How does one decide when a crime is an expression of hate for an entire people? Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, offers one response:

Obviously, when an antisemitic expression is used in connection with an act, judgment is easy. Vandalism with a swastika or hateful anti-Jewish rhetoric are common examples. Also fairly simple is when Jewish institutions are attacked. If tombstones in a Jewish cemetery are overturned, if a synagogue is vandalized, then even without any articulation of the motive it is safer to categorize it as an anti-Jewish act.

Things get stickier when the motives are not self-evident. In our extensive work on the subjects of prejudice and hate crimes, we have always been careful to oppose the notion that simply because something bad happens to an individual who belongs to a minority that it must be because of prejudice. A Jew mugged on a street in New York is not necessarily the victim of a hate crime. Indeed, we believe the tendency to cast everything in racial, ethnic, and antisemitic terms undermines the important efforts to combat and rally support against true manifestations of hatred.

Nor should the Jewish community expect law enforcement to rush to judgment when there is legitimate doubt about whether a crime was indeed an antisemitic hate crime....

In other words, credibility can be undermined in two ways: by calling every act against a Jew antisemitism, and by denying the obvious motivation of Jew-hatred when it does exist.

Why does it matter? The answer lies in the fact that a crime against a Jew because he or she is a Jew-an act of antisemitism-traumatizes the entire Jewish community. When Jews across France face a rash of synagogue burnings, vandalism of Jewish institutions and personal attacks on individuals, while French leaders refuse to label these crimes what they obviously are-antisemitism-Jews face a double hit. The trauma of the incidents themselves is coupled with the unwillingness of officials to acknowledge the antisemitism and, hence, to act on the understanding that Jews are in jeopardy.

In this time of crisis for world Jewry, we have before us a classic challenge to stand up with all our strength to explore and counter the manifold old and new manifestations of antisemitism, while not succumbing to the temptation to see every action affecting Jews adversely as antisemitic.²

Connections

How does Foxman define the word antisemitism? How is his definition similar to the one created by Wilhelm Marr in 1879? (See Introduction.) What differences are most striking? How do you define the term? Create a working definition of antisemitism. A working definition is one that grows and deepens as you read and reflect.

Note: In writing the word antisemitism, many people place a hyphen after the prefix anti. Facing History and many others spell the word without the hyphen. Wilhelm Marr hyphenated the word antisemitism because he believed that Jews belonged to the "Semitic race." There is no such thing. The word semitic refers to a group of related languages, not to a people.

In a 1998 report issued by the American Psychological Association, criminologist Jack McDevitt calls hate crimes "message crimes." "They are different from other crimes," he argues, "in that the offender is sending a message to members of a certain group that they are unwelcome." To what extent is McDevitt's definition of a hate crime similar to Foxman's definition of antisemitism? According to Foxman, what other characteristics distinguish a hate crime from other crimes? What would you add to the list? Record your ideas in your journal or on a sheet of paper. You may wish to add to your list or revise it as you continue reading.

State legislatures have often defined a hate crime as the use of force or the threat of force to willfully injure, intimidate, interfere with, oppress, or threaten an individual because of his or her actual or perceived "race," color, religion, ethnicity, or gender. Some have also included crimes committed against individuals because of a physical or mental disability or their sexual orientation. What does the way a hate crime is defined suggest about who is included within a nation's "universe of obligation" -the individuals and groups toward whom it has obligations, to whom rules apply, and for whose injuries it seeks justice?

In April 2002, vandals threw a cinder block through the glass doors at Hillel, the Jewish community center at the University of California at Berkeley, and spray-painted antisemitic graffiti around the building. Jessica Oleon, the president of the Jewish Students' Union, said of the incident, "The rest of campus doesn't always feel so safe for Jewish students, so this was really a violation of a space that is safe. It's important to have Hillel as a home base." Student Daniel Frankenstein told a reporter, "It's tough to go from being so comfortable to being actively afraid of violence." What message did the vandalism send to Jewish students at Berkeley? How did a message sent by a few vandals affect the way many Jewish students viewed themselves in relation to the university as a whole? How do your responses explain why Foxman believes it is important to identify hate crimes because "a crime against a Jew because he or she is a Jew-an act of antisemitism-traumatizes the entire Jewish community?" How might his remarks apply to hate crimes against individuals who belong to other vulnerable groups?

Who decides whether a crime against a Jew is an antisemitic act? Who decides whether any crime is a hate crime?

What message do the law enforcement agencies send when they respond aggressively to hate crimes? When they refuse to acknowledge antisemitism or other forms of bigotry? What does their response suggest about the way the society as a whole defines its universe of obligation?

Some people argue that attacks on individuals are a crime everywhere and that hate crime legislation is therefore unnecessary. As a result, a number of states have refused to pass hate crime laws. Even those that have such laws have sometimes resisted including crimes committed against some individuals and groups in their definition of a hate crime. For example, the federal government recognizes only crimes committed because of the victim's "race," color, religion, or ethnicity as hate crimes. It does not recognize crimes committed because of a disability or sexual orientation. If hate crimes send a message, what is the message sent by crime legislation to victims, perpetrators, and bystanders? Find out more about hate crime legislation in your state. Who is protected? Who do you think should be protected?

¹ Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White by Frank H. Wu. Basic Books, 2002, p. 88.

² "When Is a Crime Against a Jew Antisemitic," by Abraham Foxman. Forward, August 10, 2002, op. ed..

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