I'll add updates as this craziness warrants.

Excellent point. The FBI figure is really surprising - I would have guessed that Muslims would be targeted in the US more than we were, but that number says we're under 2% short of being targeted twice as much as all other religions Combined.

Kosh targeting Muslims is, acc. to the FBI, the second-most popular pasttime among American bigots who lash out.

Never need an excuse to expose and rail against hatred.

Matt the FBI note actually surprised me as it did Kosh.
Thanks, Matt. :)

I think it is a rational act to write frequently about anti-semitism, when anti-semitism is still an everyday reality. As I write this the French police report they have the shooter holed up in a shootout, and hit four Jewish victims' bodies are being flown back to Israel for burial.

Yes, you do need to stop and smell the cherry blossoms, and play silly word games, and remember good things too, or, as the saying goes, "the terrorists win." But as long as atrocities keep happening, they must be embraced as relevant topics for commentary.

David Thank you! I hope, too, thay snatch up the bum.

The latest update... the four Jewish victims have now been buried in Israel.

The shooter is cornered, two policemen have been wounded, a .45 pistol has been recovered, but he is thought to still have an Uzi and an AK-47.

Police are under orders to capture him alive.

David Thank you!

Jonathan - I don't wonder for half a nano-second why you are committed - or obsessed - with keeping this history 'alive'! Im quite well versed on WWII - from a psychological AND personal level, and used to own a copy of Mein Kampf - which i had to actually THROW OUT after a year when i couldn't stand the thought of it in my house any longer! You keep it up, J - and there's no need to apologize or explain. I've told people to watch what's happening in France as it is a precursor to what will be happening here shortly - making 64.5% look like a pittance! Not just against jews, ultimately - but - always starting there, of course!

The Chinese have a racist streak, too; all cultures are capable of it, but they don't randomly commit violence against the people they look down on (the Han Chinese).

They look down on all foreigners. I have to accept the fact I am not Chinese, therefore not an equal in their eye and I never will be. I left my job after a (British) colleague told me the new VP kicked him out of the manger's office where he was helping with the schedule. She told him, "This is a no-foreigner office."

I could not believe it. She is a new VP and she saw him as a spy. She wasn't going to have that.

That's how the Chinese show their racist face. And I quit that company, and am damn glad I did.

Writing about persecution and injustice is always timely JW, regardless of who the direct victims are. Early reports I've heard suggest that the French shooter has an unusual military background. An Algerian who claims to be Al-Qaeda who's spent time in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Ink your comment inspires me; really. I very much appreciate it.

P.S. My friend quit too, and about 10 others. You do not stand alone my friend.

Kate I was expelled from the PRC in the mid-80s as a esult of what you talk abt here. I've written abt it here and at www.talkingwriting.com.

Abra I'll be interested in how this plays out ans in who he is and represents. Thanks!

You will ultimately find racism just about everywhere. The US has way further to go in this regard than most Americans are aware of, but the US also has one huge intrinsic advantage in fighting it ultimately: Nationality and ethnicity are almost completely unrelated here.

Anti- semitism the hate that never ends...it was reported yesterday that 24% of the French population is anti- Semitic , probably the same in Britain ....
It will never go away, we're easy to oppress because we're so few... That is why Israel is so important, that there is always a place to flee, and feel free and protected.
We can say all we want about the goodness of people but even now the killings haven't stopped; dafur, Bosnia , Rwanda , etc and the world turns a blind eye until afterwards, and then proclaims that this injustice should never happen again... Until the next time... Keep writing...

Kosh yes; I think you've made that point before. I hope you'll revisit that theme in a new piece of your own; perhaps it's time?

Ray sure I will. And you're right abt the other instances you raise. I have to say, too, that I think Kosh is onto something as to why it may feel differently here. Thank you, Ray!

That's a surprising figure. Or I found it to be. That's why it's important to shine a spotlight. If it's not publicized, it's easy for those of us who aren't within a targeted group to imagine there's no widespread problem. In school anti-semitism was taught to us as something that happened in the Holocaust, as if it happened a long time ago...

Never stop, Jonathan. I was appalled to learn of anti-Semitism here in Colorado at my son's school, and by some kids in our neighborhood against one of my son's best friends. My son's friend was told he was "going to hell for not believing in Jesus," and another kid in my son's classroom was told he "was a Jew because of his big nose." Can you believe the Nazi propaganda still being perpetuated in this day and age? Where does this hatred spring from? I never understood anti-Semitism to begin with. It's a social cancer that needs to be cured once and for all, and shining a light in all the dark places helps enlighten people, and keep ignorance at bay.

Ms V thank you I wish it were all long since and that % stunned me, too.

Deborah I wrote a piece on the Why a few months back. Perhaps I'll re-post it soon. Thanks!

Hatred always needs to be exposed.

Mary thank you very much; and yes; it does.

I could not believe the shooting at the school and wonder what generation the shooters family started the hate.
Is this hate never going to end?
Well done.
HUGGGGGGGGGGGG

Linda I've no damned idea. Thank you.

Keep it up!!

Never forget. Well, how can we when things like that French incident happen.

Write on dear coz; write on!

roberto thanks!

Rog sure will. Thank you for this!

Myriad how can we...is so right.

Keep up the good work Jon. I learn something from you every day.

"The FBI reports that crimes against Jews as Jews now tops the list of all religion-based crimes in the US. That is, 65.4% are committed against Jews...."

I looked at the 2010 data. The vast majority of hate crimes against Jews are vandalism, intimidation, and so on. In 2010 actual crimes of violence against persons (Jews) consisted of 12 incidents of aggravated assault. No murder, no rape, no manslaughter. Even a single crime is one too many, but out of a population of 300 million people, that's a relatively small number.

Amy thanks very, very much.

Mish Jews throughout America feel safer for your report.
Todah Rabah.

More horrors as the same evil plays out. I'm glad you keep writing about it, all these years later and it continues. How do we make it stop?

L'h we're less than two generations from the moment when the Church decided formally that Jews were not responsible for destroying Jesus, so I'm betting it'll be a while. Needless to say, the Church is not alone responsible for anti-Semitism, yet as a historical marker, the Church's turn on that question is not old, so any religious basis for the hatred that existed/exists, will take some time to be gone. As to racial theories of anti-Semitism (the Nazi ideology), many as yet hold to that nonsense.

This is why I have lost any belief in religion. Every sick act of violence committed in the name of god makes me physically ill. I won't deny anyone the right to believe what they want up to the point that it is used to excuse murder. The fact is that people misconstrue the words that they attribute to god in order to justify their own prejudices, not everyone of course, but listen to what religious leaders say sometime. Religion has outlived it's prime function, a political power structure that allowed the well educated few to rule with absolute authority over an illiterate world.
I don't know everything, I say these things representing nothing other than my own opinion. If you find this position offensive I am sorry, I do not intend it to be such.

I see anti-semitism in subtle ways, no matter the denial. Often on the left. Always need to be vigilent.

bob bertrand russell said Cruel Men believe in a Cruel God in order to Justify their Cruelty.

Lea I stopped attending some political events/marches long ago bc of that, yes.

One of my best friends, a professor, is constantly naming who is Jew and did this or that knowing I am of Sephardic descent. I have never called him on it but wonder why.

Miguela I am glad you're not pre-judging; would, though, be interesting to find out why, yes.

Antisemitism exists because it will not be denounced by those who carry the most weight. Has Obama ever spoken out on this issue? Directly to the American people? Not wrapped in some rhetoric in order to get the Jewish vote?
Will the Roman Church ever denounce the use of Christ Killer terminology. It is not about religion anymore. Its about power and constituency. The church recruits from the dis-enfranchised. Most mid-westerners, of my generation, have never lived amongst Jews unless they went "away" to college. The only Jews they knew were their doctors. Bernie, our dear Jewish robber, enhanced the idea that Jews are filthy money lenders. He played the hand and lost for the rest of us. Antisemitism is here to stay. It galls me to say it...but the day it goes away, will be the day that pigs fly.

Thank you again, for your valiant effort in bringing peace to this country. Jon...you are a beacon..continue with your good work.

Ande the President denounced it in his address at Cairo University and in other venues.
The Church reversed its position as to the murder of Jesus abt 2 generations back. Not that long since.

These incidents might constitute a sad trend, but it exists within a much larger fundamental genetic flaw in our entire race. We use the term "cannon fodder" in a largely metaphorical way now, but it was not long ago that the dead littered great battlefields by the tens of thousands. The flaw seems to be that humans feel great pain when a near loved one is hurt or killed, but nothing whatever (except joy sometimes) when a stranger dies, or when a million "different-believers" are massacred.

Joe speaking for myself only, I do not feel only for my own people, nor have I ever. I do not believe I'm alone.

Should I clarify since this post is regarding antisemitism directly? Okay, You have every right to note the extreme and pervasive nature of this particular aspect of religious hate and violence. Antisemitism has been at the root of the most vile crimes in history. A constant willingness to expose it for what it is is likely the only thing that keeps it in what tiny level of check it is held in.

bob thanks tho i believe i understood you, friend, before this kind clarification

Jon, I am talking about Obama ..speaking to the American people, in the United States. The average anti-Semite in the US probably doesn't listen to the President in Cairo. And yes, the church has definitely softened its rhetoric. I had to deal with it every Easter. And so did my children. By the way, as I have mentioned before, all of my step-children and grandchildren are Catholic. I attend church with them. I would just love to see the Priests speak more about the evils of anti-Semitism..racism and the other isms which promote distrust.

Ande home-grown antiSems here don't tend to listen to this President. :)

Jonathan: "Mish Jews throughout America feel safer for your report. Todah Rabah."

You're welcome. They should feel safer. But it's not my report; it's the FBI's report. Saying that 65 percent of religious bias crimes are against Jews is fine, but it's important to know what are the crimes that make up that figure. I think you would agree that there is a difference between 900 acts of vandalism and 900 murders. The average American Jew is vastly more likely to be injured in the course of an ordinary crime than he or she is to be injured in a hate crime.

Overall, in 2010 there were 1.2 million violent crimes. In 2010 American Jews made up 2.1 percent of the total population. Assuming that American Jews are victims of violent crimes at the same rate of the total population, Jews were victims of 25,200 violent crimes, 12 of which were hate crimes.

In other words, an American Jew is around 2,000 times as likely to be injured or killed in an "ordinary" crime than in a hate crime. If I were a Jew and concerned about my personal safety, I would be far more concerned with ordinary crime than hate crime.

Mish I take the point.

I am always befuddled by acts like this. How can one see something to hate or fear in a child? The "why" of it all will never be clear or make any sense. As a human, I feel a sense of shame that one of us could do such a thing, and a piece of my heart dies with each life sacrifice. At times I feel like a child, bewildered and totally unprepared for the savagery of our species.

beauty i rather doubt the killings had to do w fearing the dead in this case; hate doesn't always denote fear.

@ Mishima
"If I were a Jew and concerned about my personal safety, I would be far more concerned with ordinary crime than hate crime."

Perhaps, if you were a Jew, you would have a different feeling about it. I was the target of anti-semitic bullying for 6 years (grades 6-12) when I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and, although I was rarely physically hurt, that created in me an overwhelming distrust of all Christians that lasted for any years. While one can be safe from physical harm, the feeling of being always surrounded by a potential for abuse and more makes one always feel vulnerable. With antisemitism, there are so many examples of what starts out as mild abuse escalating into full fledged anger and destruction. We are aware of the German treatment of the Jews but, look at the Jews of Iraq who had been part of the community there for thousands of years. In 1939 a wave of Jew-hate swept the country, and 200 Jews were killed and thousands injured.

What may be casually dismissed and ignored by a secure white Christian as a slight murmur of disapproval may sound to a Jew as a warning bell that precedes something far greater.

People like these perps are the worst people in the world.

Trav you have said this far better than I might have. Thank you so much.

Lefty among the very worst; yes.

Sheer horror of it all.

This is a horrible tragedy. Hate crimes need to be exposed and addressed by all civil societies throughout the world. It appears, if you've been following this particular case, the perpetrator has wider motivations since he's also killed police.

As for the issue of "anti-Semitism", and how the term is being used by fascists in Israel to silence opposition, I quote from Tony Judt's new book, THINKING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY:

"In any serious discussion of the Middle East and Israel, someone is going to ask you whether the time has come to distinguish Israel from the Holocaust, since the later should not be allowed to serve as a Get Out Of Jail card for a rogue state."

That's a new level of discussion about anti-Semitism in the 21st century.

It needs to be kept visible in broad daylight, especially when tragedies like the one in Toulouse and in Germany keep happening.

Those poor children. The Rabbi's wife must really be suffering, right now. Her whole family, cut down on the street and murdered, that way. As must Miriam's parents.

rated

Errrrmmmm... Got some mixed emotions here.

Are Jews often "selected" as targets for hate? OF COURSE! To say otherwise would be rediculous!

Are Jews THE most selected targets? I'm thinking not in reality. They might be the MOST reported by both themselves and the FBI, but I've got to think that their "targeting" pales in comparison to that of the members of the LGBTQ community and women in general.

Additionally, I'd like to once again remind everyone one that the Jews were both the only group sought out and murdered by the Nazis. I know the Holacaust wasn't specifically mentioned, but it certainly was alluded to AND the Jews were not the majority of the people "targeted" by the Nazis, but we're just one of many such groups.

CORRECTION:

Should read - "Jews were NOT the only group"

(and strike the comment about nobody mentioning the Holacaust cuz Ben Sen and I cross posted! ;) )

Shiral I cannot fathom their suffering just now.

Amy no one denies that others were and are not haters' targets.

Amy I'd say, too, that all of my readers know that if there is a theme i return to most often it is the rights of, and inane bigotry directed at, LGBT citizens here and elsewhere.

Jonathan,

Thank you for posting this. The news of the attack on the school was so tragic. I immediately thought about my nephew who attends a Jewish Day School on the North Shore. Every time there is an attack like that elsewhere they increase security at his school too.

The Nazis killed many people from all groups but they specifically targeted the jews for prolonged Genocide. That Amy poster ,who suggests that the FBI figures you report are somehow a product of jews overereporting or something similarly unsavory is just too blinded by hate to argue with. Even so, your response to her is too polite for my tastes.

BenSen,
These victims weren't in Israel. This was an attack on Jews. If you think that Israel's existence somehow justifies this kind of thing, particularly not in Israel at all, please say so; otherwise, the topic on the table isn't Israel.

Amy,
Mixed emotions? You think somehow that if any of us complain about antisemitism that it means we somehow minimize the suffering or civil rights aspects of gays in America or elsewhere? Neither Jonathan nor I view these two minorities as somehow in competition, but apparently you do. Why, I have no idea. We don't do comparative persecution because it doesn't work and it's irrelevant.

My Temple (or synagogue, if you prefer a more generic term) is at the forefront of religious institutions down here that are fighting against a coming state referendum defining marriage constitutionally as strictly between a man and a woman. Reform Judaism, the largest division of Judaism in America, is a staunch supporter of gay rights. I find it more than peculiar that you would suggest that mutual support when it comes to persecution is somehow inappropriate.

what's that old saying? "the cost of freedom is vigilance"?

Walt it is; yes.

"Kosh targeting Muslims is, acc. to the FBI, the second-most popular pasttime among American bigots who lash out."

I cannot beat that, Jon! I hope with all my heart that one day this subject will become irrelevant, but I wouldn't hold my breath. R

Diary any time. :)

Thoth me too.

Fernsy I understand. There are issues on which she and I see eye-to-eye; on this we do not.

Mr. Wolfman, I concur with many of the writers; you shouldn't have to justify. As a Catholic kid whose public school was roughly 80 percent Jewish, I knew a lot more about Judaism than my old schoolmates in parochial school. And this was in the era when Israel proved it could effectively and smartly fight in the Middle East (something Americans as a whole haven't learned yet).

And yes, it still goes on. It hasn't been long since some ass spray-painted swastikas and hateful words on someone's suburban house in the relatively genial suburbs of Orlando. It's right to never forget, and to be suspicious of the ones who want you to forget. Just as long as it remains only part of your writing...as long as it doesn't possess you and override the other parts of your writing soul.

Kosh the distinctions you draw are ones I'd have, too.

Kosh the distinctions you draw are ones I'd have, too.

neutron thank you very much

"Unsavory", "too blinded by hate", "irrelevant" and "inappropriate"???

Because I dared question The preeminence of Jews being the #1 targeted group in America? Seriously people???

Well excuse the hell out of me! Gawd knows I don't want to get in the way of your unstoppable victimhood propaganda machine! I obviously forgot that that is something that can't EVER Be questioned because you've got a virtual trade mark on it.

I'll just go back and be quite now with the THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of women and LGBT people who are assaulted every damn year, but don't have nifty FBI reports to trumpet.

Carry on.

Jonathan, No need at all to apologize. This has been one of the greatest scandals of humankind for thousands of years. It is a form of insanity, and those who practice it must be stomped. The fact that other groups are victims of hate crimes doesn't make the plight of the Jews any less significant. Anyone who tries to follow that line of argument should be asked, flatly, Do you dislike the Jews? However, you may not get candid answers.

Kosher:

I am well aware the attack was in France.

I can add on to the conversation and as long as Jonathan doesn't delete it remains my contribution and those interested can see another opinion. It is what I do to create a dialogue on my own blog.

I know at any rate, no matter what I say, eventually you will find reason to doubt my humanity. I've had enough conversations with you to know that is your default position. Since Judt was Jewish they simply called him self-hating, in my case you get to call me anti-Semitic.

You add in your way, and I'll add in mine.

Arthur that well may be so w some, even many. I have to add that I have found common ground on other issues w Amy, particularly on LGBT rights under law.

@ Arthur Louis:

Candid answer: I don't hate Jews in the slightest. Israel because they are a bunch of abusive murders and Judism because I'm an atheistic leaning agnostic and dislikes EVERY organized religion because they have cause more war, deaths & poverty then all other causes combined = YOU BET! But the people themselves, no. (but nice try!)

Now let me ask YOU one:

Why is it that whenever anyone says ANYTHING about Jews, Judism or Israel people just like you try to label them as antisemintic???

In my fight to temper my cynicism, I just put a hold on a new book, Pax Ethnica, by Karl Meyer and Shareen Brysac at my local library. Perhaps some of your readers know of it or wish to know of it. Meyer and Brysac, a husband/wife team “undertook a two-year exploration of oases of civility, places notable for minimal violence, rising life-expectancy, high literacy, and pragmatic compromises on cultural rights. They explored the Indian state of Kerala, the Russian republic of Tatarstan, the city of Marseille in France, the city of Flensburg, Germany, and the borough of Queens, New York.” They document ways and means that have proven successful in defusing ethnic tensions. The book “elegantly blends political history, sociology, anthropology, and journalism, to provide big ideas for peace.” Quotes from a description by Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon.

The assassin is reported to have said that he killed the children in revenche for the Palestinian children victims.He was trained by the Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan.the soldiers were dark,and one was black.The problem is not antisemitic only;in my opinion,the strongest force behind it is the fundamental Islam terror network.
The assassin's brother had been put under custody ,and the police special unit is trying to capture this young man alive.

Linda Secc.
The police had brought the mother of the killer to the house where her son is hiding,but she won't talk to her son as she has long lost influence on him.

beauty thanks so much!

Jonathan,I take you by your word.

"Joe speaking for myself only, I do not feel only for my own people, nor have I ever. I do not believe I'm alone."

Heidi thanks and I hope they o snatch him alive.

usually the reasons people cite for NOT talking about something are the reasons we should... funny that.

i think its always best to speak often & out loud. if we dont, we forget.
and we should never forget.

lorianne so very right. :)

@SB'sAmy,
Hopefully your problem is not bigotry, but reading comprehension. Note what the article actually says. "...tops the list of all religion-based crimes in the US. " Did you not note "religion-based" when you were reading? The statistics were not encompassing all hate crimes.

Jonathan, thank you for the information!
r./

Amy: I think people who remember Hitler tend to be sensitive, and very worried, about those who discuss Jews in a less than flattering light. I find that understandable. Maybe, in view of the Holocaust (not to mention the countless persecutions that preceded it), it is best to give Jews a little extra consideration. Not an entirely rational proposition, perhaps, but let's not give another Hitler any encouragement whatsoever. And yes, that code of behavior can be used on behalf of other groups who are singled out for discrimination and hatred.

OnIsland any time!

Arthur Thank you.

You are by no means a one-hymn choir, Jon. You write passionately about ALL persecuted and misrepresented groups, and you also host many deeply important discussions on your blog. If somebody has a problem with your pointing up anti-Semitism, perhaps they protesteth too much, if you get my drift.

Lezlie

This is a crazy place. Glad you are making it more sane with your writing.

Rated

@ Louis Arthur:

Remembering Hitler is no more of a legitimate grounds to say/imply someone is anti-Semitic than remembering John Calhoun is grounds for calling somebody racist or remembering Dan White is grounds for calling you a homophobe (I have other and better reasons for calling you that, dude).

Additionally, seeing as how Jews should get "a little more consideration" because of the Holacaust don't you think that gay men should get even MORE "a little more consideration" seeing as how a higher percentage of them were murdered by the Nazis? What about the Slavs? There was a higher total number of them killed? Romani maybe??? Bueller????


*** Sorry, JLW. I know I said I was going to stay the hell off your blog, but I'm damn tired of being called anti-Semitic just because I dare ever to disagree. That is purest BS and you know it.

The way to solve antisemitism is to bring people to the 2nd Avenue Deli in Manhattan and serve them a large pastrami on rye (with Russian dressing and sauerkraut), side of potato salad, potato knish, kosher dill pickle and a large glass of root beer or cream soda.

Sit on the bar stool in the front and have a 1 hour long conversation with the sweet old man proprietor of the establishment, whom, if memory serves me, is a Jew from Brooklyn and served in WW2. He has enough warmth, joy and chutzpah to make anybody feel welcome and warm and its disarming enough to quell the hatred of anybody, I'm sure.

I say we round up the skinheads and send them there and give them pastrami. They'll come out normal.

Perhaps exposure is the key?

RW Your solution is worthy of a Nobel Peace Nomination.

Amy as far as I am concerned you're welcome at my blog when we agree wholly and when we don't. I'm also not in favor of anyone suggesting anything negative abt commenters. I do agree w Kosh when he says that the disagreements many here have as to Israel are pretty irrelevant to the murders of Jewish kids in France.

Rwoo5g:

The 2nd ave. deli has been closed now for over five years. abe, the owner, disappeared one night and was never seen or heard from again. katz's is still open, it's better anyway, and the owners are still jewish.

Ben is so right. Katz' is as good or better than the Carnegi Deli. My sister-in-law sends us an enormous salami each winter.

The Second Avenue Deli is still open. http://www.2ndavedeli.com/

Its just not on second avenue anymore.

And it has a new owner.

I was there last summer

http://www.2ndavedeli.com/about/deli-history/

You raise it because it exists and ignoring it will not eliminate it. Truth and education are the key...which is why those who want to retain power, fear it.

When people seek out discussions about Israel specifically to rant about their horrible behavior and are totally silent about certainly more horrible situations in the world, then I can only wonder what specific issue about Israel causes this vehemence in one direction and virtual silence in so many others.
No one has yet answered this question - posed several times.

Sharon so right. :)

Trav Like others here and as you know, I write on others' victimization as well. Thank you for this.

SafeBetAmy"I don't want to get in the way of your unstoppable victimhood propaganda machine"

Are you aware of such a an unstoppable victimhood machine, Jonathan? Don't you think her ugly statements and even uglier insinuations do not require politeness?
Saying something negative about this commenter is imperative. Her lesbianism should not sheild her.

Fernsy I am certain Amy knows and from well long ago that I disagree w her wholly on Israel and, as I've said here, I don't think it's at all useful or legitimate to raise Israel in the context of the wanton murders of school kids in France. I think she's wholly aware that I think this. Nothing on earth could possibly come close to justifying that.

A couple of summers ago, on a gorgeous summer day, I was parked next to the DAR building right near the White House waiting for my grand-daughters who were seeing the Holocaust Museum. I was just leaning against my car, reading and waiting – enjoying the day. An African American man, wearing some sort of semi-uniform walked around the corner, looking intently at the grass and shrubs.

He asked me what I was reading and we fell into a pleasant conversation. I told him about my grandchildren and he said he was responsible for the DAR building and was getting ready for an event that day. He asked if I had ever been inside and I said that I hadn't.

I said that I was surprised to get a parking spot and that it was probably because Congress was not in session and all the politicians and lobbyists were out of town. He replied, as if the comment was on the tip of his tongue. 'Well, that's what we got too many of in this town, politicians and Jews.'

That moment crystallized for me what Jews feel almost anywhere, that there is this free-floating anger, this inchoate hatred, that needs only the slightest opportunity to surface.

I read people's comments here and I see that same kind of hatred, sometimes clothed in polite, smooth words, sometimes just venomous, sometimes with an attempt to justify it or deny it.

And I think how little it would take to make that person part of a mob - because they have their reasons all ready.

I can protect myself from crime to a great degree but I can't protect myself from the hate that seems to flow so strongly but so quietly and in so many places.

Whoa! Just a freakin minute here!

NOBODY is trying to justify the murder of those people! Nor is anyone bringing up Israel in regards to the attack. To imply that is disingenuous at best!

The SUBJECT of this post has to do with anti-semitism. My initial comments had to do with what I perceive to be an inflated amount of attention given to it and the subsequent ones had to do with SEVERAL people's out right and implied accusations of anti-semitism against anyone who disagrees.

Seems to me the label "anti-Semite" is being used as a weapon here instead of a label to describe a person who has been proven to hate Jews. That is pretty BS in my opinion and it also diminishes the terms effectiveness when justly applied.

@ Fersy: Nobody is hiding behind their orientation ESPECIALLY me. If you disagree with me say so. Stop with the insults and the baseless alligations, though. The term "anti-Semite" isn't a weapon to beat people you disagree with NOR is their orientation.

Amy,
Firstly, in regards to anyone bringing up Israel into this discussion, that was BenSen, a couple of comments above yours. Why he thought it was a good idea to make absolutely sure he got in a dig at Israel in response to a post about the murder of Jewish children in France and the murder of Jewish and Muslim business owners by a neo-Nazi gang in Germany is anybody's guess. None of the Zionists in here were talking about Zionism at all in any capacity, much less attempting to link antizionism with antisemitism. Don't blame us for this one.

I don't recall ever calling you an antisemite. I don't recall seeing Jonathan ever call you an antisemite. Are we missing something here?

I don't believe in getting into comparative persecution because it never works well, mainly because if you look at the persecution of, say, Black people in America, LGBT people, and Jews, the primary thing the three groups have in common is the magnitude of their persecution but not its nature. Because they don't compare well directly, it's a pointless exercise. Are you looking for us to acknowledge that your minority faces more persecution in the United States than ours does? Absolutely. No question. That's why there's a sign on my lawn urging people to vote against an upcoming proposition to define marriage in my state as strictly between a man and a woman but no sign on my lawn that says anything about antisemitism (or antizionism, for that matter). The sign, incidentally, came from my Temple, because we as Jews (at least most Jews) tend to understand that the only way to protect any minority is to protect all of them.

I am not in the habit of minimizing or tolerating the persecution of your minority, nor is Jonathan. I think I can safely speak for both of us when I ask you to extend us the same courtesy.

I should amend the above to read "most American Jews"

Amy:
My antennae go up when someone qualifies a statement with "but." As in, I don't hate Jews, but, or yes, the Jews were murdered by Hitler, but. I don't know what is in your heart, so I won't conclude that you are anti-Semitic, but the but clause is totally inappropriate. The Jews have been terrribly persecuted for centuries, and that is not diminished in the least by the fact that other groups also have been persecuted. You want us to think that you are a great humanist, outraged by all the wrongs in history, yet you absolutely brim with hate for a great portion of mankind, and I see no trace of love.

I have no idea why you called me a homophobe. I have said or done nothing to deserve that insult. I think you are permanently out of control.