(Jewish Group) How American conservatives normalize anti-Semitism

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The definition of anti-Semitism, and who gets condemned for it, has become a major political battle in recent years. The Trump administration required colleges to prohibit a controversial definition of anti-Semitism that included criticism of the Israeli government. Ironically, Donald Trump himself recently used anti-Semitic tropes in an interview that condemned Jewish Americans, but this conservative anti-Semitism receives remarkably little coverage from rightwing media outlets. Yet the belief that progressives are the ones primarily responsible for ignoring anti-Semitism is common.

In his recent essay for The Hill, "How American progressives normalize anti-Semitism," law professor Steven Lubet quotes an anonymous "well-regarded First Amendment scholar" he deems guilty of normalizing "thinly veiled racism." Since I am the scholar Lubet quoted, I want to defend my position publicly. While the many people who have never heard of me would dismiss the term "well-regarded," and everyone should question whether my personal beliefs represent the entire progressive movement, my core complaint with Lubet's analysis is that he seems to accuse anyone who disagrees with his assessments of anti-Semitism of normalizing hatred.

Lubet's key evidence of me normalizing anti-Semitism is my largely indifferent response to a Virginia state legislator who reacted to a media report that Mossad had known two decades ago that the Bush administration was exaggerating claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. As Lubet noted, this legislator "tweeted the fevered accusation that Israel was 'enabling oil wars burning our planet.'"

While Lubet calls this a "blood libel" (which it definitely isn't, unless someone thinks Mossad used the war in Iraq to supply its cafeteria), I see it as an example of conspiratorial thinking about government agencies. The truth is that secret organizations such as the KGB, the CIA, and Mossad are powerful and sometimes malicious, which leads some people to imagine conspiracy theories and attribute vast power to them. No, we can't ignore the long history of anti-Semitism and how it inspires conspiracies about powerful Jews. But we also shouldn't presume that every conspiracy theory involving Israel is inherently anti-Semitic.

Blaming Mossad for the Bush administration's war in Iraq is certainly misguided and conspiratorial, and perhaps it is anti-Semitism. But I prefer to see more evidence of anti-Semitic motivation before I accuse a conspiracy nut of "blood libel." I think we should compile extensive evidence before we attribute hateful intent to every bad idea blurted out on social media. I denounced Rutgers professor Michael Chikindas for his anti-Semitism because the evidence was overwhelming, but I think bigotry needs substantial proof.

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Do check out the "other side" which is what inspired this piece.