In recent weeks, there have been claims that elements on both major US political parties have fostered / encouraged / expressed anti-Semitic behavior and views. See Donald Trump on the Republican side and Ilhan Omar for the Democrats.
In my opinion, neither individual, nor their respective parties, are bathing themselves in glory in their handling of this subject. So what’s happening?
- Is anti-Semitism substantially on the rise?
- Are the standards by which we “flag” anti-Semitism changing (lots of references to “dog whistles” and “tropes”)?
- Is the political atmosphere so poisoned that no one wants to listen to any subtlety from the “other side,” and instead will always assume—and assert—the worst?
We’ll discuss on Monday.