(Jewish Group) So, how did the West become antisemitic? [View all]

Before the present noxious morass of publicly expressed antisemitism, wry semi-humorous statements were fashionable, such as “Jews are just like everyone else, only more so,” variously attributed to the philosopher Isaiah Berlin or a British rabbi, Lionel Blue.

The implication was that Jewish people tend to provocatively cause a tzimmes and raise hackles. According to this thesis, a penchant for words and deeds likely to offend may have sparked the wrath of adversaries.

This belief is newly analyzed in How the West Became Antisemitic, an erudite overview by religious studies scholar Ivan Marcus.

Marcus concludes that there is “little hope that diaspora Jews will cease to be victims of some forms of antisemitism” as long as other groups reject an egalitarian, live and let live attitude. Even so, knowing the history of the often-vituperative slanging match that was inter-religious communication may be the first step for dialing down the internecine hatred.

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