Take a Hint From Europe and Raise Vigilance Now

Anti-Semitism historically has festered in times of social, economic and political instability. How are we to explain the wave of anti-Semitism in our own times?

We stand in the midst of one of the most sustained periods of economic prosperity in this country’s history. Moreover, the political and military might of the United States is almost universally acknowledged. But the fact that hate groups appear to be growing in number in this country--reaching ever wider audiences through their Internet Web sites--reminds us that not all share in the sense of American well-being. At the edges of American society exists a sizable array of people who feel marginalized and excluded. Much of the venom of these fringe elements is directed at minority groups whom they believe to be subverting the values and morals of a mythic white Christian society. Among these groups, Jews, by virtue of their affluence and traditional scapegoat role, have become a convenient target for attack--precisely because we are in a period of general prosperity.

Indeed, the ironic rise of anti-Semitism in a time of unsurpassed prosperity has a historical analogy--not to Europe in the Nazi period prior to World War II but to Europe after the war. As with the post-war period, what we see during this period of considerable economic success and political stability are frequent acts of vandalism and even violence directed against Jews.

These acts draw from the deep wellspring of European anti-Semitism. But they also tap into a broader xenophobia that stigmatizes any group deemed alien to the national character. In this way, Jews in Europe have become unwittingly allied with recent immigrant groups such as North Africans in France or Turks in Germany whose presence unnerves the self-appointed guardians of national integrity. Likewise, in this country, Jews join African Americans and Asian Americans on the roster of vilification by far-right groups.

Because of their own notorious past, European countries have been far more vigilant in combating the growth of hate groups. Not only does one notice the constant presence of armed soldiers and police at sensitive locations (e.g, synagogues and mosques) across Europe, but the activity of hate groups is more closely watched and restricted. By contrast, in the U.S., the burden of vigilance rests with private groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Without upending the Constitution or transforming this country into an armed fortress more than it currently is, it now seems necessary for government to assume a more active role in preventing hate groups from reaching the point of violent action. The time has come to issue a more assertive message of zero tolerance of such groups. By closing up tax loopholes, scrupulously monitoring the Internet and taking the painful step of proscribing hate speech, government officials can help forestall tragedies like Sacramento, Chicago and Granada Hills.

Sadly, they may not be able to eliminate such tragedies altogether. Anti-Semitism will not be totally extinguished, in part because of a curious final irony: As Jews continue to assimilate into mainstream society, the anti-Semite will continue to highlight their distinctiveness.

The political philosopher Hannah Arendt grasped this poignant irony when she noted that for the modern Jew, escape from Judaism, the religion--through conversion or other means--was possible; but escape from Jewishness, from a sense of ethnic group identification, was impossible. The anti-Semite serves to remind the Jew of this seemingly unalterable fact.