A 3,500-Year-Old Story That Explains Antisemitism Today [View all]
I consider this an important essay:
Pharaoh’s propaganda campaign might seem distant, but look a little closer and you’ll see something chilling: The script hasn’t changed much in 3,500 years.
Here are three enduring lessons from the Exodus that can help us better understand the real nature of antisemitism — then and now.
1) Antisemitism isn’t about the stated reasons. It’s about the Jewish spiritual threat.
Pharaoh didn’t say, “We hate the Jews because they believe in one God.” or “They make us uncomfortable because they won’t assimilate.”
No, he claimed the Jews were a national security threat: “The Israelites are becoming too numerous. ... If war breaks out, they might join our enemies and fight against us.”1
Really? A group of shepherds and laborers, who had lived peacefully in Goshen2 for generations, were suddenly a military threat capable of starting a war? This excuse is as flimsy as it sounds. It was a lie. A pretext. And that’s the first insight: Antisemitism rarely presents itself honestly. It hides behind superficial grievances: economic anxiety, political conspiracy, military suspicion, even the idea that Jews are easy scapegoats. But these are fig leaves. The real issue is much deeper.
Much more:
https://substack.com/home/post/p-161073452