OPINION:
They used to say that the only two things certain in life are death and taxes. They forgot antisemitism.
Passover marks history’s first attempted genocide, when the pharaoh of Exodus tried to annihilate his fleeing slaves. It’s a long and winding road from pharaoh to Adolf Hitler wannabe Nick Fuentes.
The road branches off in every direction imaginable: pagan antisemitism, Christian antisemitism, Muslim antisemitism, communist antisemitism, fascist antisemitism, Black antisemitism, liberal antisemitism and conservative antisemitism.
Throughout the course of history, Jews have been everyone’s favorite scapegoats. That the accusations are often contradictory is irrelevant. Jews have been accused of creating both communism and capitalism. Medieval antisemites said the Jews killed Jesus. Hitler believed Jews invented Christianity.
Today’s antisemites, such as podcaster Tucker Carlson with his millions of followers, claim Israel and its auxiliary — the “Jewish lobby” — have dragged us into another war in the Middle East, this time against the kindly ayatollahs, who wouldn’t nuke a fly.
Joe Kent made that claim when he resigned as national director of counterterrorism. Creeps such as Messrs. Carlson and Kent claim they are not antisemitic, just anti-Zionist.
When someone tried that on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights icon replied, “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews.”
There is no shortage of excuses for antisemitism. People hate Jews because they are said to be stingy, even though American Jews are famous for their charitable giving. Jews are hated because they don’t fit into other cultures or because they are said to try too hard to fit in.
Some are offended by the idea of a universal moral code based on eternal principles, which originated at Sinai. In his book “Table Talk,” Hitler said, “The Jew came into our happy pagan world with his thou-shalts and thou-shalt-nots and spoiled everything.”
Jews have been called the miners’ canary, warning of the presence of toxic fumes, such as Nazism and Islamism, which, if left unchecked, will envelop the earth. That’s good for the earth, but how does it help the canary?
Jewish conspiracy theories are legion, predating by centuries the czarist forgery “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.” The Romans and Babylonians probably had their own conspiracy theories about Jews.
“Jews are plotting to take over the world” is still the most popular. How they can accomplish that with 0.2% of the world’s population has always been a mystery to me. Once they have the world, what will they do with it?
It’s scant comfort to the victims of antisemitism, but every nation that stood against the Jewish people is either no longer standing or teetering on the brink.
The Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Today, their empire is a distant memory. Spain was a rising power when it expelled its Jews in 1492. Then came the defeat of the Spanish Armada less than 100 years later. Czarist Russia ended in a basement in Yekaterinburg, where the last Romanovs died in 1918.
The Thousand Year Reich lasted 12 years. Germany was divided for 44 years and is about to be engulfed by Muslim immigration. The Islamic Republic of Iran is having a fire sale.
Blessings and curses, God’s promises are eternal.
How should Jews confront today’s antisemitism?
First, with unwavering support for Israel. Odious creatures such as Tucker Carlson and podcaster Candace Owens hate Israel because they want Jews to be defenseless again.
Prayer is indispensable. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.
In the United States, most terrorist acts, such as the recent assault on a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, are lone-wolf attacks, and security guards aren’t always handy to save the day. Jews should be ready to defend themselves.
Know your friends and your enemies. Among the former are evangelical Christians and many prominent Catholics, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz. A poll at a recent Turning Point USA conference, reported in The New York Times, showed 87% view Israel as an ally.
President Trump is in the process of destroying what is currently the greatest threat to Jewish survival in the world.
Until the Messianic Age, when “The Law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem,” antisemitism will always be with us.
• Don Feder is a columnist with The Washington Times.
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