Gaza, Antisemitism and the Academy of American Know Nothings

So, have the Know-Nothings returned? Well, not exactly.

The real Know-Nothings of the 1850s were members of the Nativist American Party and embraced an isolationist, Fortress America mentality. The 21^st Century Know Nothings to which I refer are the many college students and their presumed-to-be-learned professors who are in a deep swoon over Hamas's October 7, 2023, grotesque and barbaric orgy of murder, torture, rape, and dismemberment of Jewish men, women, children, and even a developing fetus or two.

Many students on college campuses are collectively engaged in a 1930's Germany/Austria-like student attack on Jews because they are, essentially, ignorant if not hateful. Educated by equally ignorant, if not ridiculous, professors, they embrace antisemitism (in some cases, clumsily disguised as anti-Zionism) as an intellectual orgy devoid of any intellect at all. It manifests hate nourished by ignorance and a desire to appear relevant by embracing history's worst lessons. They embrace stupidity as a righteous cause, led by a gaggle of American professors who would make their peers in 1930s Austria and Germany proud.

I am not referring to the mass protests about the war in Gaza or protests calling for justice for Palestinians. These are reasonable reactions to a war, the ferocity of which many may consider unreasonable. What has to be recognized is that old-fashioned antisemitism and those who work to perpetuate it have found fertile ground for nurturing and growing Jew hatred here in America.

And if college professors, such as Cornell professor Russell Rickford, who found the October 7 Hamas pogrom "energizing" and who expressed "exhilaration" over the grotesque rampage is even marginally typical of those who educate our children at the academy, the nation is in deep distress. Small wonder throngs of Cornell students were among the first to turn out in rapt admiration of Hamas. Then again, what should parents expect when they spend over $83,000 in tuition, books, and room-and-board to send their children to learn history at the knee of professors like Russell Rickford?

What is particularly sad and revolting about today's outpouring of antisemitism, especially the Jew-hatred emanating from the academy, is that it exploded in the immediate aftermath of October 7 and well before Israel had even begun to counterattack three weeks later.

The Anti Defamation League logged an explosion of antisemitic incidents in the United States as soon as Hamas struck on October 7, 2023, and in the days and weeks that followed. Sadly, what was true here in the United States reflects what was happening throughout much of the world. Antisemitism, as irrational as it has ever been, is again flourishing, and that does not auger well for the time in which we live. Antisemitism is much more than just a hateful expression toward a particular religious minority. As it has always been, it is a symptom of a far more profound and dangerous reality. When society, almost any society, is stressed, those who traffic in antisemitism find fertile ground. That is as true today as it was when Hitler came to power in the 1930s, or in the 14^th Century when Jews were blamed for creating the Bubonic Plague by supposedly poisoning the wells of Christians, or in the 15^th Century when the fantastical and famous story of Simon of Trent in which Jews were blamed for the ritual murdering of a young boy who had disappeared. Jews were tortured and sentenced to death for murdering the missing boy, who was subsequently granted sainthood in the 16^th Century. The church subsequently canceled the outrageous sainthood 500 years later in 1965.

And, yes, even today, hate mills grind out antisemitic nonsense whenever society is stressed, such as during the more recent coronavirus lockdowns that began in 2020. Tel Aviv University's Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry found that antisemitic conspiracy theories blossomed as soon as the coronavirus started spreading around the world in February 2020. The conspiracy claimed Jews and Israelis created and spread the virus to profit by rescuing the world with lucrative vaccines. Indeed, the new No Nothings have had a field day, and the opportunity for mischief is as strong as ever.

What should be disturbing to everyone is that the antisemitic fervor and violence following Hamas’s barbaric pogrom was immediate and well-planned.

For example, ADL found that anti-Israel rallies in the immediate aftermath of October 7 included "explicit or strong support for Hamas and violence against Jews in Israel.”

To be specific, the ADL report logged the following, all of which occurred before Israel launched its attack against Hamas in Gaza:

*On October 8 in Clifton, NJ, A car with individuals holding Palestinian flags appeared to intentionally swerve out of its lane, nearly hitting a visibly identifiable Jewish family.

*On October 9 in Detroit, a Jewish student was harassed, shoved, and called "Fucking Zionist" while painting a free speech rock with an Israeli flag on the campus of Wayne State University.

*On October 10 in Los Angeles, an individual shouted "I am Hamas" and made death threats to Jewish individuals standing by a kosher restaurant.

*On October 12 in Indianapolis, a man carrying an Israeli flag was allegedly assaulted by a pro-Palestinian protestor.

*On October 15 in New York City, an individual allegedly punched a Jewish woman in the face at Grand Central Terminal. When she asked why, he responded: "You are Jewish."

*On October 15 in Walnut Creek, White Lives Matter California, a white supremacist group, held a rally on a highway overpass and displayed signs stating: "Save Gaza" and "No More Wars for Israel,” and watch “Europa, The Last Battle," a neo-Nazi propaganda film.

*On October 18 in New York, a group of Israeli individuals were harassed and at least one assaulted by a pro-Palestinian protestor in Times Square.

According to ADL, there was, in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attack, a 1,000 percent increase in the daily average of violent messages mentioning Jews and Israel in white supremacist and right-wing extremist channels on the messaging platform, Telegram. The increase in similar antisemitic incidences was just as pronounced in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

This isn't simply an outpouring of support many may feel for the plight of Palestinians, but rather an outpouring of antipathy toward Israel, the country that was attacked but had not yet responded to that attack. Israel will defend itself as, indeed, it must if it is to survive. It may, however, do so with little support from the rest of the world.

Please share our weekly commentary with others who would enjoy receiving

Of Thee I Sing 1776. Subscribe here: https://oftheeising1776.substack.com/subscribe.

Recent podcasts have featured my commentary on Liz Cheney’s new book, “Oath and Honor,” as well as my commentary regarding:

U.S. Representative Jim Jordan,

Brian Kemp and Those Republicans of Georgia,

The Trump Indictments,

The Fox Corp Settlement,

The CNN Trump Town Hall,

The Hunter Biden plea deal,

The New American Cult of Personality,

and my interviews with William Bratton, Retired Chief of Police, in New York City, Los Angeles, and Boston,

Rikki Klieman, Attorney, Network News Analyst, and best-selling author,

John Thoresen, Executive Director, Barbara Sinatra Children's Center,

Katherine Gehl, co-author of The Politics Industry and founder of the Institute for Political Innovation,

Jazz artist Ann Hampton Callaway,

Outlander author Diana Gabaldon,

AI Data Scientist Lawrence Kite,

Ryan Clancy, Chief Strategist of No Labels,

Senator Barbara Boxer,

Senator Joe Lieberman,

and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. 

Become a Premium subscriber here: https://oftheeising1776.substack.com/subscribe.

Please consider our Of Thee I Sing 1776 Premium option. While my weekly column is always free, for just $5/month, you’ll also receive my annual ebook, “Essays For Our Time,” and my new Podcasts.

Subscribe here: https://oftheeising1776.substack.com/subscribe.

Novels by Hal Gershowitz