Disclaimer: there’s a lot of Israel stuff in here- do NOT take that as meaning I support any sort of US involvement there, but I selfishly admit that it is the only spot on Earth that would accept me as a citizen, other than the US. And it’s absolutely no libertarian paradise, but in the context of the region, it’s Libertopia. So I admit some bias, but I’m an American, not an Israeli.

I love field guides. I use them for mushroom hunting, and there’s similar ones for birding, rock collecting, and other flavors of nature observation. So it’s well past due to start assembling a guide to spotting anti-semites. And since the world has turned upside down recently, with Leftists now being pro-war McCarthyites, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that anti-semitism has become much more of a Team Blue phenomenon. So I think there’s a need to help in both identifying species and also warn against false identifications. Like any good field guide, I’ve tried to pack this with photos.

First, we need to look at the things that can bring down anti-semitism charges that are misidentification. For example, politicians and candidates have suffered accusations of anti-semitism because they attacked Jewish donors to political parties. Call out Sheldon Adelson (who actually is a statist toad) and you’ll hear yelping. Going the other way, attack Tom Steyer or George Soros and ditto. So we need to be careful to see the bullshit here. Likewise, political candidates who portray their Jewish opponents (especially incumbents) clutching tax money can expect a call from the ADL. But grabbing and using taxpayer money or big donations and payoffs ARE legitimate things to attack an opponent about. These anti-semitism accusations are dishonest. So how can we identify the real thing?

It’s hard because of verbal camouflage. Many Team Blue politicians and activists like to recite the mantra, “I’m not an anti-semite, I just oppose Israel because of their oppression of Palestinians and failure to give them an independent state.” Now, perhaps in some cases, this could be true. In other cases, it’s a nod-and-wink. How can one distinguish this honestly?

There’s a relatively simple way- if you care about oppression (and I think the idea of Israeli “oppression” is rather arguable, but let’s assume it arguendo), then you’ll be speaking up about Israel, you’ll be speaking up about Turkey, Iraq, and Syria’s oppression of Kurds and failure to give them a state, you’ll be speaking up about China and its oppression of Tibetans and Uighurs and failure to give them a state, you’ll be speaking up about Russia and its oppression of Chechens and failure to give them a state, you’ll be speaking up about Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and Syria’s oppression of Palestinians and failure to give them a state (both now and pre-June 1967)… and of course, you speak out against the Palestinian Arab policy of capital punishment for selling real estate to Jews (not to mention their capital punishment for converting from Islam or being gay).

But if the only thing you’re speaking up about is Israel, and you’re silent (or nearly so) on the rest, I think it’s safe to conclude that you’re an anti-semite, and that your pro-Palestinian Arab stances are outrages of convenience. So assume anyone called out in this Guide has been exclusive in their hatred for Israel, and one can reasonably conclude that hatred of Jews is the common factor.

 

If you use terms like “apartheid,” that’s usually a clue, though it’s possible that you just don’t know what that word means (and choose to ignore the above-mentioned Palestinian Arab policies). If you clearly do and you use it to sell books, you’re an anti-semite.

 

If you oppose US government loan guarantees and military aid to Israel, believe that the US should not have any military involvement or obligations there that aren’t defense of the US, and that’s part of an overall view that the US shouldn’t be doing those things anywhere, well, if that makes you anti-semitic, then I’m anti-semitic. If on the other hand you oppose these in Israel’s case, but make no mention of the same stupid waste of tax money elsewhere, well, good on ya, Adolph, we know what you are.

 

If you like to say that US involvement in Middle East wars is at the behest of the Jews, then you’re a poster boy for Stormfront. Well, OK, this is mostly Team Red revanchists. But I had to throw that in to be fair. And a bit of searching would likely come up with Team Blue players promoting those same tropes.

 

If you attend a church for 20 years where the minister regularly preaches these sort of anti-semitic tropes, call him your mentor, and hang out with virulent Jew-haters, you’re an anti-semite.

 

If you start riots against Jews leading to actual deaths, you’re probably an anti-semite.

 

Hank Johnson is an interesting case. He makes anti-Jew pronouncements, but is it because he’s anti-semitic or because he’s profoundly stupid?

“There has been a steady [stream], almost like termites can get into a residence and eat before you know that you’ve been eaten up and you fall in on yourself.”

If you ban Jewish symbols from your marches, but Islamic and Christian symbols are A-OK, I think the presumption of anti-semitism is not unreasonable.

 

If your idea of a fun media event is to blot Israel off the map, yeah, you’re anti-semitic. Add in the age-old “dual loyalty” accusation, while claiming to be a voice for Arabs living in the West Bank and the sighting is confirmed. 


 

 

Bonus Link: Larry Miller’s extremely witty recent history of Israel. It’s almost two decades old now, but is just as funny and current as it was when it was written.