Opinion: The Problem of Ted Cruz's Defense of a Nazi Salute

Ted Cruz defends a father's Nazi salute at a school 1:09

Editor's Note: Frida Ghitis, (@fridaghitis) a former CNN correspondent and producer, is a columnist for world affairs.

She is a regular contributor to CNN, a columnist for The Washington Post, and a columnist for the World Politics Review.

The opinions expressed in this comment are yours. 

(CNN) - It

must be recognized that Senator Ted Cruz has been very timely.

On the anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews in American history, Cruz spoke out in the Senate to defend the right of an American to do the Nazi salute.

"Oh my God!" He exclaimed as he slammed his desk, lashing out at Attorney General Merrick Garland during a hearing Wednesday on the Justice Department's attempt to address harassment and threats of violence at police meetings. public school boards.

"A father gave a Nazi salute at a school board because he thought the policies were oppressive!"

He then asked Garland, "Doing a Nazi salute ... is it protected by the First Amendment?"

Garland calmly replied, "Yes, it is."

Of all the constitutionally protected expressions of dissent that we see and hear in the United States today, is the Nazi salute what Cruz chose to defend?

• Ted Cruz defends a father's Nazi salute at a school

The senator's moment was not only awkward, as it came on the anniversary of the 2018 massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, where a gunman - shouting "All Jews must die" - killed 11 people attending Saturday morning services.

It was even worse, because just days before Ted Cruz's curious tirade, a Jewish organization published a poll on anti-Semitism that should concern all Americans and motivate responsible citizens, especially the country's leaders - including Cruz. to try to take positive and constructive action.

Ted Cruz and professor in the Senate debate heatedly 3:56

Rather than act like a statesman in the midst of a growing crisis, Cruz took what has become the most traveled road, trying to score points, elicit an emotional response, and perhaps get noticed, approvingly, in the farthest reaches. .

I don't think Cruz is anti-Semitic.

I think he's operating within the model of Facebook's algorithm, which seems to motivate so many politicians in his party since it helped bring the former president to power and keep him at the top of the Republican Party.

Among the recent revelations about Facebook, we learned that the social network programmed its algorithm to reward the most provocative and emotional content by placing it at the top of people's news. Reaction emojis that allow users to flag "love," "haha," "wow," "angry," or "sad," for example, were rated five times more valuable than standard "likes." For politicians of a certain class, the same search for attention and excitement has become routine.

Social media has promoted a toxic communication strategy and many interested individuals have exploited it, making hate speech more common, and more acceptable in some circles. In extreme cases, those expressions include threats of violence, and worse.

A year before the Pittsburgh massacre, white nationalists and supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, chanting, "The Jews will not replace us."

More recently, people have frivolously invoked the Nazis and the systematic murder of six million Jews and other minorities to protest against covid-19 precautions, as if the two situations were somehow equivalent.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, for example, has done this repeatedly and comparisons are now common in anti-vaccine and anti-mask rhetoric, including at school board meetings.

NBA player unsponsored for anti-Semitic comment 1:17

The misuse of the analogies between the Holocaust and Nazism devalues ​​the importance of a chapter that remains one of the most far-reaching and well-documented events in history.

It's important to remember now, when American society feels like it is falling apart.

In a poll released this week by the American Jewish Committee, 82% of Jews said they believed anti-Semitism in the United States had increased in the past five years.

Almost a third said they feel less secure than a year ago and 39% said they have changed their behavior, avoiding posting content online or carrying articles that identify them as Jewish, for fear of anti-Semitism.

Interestingly (and perhaps Cruz should take note of this) 46% said that anti-Semitism is taken less seriously than other forms of intolerance.

Cases of anti-Semitism have also appeared in schools.

During Judaism's most important holiday period, two swastikas and a "Hail [sic] Hitler" graffiti were found in the bathroom of a high school in Cobb County, outside Atlanta, Georgia.

Days later, another school in the same county reported similar graffiti praising Hitler, the man who tried to kill all the Jews in Europe, and almost succeeded.

The current problem does not only come from the right.

As ADL director Jonathan Greenblatt wrote in The Washington Post, anti-Semitism is on the rise on the left as well, albeit a more subtle problem.

The overwhelming majority of violence against Jews comes from the extreme right, but an ominous wind is blowing from the political left.

"Anti-Semitism on the right is a deadly Category 5 hurricane, threatening to cause immediate catastrophe," he wrote.

"The anti-Semitism of the left, however, is more like climate change: slowly but surely, the temperature is rising."

Greenblatt's article was prompted by the announcement by the Washington section of the Dawn Movement, an environmental group, that it would not intervene in a climate demonstration due to the participation of three majority Jewish organizations that support Israel.

The Sunrise Movement also called for groups to be banned from participation, although it did not oppose non-Jewish organizations holding the same views.

Historian Deborah Lipstadt, designated by the Biden administration as a State Department envoy for anti-Semitism, called it "an overtly anti-Semitic act."

The rally organizers rejected Sunrise's action, and later "he unequivocally apologized."

At least this time it was recognized that the action was anti-Semitic.

Ted Cruz returns to Texas after flying to Cancun on Wednesday 1:08

For his part, Ted Cruz is trying to defend himself without acknowledging any mistakes or expressing any regrets.

Instead, he doubled down.

After attacking journalists, he explained on Twitter: "The father was giving the Nazi salute because he was calling the authoritarian school board Nazis, evil, bad and abusive," and added: "Calling someone a Nazi is very protected by the First Amendment".

Again, no one disputes that, certainly not the attorney general.

The issue here is not about freedom of expression and what it allows.

The question is whether Americans and their political leaders will act on a higher principle than political scoring and will ultimately be able to quench the flames of hatred and division that are weakening the country.

Ted Cruz doesn't seem to get it.

Ted Cruz