Concern in the political system in Israel and in the leadership of the Jewish community in the USA, injecting anti-Semitic concepts into the main currents of thought in the USA.
The concern arises following the storm surrounding the rapper, Kanye West, who at the weekend intensified his statements against Jews and said in an interview with the anti-Semitic preacher, Alex Jones, that he "loves Hitler".
West, and his holocaust denier, Nick Fuentes, met two weeks ago with former President Donald Trump, who so far has not condemned West's words.
On the other hand, the current American president, Joe Biden, wrote on his Twitter this weekend that "The Holocaust happened. Hitler was a demonic figure. Instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should call out and reject anti-Semitism wherever it hides. Silence is complicity."
I just want to make a few things clear:
The Holocaust happened.
Hitler was a demonic figure.
And instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides.
Silence is complicity.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 2, 2022
Both Democrats and Republicans condemned West's anti-Semitic remarks, as well as the meeting Trump had with him.
Due to his words, the singer was suspended from the Twitter network and lost property contracts and contracts of huge value.
However, both in Israel and in the Jewish community are worried about those who did not condemn these things, both on the right and on the left in the USA.
Rapper Kanye West and former President Trump (archive), photo: AFP
Malcolm Hohnlein, a veteran of the Jewish leaders in the US, said on Friday on Jewish radio NSN broadcasting in the New York area: "I don't remember such a worrying week in a very long time.
I'm not sure people understand how serious what is going on here.
The fact that there are so many attacks, and that millions come to the defense of a person who is openly anti-Semitic (Kanye West, AA), and the fact that politicians do not want to raise the issue of anti-Semitism because they think it is politically harmful to them - it is very disturbing and to some extent overwhelming."
Hohnlein emphasized that in the past, anti-Semitic statements were dismissed outright, whereas today they are not always met with condemnation.
He also noted that recently there has been a conflation between the people of white supremacy and public figures from the black community - whom they were supposed to hate - when the background is a common hatred for Jews.
"In light of what we see on campuses, the vote at the United Nations that stated that Israel has no right to exist, the record number of anti-Semitic incidents - we need to understand what is happening to American society.
There are thousands of websites promoting anti-Semitic messages at the same time, including Holocaust denial.
We in the Jewish community need to examine how we should treat this.
All this is very disturbing lately, I don't sleep at night," Hohnlein added.
Concern in Israel
Even in Israel, people are very worried about the intersection of currents and trends that will bring anti-Semitism into the American mainstream.
A source dealing with the issue told "Israel Today" that "2023 is expected to be a decisive and difficult year in this regard. Jews on campuses today are required not only to oppose Israel but also against Jewish history, as they are presented as privileged and oppressive white supremacy."
He explained that "Biden should not write that the earth is round, but he does feel the need to say that the Holocaust happened and that Hitler was a bad person. This shows where we have come."
Anti-Israeli demonstrations at a university in New York, photo: Getty Images
It should be noted that although Jews make up only about 2 percent of the US population, the vast majority of hate crimes are directed against them. A survey conducted by the Yogov company found that according to 57% of Americans, believe that anti-Semitism is a serious problem in America today. Another survey conducted among supporters of The progressive movement suggested that 80% of them believe that American Jews have "unfair advantages" that need to be addressed. Across the US, over 2,000 anti-Semitic incidents were reported in the past year.
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