The Cocktail Party Contrarian: That’s Some Strategy, but Not for Protecting Jews

The Biden administration released what it called a “National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism” on May 25. The 60-page document is a strategy for something, but not for protecting American Jews. A strategy to combat antisemitism would logically start with a definition of antisemitism. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition, already publicly accepted by the Biden administration and by countries around the world, would have been the obvious go-to, but for a roadblock: Those who want to continue to attack supporters of Israel with impunity feel constrained by IHRA’s protections for Zionists, and they are Democratic voters too. So, the administration included the Nexus Document’s definition of antisemitism in its strategy. Authored by left wing activists and academics, it declares the anti-Zionist variety of antisemitism not so antisemitic after all. Prominent Jews and Jewish organizations have already begun explaining that this is still a win because the IHRA definition got “priority” and was “embraced” by the administration as opposed to the Nexus Document, which was merely “welcomed.” So far, the National Strategy’s true strategy seems to be working.There are lists of tactics presented in the document, but other than the commitment to devote more funding to security assets at Jewish institutions, there is nothing in the plan that can be counted on to make Jews safer. Again, though, that isn’t really the point.President Biden’s domestic policy adviser, Susan Rice, pointed out that three in five American millennials and Generation Zers didn’t know that 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. She called it “simply unacceptable.” Her solution is to fund more Holocaust education, which, despite its best efforts, has produced this dismal result. More money for all things Holocaust-related doesn’t necessarily translate into less Jew hatred, but it is a nice talking point from a podium during election season.Even worse is the proposal to have the governmental offices of the OPM, EEO, and OMB “conduct learning sessions for agency diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility officers on antisemitism and related forms of discrimination” in an effort to “raise awareness” about the Holocaust and antisemitism in schools, the workplace, museums, libraries, and the press. Unbelievably, the very same DEI discrimination enforcement apparatus that often labels Jews and Israelis as privileged, white colonialists will be mobilized to spread the message about the Holocaust and antisemitism in America. This is what the government calls “helping.”Another plan is to work with social media companies to “counter antisemitism.” With no hint of shame or irony, the administration that has been caught colluding with social media to launch hateful campaigns against people and ideas it opposes will be asking online platforms to monitor antisemitic “hate speech,” the definition of which will be left up to the sensibilities of those doing the monitoring. Jews are supposed to applaud this, thinking such powers will only be used to silence Holocaust deniers and that First Amendment rights won’t be eroded for all. This is a chilling idea, not a reassuring one. Throughout history, governmental control of the narrative has never meant the eradication of “hate” or the end of antisemitism. Often it breeds both.We don’t need to worry, though, because according to the National Strategy, the White House Office of Public Engagement will launch something called the Ally Challenge, “inviting Americans to describe their acts of allyship with Jewish or other communities that are not their own.” A veritable show-and-tell of intersectional tolerance, this project is being organized by the same people who invited CAIR to participate in the conversations about the administration’s antisemitism strategy. We now understand that “allyship” refers to whomever is a friend to the administration, not to the Jews.This isn’t a strategy to combat antisemitism. It doesn’t call for a review of Black Lives Matter’s anti-Israel agenda, and barely mentions academia’s failure to protect Jews on campus from being assaulted or canceled. It ignores the antisemitism of the Squad, and never mentions the racial identities of those attacking Jews on the streets of Brooklyn. It pretends that “white supremacy” is our greatest challenge and that the identity politics of the Left isn’t the soil in which antisemitism in America has been growing. It does all this because it isn’t a strategy to protect Jews. This is a national strategy to protect Democratic interests threatened by the potential loss of Jewish support in the face of rising antisemitism on the political left. The majority of Jews in America still identify as Democrats, but the numbers are slowly shifting, and for good reason. Democrats can’t talk about that good reason, or propose ways to contend with it. To do so would offend other important constituencies they need to win elections. So, they simply redirect Jewish attention from the present to the past, hoping the fumes of yesterday’s Jewish alliance with the Democratic Party, mixed with talk of the Holocaust and a generalized fight against “hate,” will satisfy. It is a strategy that has been working for some time and may work again for the Biden administration if Jewish leadership keeps playing along. It may keep some Democratic candidates from losing some races, and in that sense it will have fulfilled its strategic objective. But it won’t save many Jews.

The Cocktail Party Contrarian: That’s Some Strategy, but Not for Protecting Jews

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