On Chanukah, by contrast, Jews fought back and won. The Maccabees became a symbol of Jewish activism, of refusing to live in fear. As a symbol of this, the original custom was to light Hanukkah lights outside the front door of the house, or at least in a window facing the street, to publicize the miracle. Today, we see the lighting of giant menorahs in the most prominent public face of cities throughout the world.<\/p>\n
Chanukah tells us not to curse the darkness, but instead to bring light to the world. It tells us to fight back and not to be afraid.<\/p>\n
The shocking events in Monsey, together with those in Jersey City, Poway<\/a>, Pittsburgh and elsewhere, are proof that the darkness has returned. It has returned likewise to virtually every country in Europe. That this should have happened within living memory of the Holocaust, after the most systematic attempt ever made by a civilization to find a cure for the virus of the world\u2019s longest hate \u2014 more than half a century of Holocaust education and anti-racist legislation \u2014 is almost unbelievable. It is particularly traumatic that this has happened in the United States, the country where Jews felt more at home than anywhere else in the Diaspora. Why is it happening now?<\/p>\n First, because of everything associated with the internet, smartphones, viral videos and above all, social media. These have what is called a \u201cdisinhibition effect.\u201d People are far more hateful when communicating electronically than when speaking face-to-face. <\/p>\n Cyberspace has proved to be the most effective incubator of resentment, rancor and conspiracy theories ever invented. Anti-Semitism thrives on conspiracy theories, versions of the Blood Libel<\/a> and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion<\/a>, updated for the twenty-first century.<\/p>\n Second, because of the way people encounter these phenomena: often alone, in the privacy of their own home. This allows them to be radicalized without anyone realizing it is happening. Time and again, we read of people carrying out horrific attacks, while those who knew them recall not having seen any warning signs that they were intent on committing evil attacks. <\/p>\n The most dangerous phenomenon of our time is the \u201clone wolf\u201d attack, because it is so hard to predict. The internet is particularly dangerous for loners, people in whom the normal process of socialization \u2014 learning to live with others who are not like us \u2014 has broken down.<\/p>\n Historically though, the most important factor in the rise of anti-Semitism is the sense among a group that the world as it is now is not the way it used to be, or ought to be. <\/p>\n The far left has not recovered from the global collapse of communism and socialism as ideologies. Hence the assault on Jews as capitalists and libertarians.<\/p>\n The far right feels threatened by the changing composition of Western societies, because of immigration on an unprecedented scale and low birth rates among the native population. Hence white supremacists. <\/p>\n Many radical Islamists are troubled by dysfunctions in the Muslim world. Hence the emergence of anti-Zionism as the new anti-Semitism.<\/p>\n These concerns do not, in and of themselves, lead to anti-Semitism. One other factor must be added. <\/p>\n When bad things happen, good people ask, \u201cWhat did I do wrong?\u201d They put their house in order. But bad people ask, \u201cWho did this to me?\u201d They cast themselves as victims and search for scapegoats to blame. <\/p>\n The scapegoat of choice has long been the Jews. They were the archetypal outsiders. For a thousand years, they were the most prominent non-Christian minority in Europe. Today, the state of Israel is the most significant non-Muslim presence in the Middle East. It is easy to blame Jews because they are conspicuous, because they are a minority and because they are there. <\/p>\n Anti-Semitism has little to do with Jews \u2014 they are its object, not its cause \u2014 and everything to do with dysfunction in the communities that harbor it.<\/p>\n Anti-Semitism, or any hate, becomes dangerous in any society when three things happen: when it moves from the fringes of politics to a mainstream party and its leadership; when the party sees that its popularity with the general public is not harmed thereby; and when those who stand up and protest are vilified and abused for doing so. <\/p>\n All three factors exist in Britain now. The same must not be allowed to happen in America.<\/p>\n What, then, must we do? The first priority must be to strengthen security in Jewish venues, to intensify police patrols and to develop habits of vigilance. The British Jewish community has a fine example in its Community Security Trust which, with the support of government grants, monitors risks, enlists thousands of volunteers to stand security duty and works closely with the government and local police forces. \u201cLone wolves\u201d tend to seek soft targets, and the Jewish community must ensure as far as possible that there are no soft targets.<\/p>\n Next, we must recognize that while we have enemies, we also have friends \u2014 and they are many and strong. In Britain, as we faced a leader of the opposition who many of us felt has made his party a safe haven for anti-Zionists and anti-Semites, it was enormously important that non-Jews from all walks of life came out in our support. It made us feel we were not alone. <\/p>\n
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