Chicago Jewish News editor and publisher, Joseph Aaron, in his weekly column has quite an interesting perspective on the state of Jewry in the 21st century. I do not always agree with this Orthodox and somewhat controversial journalist but I do agree with him on a conclusion reached in his last column: Jewish is cool.
It is hard to escape, as Joe Aaron points out, the popularity of things Jewish in the general culture. In fact it is so pervasive that when Tom and Katie Cruise named their new daughter “Suri” (...I didn’t know he was a Chasid :)) it hardly raised an eyebrow. Their stated reason was that they liked the meaning of the name which is “princess” in Hebrew. Of course those of us “in the know” realize that “Suri” is a Chasidic affectation of the name Sarah which is our matriarch’s name... changed from Sarai which is where the translation really comes from. But it doesn’t matter. They chose a clearly identifiable Jewish name that is commonly used by Chasidic Jews. In fact if my Havarah was Chasidic, my own daughter Sari would be called Suri.
But the larger point to be made here is that Jewish culture is enjoying an unprecedented level in the US. People seem to be tripping all over themselves to adopt various aspect of Jewish culture. As Mr. Aaron points out:
“Madonna studying Kabbalah, not holding concerts on Shabbat, visiting Israel for Rosh Hashanah. Roseanne saying she was planning a bat mitzvah. Rabbi characters showing up on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Two Orthodox contestants on "The Apprentice." A top pop star recording a hipped up version of "If I Were a Rich Man." Mattisyahu, clad in black hat and tzitzit, atop the rap music charts. And more. So much more.”
How does one explain it? I’m not sure. But one thing seems certain. If there is any real anti-Semitism in this country it is hard to find. Until recently there was a sort of stereotyping extant that was not quite anti-Semitic but did smack of pre-conceived notions based on half truths and prejudices of the past. But even that seems to have dissipated to almost nothing. It didn’t hurt that Evangelical Christians have so embraced the Jewish people of late. Nor did Vatican Two with their declaration of Nostra Aetate, hurt us. There seems to be a steadily increasing acceptance of Jews into the mainstream culture of America. So much so that it is now cool to be Jewish.
And it isn’t only acceptability into general culture that is going on. It is acceptability into the highest echelons of power. Aside from the almost universal acceptance of Senator Joseph Lieberman as a candidate for the Vice Presidency which is only a heart-beat away from the Presidency, there are more Jews in government positions than at any time in history. This was true for both the Clinton administration and the current Bush administration. Witness the appointment of Josh Bolten to replace Andy Card as Chief of Staff (arguably the most powerful position in the executive branch next to the President) and Joel Kaplan as deputy assistant to replace Karl Rove.
While this is all a wonderful and welcome development in my view there are enough things happening that counter this trend and should give us pause. Not that we need to worry that there will be a rise in ant-Semitic behavior in this country any time soon but enough to make us vigilant and keep our eyes wide open. The most troubling of these developments is the recent publishing of an essay claiming that Israel and its American "Lobby" control American foreign policy.
John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt, academic dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, have published a paper concluding that the US governement is being unduly influenced by the Israeli lobby. This of course is nothing new. We’ve all heard it before. The euphemism in the virulently anti-Semitic circles is “Zionist Occupied Government” or ZOG for short. But this time it has the mantle of respectability placed upon it. You can’t get more respectable than Harvard and University of Chicago. And that is what makes it a bit scary.
Former Ku Klux Klansman, David Duke, who ran unsuccessfully as the Republican candidate for US senator from Louisiana in 1990, has come out with a “So what else is new?” comment. “We’ve been saying this for years!” But when it comes from a Klansman, one can pretty much “consider the source”. Coming from two supposedly distinguished professors makes it an entirely different enterprise and worthy of note. ...and worthy of a “heads up.
But I suppose that in a weird sort of way, it is a good thing that these academics have come out with this essay. Even though it has been disavowed by the universities involved and the rest of academia it is a sobering reminder that we should never become complacent about our status in this or any other country. We need to remain vigilant. But in the meantime we should enjoy the incredible acceptance we have achieved in this country.
