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| Kingsley WIlson - deputy press secretary at the Pentagon (JTA) |
The great medieval commentator R’ Shlomo Yitzchaki (better
known by his Hebrew acronym, Rashi) said Halacha He: Esav Sonei L’Yaakov, he was
commenting on the Torah portion that dealt with the hatred Yaakov’s brother,
Eisav, harbored for him. But those words have long been interpreted by referring
to Eisav’s descendants, both physical (mostly White European Christendom) and
spiritual (among them, Middle Eastern Muslims)
Even a cursory look at the long history of the persecution
of the Jewish people - lends truth to Rashi’s observation. Whether ancient Rome, the Crusades, the
Spanish Inquisition, or a variety of deadly European pogroms they all resulted in torture, death, and destruction of the Jewish
people. Then, in the middle of the 20th century, the granddaddy of all
atrocities happened. An atrocity from which the term ‘genocide’ was coined: the
Holocaust.
Within just a few short years of that time the ‘good’
Christians of Nazi Germany killed six million of us, with the enthusiastic help
of many among the indigenous Christian populations of the countries they
occupied.
So, yes. Rashi was right. Eisav hates us.
The reaction of the Jewish people was a determined ‘Never Again!’
But never again isn’t here yet. Sadly, Eisav is still around, and his hatred is
being manifested in a variety of ways. From the right, from the left, from
Christians, from Muslims. All too often it comes from people with tremendous
influence, as is the case with Ye (Kanye West) or with far-right individuals in
high-profile government positions. Consider the following case:
Kingsley Wilson, appointed in January to be deputy press secretary at the Pentagon, last year tweeted a neo-Nazi talking point about Jewish lynching victim Leo Frank…
Frank was a factory manager in Georgia who was convicted on thin evidence of killing a 13-year-old girl, Mary Phagan, and was sentenced to death. When his sentence was commuted to life in prison, a mob lynched him. The 1915 lynching spurred the creation of the Anti-Defamation League and is widely seen as antisemitic…
Neo-Nazis have long claimed that Frank was guilty and that the consensus that he was framed is evidence of Jewish control of the media…
(Neo-Nazi) protesters criticized the ADL, and their banner read, “Leo frankly was a pedo.”
In August 2024, Wilson posted the same sentiments on X, above a post by the ADL commemorating Frank’s lynching.
“Leo Frank raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl,” she wrote. “He also tried to frame a Black man for his crime. The ADL turned off the comments because they want to gaslight you.”
When right-wing antisemites are appointed as spokespeople
for the Pentagon, or when Ivy League schools defend protesters calling for the
genocide of the Jews—justifying it as a matter of ‘context’ and ‘free speech’ it
should not be difficult to understand why we believe Eisav Sonei L’Yaakov.
But what about when Jews do it? While this does not happen
on the right, it happens all too often on the left. How is that possible?
Sadly, when there is little authentic Jewish content in one’s
Jewish education… when ignorance passes for knowledge… when Tikun Olam
is translated as social justice for any underdog regardless of context,
you get Jews joining pro-Hamas protests. You get Jewish movie directors calling
what Israel did in Gaza - genocide. And you get a documentary produced by a
Palestinian and a Jew winning an Oscar—with lots of applause from a largely
Jewish audience at last Sunday’s Academy Awards presentation.
I have seen this kind of thing before: a Palestinian and an
Israeli working together, showing the world… See? We can live together and
be friends!
Israeli leadership, according to them, refuses to recognize
this and instead wants to “subjugate and dominate the indigenous Palestinian
people as second-class citizens.” These two documentarians want to prove that
there is another way. That the two peoples can live side by side with the same
rights and privileges.
How I wish that were true. Yes, there are such people among
the Palestinian populace. But if October 7th showed us anything, it is that
they are a tiny minority. A fact that is
well known and supported by the hateful cradle to grave propaganda of Arabs in
positions of power and leadership—whether in religion, government, social
service agencies, education, entertainment, or news media. And yet, there are so
many naïve people who cling to the notion that the two peoples can share the
land in total equality and frenidship.
It is this Pollyannaish belief that dominates the
Hollywood left, which is why they can applaud with all sincerity comments that
are so naïve! For so much of the Hollywood establishment, social justice perforce
means justice without religion. Religious beliefs are an impediment to
social justice. No less than they are to the amoral lifestyle so many of them
lead.
They see traditional religious values as outdated and an
obstacle to their social justice goals. Whether it involves rejecting
traditional morality or denying the Jewish people a small sliver of land in the
comparative vastness of the Middle East. Land promised to them in the bible by
God. All of this contributes to the antisemitism of the left - under the guise
that it is the more moral position.
All that being said, I still believe that the majority of
the American people are not like their European or Middle Eastern counterparts.
I do not believe they fit into the category of Eisav Sonei L’Yaakov.
There is simply too much evidence to the contrary. (I have cited many examples
before, though they are beyond the scope of this post.) The American people are
the exception that proves the rule.
In Europe and the Middle East, the opposite was true. During
the Holocaust here were many Christians who saved Jews—risking their own lives
and the lives of their families. Probably a lot more than we will ever know
about. But still - a relatively small number compared to those who were either
indifferent or who enthusiastically participated in Jewish persecution.
But even that could change. I don’t think we have to worry
about the ‘Kingsley Wilsons’ of the world. They are convincing anyone.
On the other hand as the left in this country continues to
root for the Palestinian underdog while demonizing Israel as colonialist occupiers
and oppressors -of the American people a lot more people could be duped into believing their
false narrative. Especially when that narrative is applauded by their favorite
celebrities.
It is therefore imperative to ensure that the American
public is well-informed about the truth of the conflict which must include
Jewish history and context. And not be deceived by a couple of documentary
filmmakers, well-meaning though they may be.