Playing Havoc with the emotions of the Flock

Of those who make politics their profession, some use a winning formula, be it consciously or instinctively, and some don't. The fortunate winners know when to wear the mask of optimism and when to wear the mask of pessimism. As to the less fortunate, they constantly play one and the same note of either optimistic or pessimistic, which is the tendency that causes them to lose their audience in a hurry.

An organization such as the uncoordinated Jewish lobby––sometimes referred to as the mob of Jewish pundits––relies on its members to project the image of the two tendencies at the same time. Their motivation is to play politics while pretending to be guided by journalistic standards. The participants in the game play a sizzling hot-and-cold game that teases the audiences and keeps them interested. This is the winning formula that the pundits use because they know that human beings are naturally attracted to the sweet and sour, to the yin and the yang, even the two extremes of a tragicomedy.

You see an example of this in two articles that were published recently by Jewish pundits. One article came under the pessimistic title: “'Rising tide of hate': Anti-Semitism is an even bigger threat than you think,” written by Beth Bailey and printed on May 13, 2020 in The Washington Examiner. The other article came under the optimistic title: “No Need for Hysteria About American Antisemitism,” written by Jonathan S. Tobin and printed the next day, May 14, 2020 in the Jewish online publication, Algemeiner.

Like team players on the same team playing the same game, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) put out an “audit” that was used by Beth Bailey to highlight the scary stuff, and used by Jonathan Tobin to highlight the not-so-scary stuff. Between the three of them, they embarked on telling their Jewish audiences the sweet and sour tragicomedy that is Jewish life as they see it in twenty first century America. So here, in condensed form, is what Beth Bailey is telling the Jews:

“2019 was a devastating year for American Jews. Incidents of anti-Semitic harassment, vandalism, and assault were far from isolated expressions of intolerance. Anti-Semitism can be found in pretty much all segments of society. We must not only fight criminal activity but the apathy that comes when anti-Semitism is normalized. The Anti-Defamation League called for diverse remedies: increased funding for security at Jewish institutions, increased funding at the federal level for investigating and combating extremism, stronger hate crime laws throughout the US. With the 2020 elections approaching, leaders must put political goals aside and unite in their vocal condemnation of the pernicious rise of anti-Semitism”.

So, this is how Jews of the twenty first century say anti-Semitism must be dealt with. When you look at the menu closely, you'll find that it is the same old dish cooked up the same old way. What the Jews want, is more money at the local level and more money at the federal level. They also want more laws that privilege the Jews, imposed on the nation. And they want the politicians who are currently running for office to throw away their plans for improving the lives of the American people, and deal only with matters that privilege the Jews, always the Jews and no one but the Jews.

And here, in condensed form, is Jonathan Tobin's description of that same situation:

“There is a difference between rational concerns and the rhetoric that assumes we live at the precipice of an age of Jew-hatred. The ADL audit seems to justify that kind of thinking, though the data lead to the opposite conclusion. In fact, the audit shows a country where attacks on Jews remain rare. The notion that Americans are sliding into a morass of Jew-hatred is unjustified. The incidents that referenced hostility to Israel or Zionism had nothing to do with right-wingers. Most incidents were the product of left-wing pro-BDS antisemitism. Some of those, such as Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are treated as rock stars. American Jews should not succumb to fear or paranoia. Violent right-wingers remain few and isolated. America is a country where you are more likely to get hit by lightning than suffer violent antisemitism”.

What Tobin is telling the flock, is that the violence they see committed by the right-wing killers of Jews, should not scare them because it is a rare phenomenon. Yes, he says, one Jew shot dead by a Nazi, is one too many, but the reality is that something like this is unlikely to happen to you as getting hit by lightning.

He goes on to tell the Jews that read him, what should scare them are the Arabs and the Muslims who peacefully live the American dream to its fullest extent by––among other things––getting elected to Congress. Once there, they earn the love of their peers and the general public so much so that you would think they are rock stars.

But what's wrong with that, Jonathan Tobin?

What's wrong, he says, is that these Arabs and Muslims take their job too seriously and work for America and the American public instead of standing up to those who promote the anti-Israel BDS movement.

So, what's wrong with that, Jonathan Tobin?

What's wrong, he says, is that these Arabs and Muslims take their job too seriously, and neglect to work for the Jews or Israel, as if their first priority was America, only America and no one but America. Shame on them!