Category: general

American Jews: Are We Closer to New York 1975 or Budapest 1935? A rising tide of antisemitism meets a renewed cultural fight, leaving Jews caught between echoes of 1935 and the fragile hope of 1975. By Salvador Litvak

The hostages are home, and the Gaza war has stopped. For American Jews, this is cause for joy because Israelis are our family. All Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-whether genetically or by choice-and our fates intertwine like those of any family. Many of us are finding it difficult to dwell in that joy, however, because our news feeds report a daily barrage of verbal and physical attacks on Jews around the world. And we wonder whether those social media echo chambers are making us paranoid or if we are truly living in the most dangerous time for Jews since the Holocaust. In Hungary, 1935, my grandmother, Magda, said to my grandfather, Imre, “It’s getting too dangerous here. They need veterinarians like you in Iran. And it’s much safer there for a Jew.” It sounds crazy now, but at the time, she was correct. Imre answered, “I’m a Hungarian. I fought for my country in the Great War. Why would I go to a country where I know nothing and no one?” And so, they stayed. She survived the eventual concentration camp; he did not. In 1935, the signals were everywhere-blatant antisemitism in the media, government, workplaces, and movie theaters. Millions ignored the signals. Most of them believed the troubles would pass. They learned the truth too late. After the war, Magda and her only child-my mother, Kathy-endured Soviet Hungary before they finally escaped in 1956. They followed a relative to Chile, where my father’s family had lived since escaping the Russian pogroms in 1905. When Chile elected a communist president in 1970, the Hungarian side of the family knew exactly what Marxist rule would do to the country. We immigrated to New York to begin a new chapter in America-a land of economic opportunity, where Jews were accepted as one of many ethnic groups in a vibrant cultural landscape. In 1973, Israel was attacked on Yom Kippur and suffered devastating casualties. The nation survived, but the pride and strength felt by Jews everywhere after the 1967 war were replaced by a feeling of vulnerability. Pro-Palestinian demonstrations and terrorist attacks spread around the world. Academics and activists told obvious lies about Jews and Israel, only to be echoed by the mainstream media and students on college campuses. American Jews responded with a massive mobilization of support for the Holy Land, earning support from non-Jewish Americans and strengthening the US-Israel alliance-a strategic and economic benefit to both countries. By 1975, there was genuine cause for optimism, and the Camp David Accords followed a few years later, establishing an enduring peace between Israel and Egypt, the largest nation in the Middle East. So where are we today? Are the signs pointing to conflagration and disaster, like 1935, or a turning point toward better days, like 1975? Social media will provide any answer a person wishes to hear, as is the nature of its echo chambers. The news media is not much different. With so many outlets available, people can always find a version of the news that confirms their views. They’ll claim they want unbiased facts, but they end up consuming articles that say, “Hurrah for our side!”.