17 Comments

Thank you Joe, for all your very thoughtful work on this so well done essay. My computer was broken and just got fixed today, so I am late in my response. Happy New Year.

Expand full comment
author

Many thanks, Alice. And a happy and fulfilling New Year to you as well.

Expand full comment

Joe: Not really so complex. Let's try harder to make it better where we are.

Expand full comment
author

Will do!

Expand full comment

Joe: Our backgrounds are similar and I appreciate your history and analysis of anti-semitism. My passport is also current, but where are we going?

Expand full comment
author
Jan 1, 2023·edited Jan 1, 2023Author

Happy New Year, Fay, and thanks for your approbation. It's a complex topic. Not to Canada. I have long run out of my quota of unrealized threats...

Expand full comment

Brilliant, Joe and so important in our troubled times. I would add that the myth that the Jews are God's chosen people has given many Jews a highly provocative arrogance. And many Non-Jews a reason to hate the Jews. I am in total agreement that the current form of anti -semitic verbiage and action is a political call to arms, comparable to Hitler's. If you want to purify a country for the Aryans or in our nation, the white supremacists, start with condemning the Jews.

Expand full comment
author

Yes, the Jews, are an immediate and perennial target. I wish you a Happy and healthy New Year!

Expand full comment

Same to you, Joe, have a great year.

Expand full comment

Thanks, Joe for your fine analysis of this very complex issue.

Expand full comment
author

Complex, indeed. And thanks you, and best wishes for a happy and fulfilling year.

Expand full comment

Superb analysis, and perspective on American Society. The challenge is, how to address it.

Expand full comment
author

We need to expose, challenge and condemn every manifestation of hate as well as the atmosphere of hate. Substantively, I believe that economic security and increased egalitarianism is the best foundation for mitigating extremism, excessive tribalism, irrationalism, etc.

Expand full comment

Thanks for your explication of this fraught topic. As you know, the anti-semitism of stars like Kanye and Kyrie Irving scare me. Anti-semites have a seat at the table, especially at Trump’s Thanksgiving table.

Expand full comment
author

This is a complex issue and I needed to exclude far more than needs to be said. I agree about Kanye and Kyrie, both products of underlying dynamics, and, given their followings, dangerous propelling instigators. They need to be called out.

Expand full comment

Just returned home exhausted from a week-long out-of-State trip, I could not get away before I finished reading this article. Thanks, thanks and thanks for writing it.

Expand full comment
author

Many thanks to you, and a very Happy New Year!

Expand full comment