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May 21, 2023
Key Takeaways:
- President Biden reaffirmed his commitment to Israel's security and to countering antisemitism at the White House Jewish American Heritage reception on Tuesday--"hate will not win."
- The IHRA definition of antisemitism is flawed, divisive, should not be codified into law, and is at best one of many tools at our disposal to identify and combat antisemitism. Better definitions have been developed that can be used in conjunction with, or in place of, the IHRA definition.
- Amy Spitalnick confronted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) with the truth about right-wing extremism when she testified before Congress on May 16.
- The most dangerous form of antisemitism is government-sponsored or condoned antisemitism, which is what we will get if we elect Republicans.
Read to the end for corrections, what you may have missed last week, fun stuff, and upcoming events.
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Hi Steve,
On Tuesday, President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden hosted the first White House Jewish American Heritage Month reception since the Obama administration (neither Bush nor Trump hosted White House Jewish Heritage Month receptions). The event featured remarks from President Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, and Douglass Emhoff; three songs performed by Ben Platt, Micaela Diamond, and Jason Robert Brown; and delicious food prepared by Guest Chef Mike Solomonov (because Biden said that he wanted to be sure the food was "both delicious and glatt kosher").
In his remarks, Biden "reaffirmed America’s unshakable commitment to Israel’s security and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state, a commitment [he reaffirmed] as rockets are launched indiscriminately into Israel from the terrorists in Gaza, forcing terrified families to hide with their children in bunkers to seek safety."
Turning to antisemitism at home, Biden promised that "hate will not win" and discussed the rising tide of antisemitism, which he called a "stain on the soul of America."
Biden said that he will soon be releasing the first-ever U.S. national strategy to counter antisemitism, which will include over 100 meaningful actions that government agencies are going to take to counter antisemitism and comprise four key pillars: increasing awareness and understanding of both antisemitism and Jewish American heritage; improving safety and security of Jewish communities; reversing the normalization of antisemitism and addressing antisemitic discrimination now and loudly; and continuing to build coalitions all across communities to fight the hate.
And yes, the food was delicious.
Any strategy that overemphasizes the IHRA definition of antisemitism is not a good strategy. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism (the IHRA definition) was never intended to be the final word on what is and is not antisemitic. It is, as David Schraub wrote, “vague to the point of incoherency, and riddled with so much imprecision and hedging that it could justify labeling anything or nothing anti-Semitic."
Supporters of the IHRA definition mention that many jurisdictions have adopted the IHRA definition but don't mention that supporters of other definitions have made no effort to codify them into law. Proponents of the IHRA definition have yet to provide any evidence that antisemitic speech or violence declined anywhere in the U.S. or anywhere in the world following the adoption of the IHRA definition in any jurisdiction.
When was the last time you saw the IHRA definition cited to determine whether a statement was antisemitic? Think back to controversies about Ye, Dave Chappelle, Donald Trump, Elon Musk's recent comparison of George Soros to a Jewish comic book superhero--you won't find anyone citing the IHRA definition because it's unnecessary and irrelevant. Its original purpose was to help European data collectors identify possible instances of antisemitism. Now it exists mainly to help right-wing supporters of Israel avoid addressing the merits of certain criticism of Israel by labeling such criticism as antisemitic. If they have that little faith in themselves or in Israel to defend Israel on the merits maybe they should ask themselves why.
If the drafters of President Biden's strategy to counter antisemitism deem it necessary to define antisemitism, they should remember that we have better definitions than the IHRA definition that we can use in addition to or instead of the IHRA definition. At best, the IHRA definition is one of many tools at our disposal. Jonathan Jacoby, who directs the Nexus group, said that “the big mistake people are making about IHRA is that it’s the final word and there are many words and perspectives." This chart compares three leading definitions of antisemitism and shows that all have pluses and minuses.
We do not have consensus within the Jewish community on the IHRA definition. It is a divisive definition with free speech implications that distracts from what should be our focus: fighting antisemitism and prioritizing its most dangerous manifestations, which in the U.S. emanate from white supremacist and right-wing extremist movements and individuals. Questions? Read my post on how not to define antisemitism.
Amy Spitalnick confronted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) with the truth. On May 16, Senior Advisor on Extremism for Human Rights First and incoming CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs Amy Spitalnick testified before Congress that "every single extremist-related murder in 2022 was committed by right-wing extremists. The vast majority of those were white supremacists. Over the past decade, 96 percent of the events in which extremists killed someone were committed by people with right-wing ideologies. In the same time period, three-quarters of the murders linked to extremism were committed by right-wing actors, while only four percent were linked to left-wing actors."
Spitalnick testified that "unless we’re clear-eyed about the facts, the data, and the reality of the current violent threat – which every indicator tells us is disproportionately emanating from the far right – we will never be able to intervene and break the cycle of violent extremism."
I would add to Spitalnick's testimony that only one party--the Republican Party--has normalized antisemitism and elevates those who use antisemitic rhetoric to leadership positions. The most dangerous form of antisemitism is government-sponsored or condoned antisemitism, which is what we will get if we elect Republicans.
Watch Spitalnick spar with Greene and ask yourself what Kevin McCarthy was thinking when he restored her committee assignments (I'll tell you what he was thinking: "I need her support to be Speaker"). It got even worse.
Corrections. I'm entitled to my own opinions but not to my own facts, so I appreciate it when readers bring errors to my attention. No one brought any mistakes to my attention last week, so it looks like last week's newsletter was perfect.
In Case You Missed It:
- Democrats should not cut spending to induce Republicans to do their jobs and safeguard our economy. The U.S. has a constitutional obligation to pay its bills. If Republicans will not agree to a clean debt ceiling increase then President Biden should invoke the 14th Amendment, eliminate the debt ceiling, and let the GOP explain to the American people why the U.S. should run its government like Donald Trump runs his businesses and not pay its debts.
Tweets of the Week. Steve Sheffey and Andy Ryan.
Video Clip of the Week. Four Yorkshiremen.
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