Epinoia

It sure seems like it, sometimes.

There's the fact that Israel empties American pockets of 20K-plus per capita per year, and that this year it gave us bad information to get into a war and now is suspected of spying on us through Defense's No. 3 man (whom I believe is Israeli). Arguably, all this is secular. I wouldn't have brought it up but for the fact that any Christian (or other) who does gets tagged as a "hater," a "fascist," an "antisemite" To use ADL's terms, "they may evidence a deeper bias toward Israel and Jews." Try keeping your job with THAT pinned on ya. Thank God for the Internet.

I swear the main subject today is not Israel, as I've been discussing that elsewhere. Here's how it's gone: 1) Criticism of Israel transpires; 2) others agree; 3) a tentative consensus disfavorable to Israel begins to form; 4) a new and hugely prolific participant appears, calling out others by name as "haters" "antiSemites" and blah; 5) someone responds "no, you're the Nazi" or whatever; 6) bam, the thread is closed. I've seen this happen now six to eight times in various forums, three here over the past 48 hours. Please don't fall for this ploy if (when) it's redeployed here.

Jews had a lot to do with pointing out 30 years ago that it's not fair to have just crosses and creches around at Christmastime, which is great, but now we have ADL pushing the ridiculous assertion that hannekah=cool and crosses =! cool argument. Ludicriously, this apparently has the blessing of SCOTUS. It would not surprise me to find out ADL was somehow involved in the '89 case, as its own view on this issue seems clear. I am going to find out. One last thought on that issue: There is one other arguably religious symbol that could apply under this "menorah" standard. That is the swastika, a cultural good-luck symbol among Buddhists, Taoists and Confucianists alike. Set it down right next to the menorah. Who cares about other people's feelings, right? Unless they are Jews.

That it's A-OK to criticize Christians and Muslims is made clear every day on forums across the Internet, as well as countless venues IRL. Hey, that's great. Certainly there is no shortage of ridiculousness to be found there. I've spent many happy hours wrapped up in the skewering of each, and Jews are often the best at pointing out what's especially laughable or fucked up about the situation. Paula Fredriksen and Hyam Maccoby and ADL were great in pointing out just how the Passion sucked. Yet when it comes to Judaism, it's practically a hate crime to look at it with the same cynical, skeptical irreverence. Just ask Daal Emet in Tel Aviv, which put out its commentary daily in Hebrew and English until some American Jews started yowling about hate sites. Now it's in Hebrew only. Shhhh. Too late. I noticed. I'm going to say so.

Look at our own library. How many critiques are in there? Three? Four? Way less than the section on Christianity. Non-tiptoeing, ball-having, irreverent dialogue rarely gets off the ground, let alone survive attacks from the Masada-like thought police who unfailingly show up. Smug explanations explain little if anything about the topic at hand (common arguments: someone asked that before, we've been oppressed, it's someone else's [usually Xtians or Pals] fault, you should know, why aren't you asking about somebody else, you must be anti-Semitic). No, I'm not. I don't think Jews are "worse than." I just don't see them as "better than" either and I'm going to stop acting like it by tiptoeing around and bestowing more preferential reverential silence on them than anyone else. Like Greyline, I am an equal opportunity insulter, and I'm way behind in this category.

Again, if I'm going to feel free to ponder aloud the exegical implication of sperm in any of the 72 houris, or point out the inevitability of a post-mortem crucifixion erection, I damn well will ask how it is that a yarmulke can stay attached to a bald head or anything else I feel like. I have a lot of questions I've been too intimidated to ask before, and I will be asking them. As I reach parity with others, then maybe I'll shut up. Until then, don't hold your breath.

johntheapostate

Being Jewish seems to be more than believing in a certian doctrine. Its like they are part of an ethnic group. A Christian who renounces his faith can shake the title of Christian, but a Jew could renounce his religion and still be refered to as a Jew by everyone inside and outside the Jewish comunity. I guess that there religion and there identity are so closly intertwined that its hard to criticize one without the other.

Vorkosigan

PD or GRD? PD or GRD? PD or GRD? PD or GRD? PD or GRD? She loves me, she loves me not.....

Evoken

She loves you..patience..wait a few more post

WCH

One thing you might notice is that many arguments against Christians are based on problems in Tanakh, and are therefore against Jews as well...

seebs

Er, as a mere point of theology: Whether or not it is "OK" for Jews to insult Christians, I don't see any moral basis for Christians to respond to insults with hostility. I guess, if they feel the need to insult me, they're welcome to. I don't think it will bring them any lasting joy or peace, but if they want to try it, let 'em.

lpetrich

That's $6 trillion per year, and Israel does not get THAT much foreign aid. More like a few billion a year, which is about $10 per American.

jbernier

Fantastically great point. In fact, it brings out an irony often missed by those who would insult a Christian simply for being a Christian: In so doing they confirm what Jesus said! Jesus said that people would persecute us for believing in him - thus in persecuting us they actualize Jesus' prediction. And it goes to the core of the Gospel: For Jesus is the Victim of victims - the Victim of persecution that stands for all victims of persecution, thus identifying with the least of these. The persecution of the Christian is the vindication of the Gospel's claim that all who stand with the victim will be made victims themselves.

jbernier

Good point - although it is interesting that these are never framed as critiques of Judaism. I think that there is a general fear of critiquing Judaism - and that fear is probably healthy in light of the Holocaust. That having been said, I am a bit troubled by the tendency to label critiques of the policies of the State of Israel as anti-semitic. I have no issue with Jews or Judaism; my vocational life as a Biblical-scholar-in-training has been greatly enriched by my studies of Judaism with and under Jewish colleagues and scholars - in fact, I often find that I have more in common with these individuals then with my coreligionists. However, I do have real concerns with certain domestic policies of the State of Israel - and I think that it is a dangerous thing when such simple statements become labelled as anti-semitic (as often happens). I am greatly disturbed by anti-semitism - by the fact that many of my teachers, colleagues, friends and students would have been killed in Nazi Germany simply because they are Jewish. I am also greatly disturbed by the treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank. These two statements are not incompatible but actually complementary, as I am disturbed by victimization in general. People simply need to realize that one can critique the policies of the State of Israel without critiquing Judaism.

Magdlyn

IME on another board, critiquing Judaism seems to be OK with Reform Jews, but if a pagan/secularist critiques Judaism, the Orthodox Jews get their panties in a twist.

Just like to point out, there is no monolithic Jewish thought. Apparently the Talmud is full of conflicting ideas on how to interpert Torah.