False and Dangerous as It Is, the Idea that Anti-Semitism Is Limited to the Far Right Refuses to Die https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/politics-current-affairs/2020/02/false-and-dangerous-as-it-is-the-idea-that-anti-semitism-is-limited-to-the-far-right-refuses-to-die/

February 4, 2020 | Philip Klein and Seth Mandel
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During Bill de Blasio’s tenure, New York City has seen attacks on visibly Orthodox Jews become a near-daily occurrence that the mayor has had little success in curbing. One reason for this failure, argue Philip Klein and Seth Mandel, is his stubborn conviction that, as he put it in a speech last year, “the ideological movement that is anti-Semitic is the right-wing movement.”

De Blasio’s failed leadership is an example of the real-world danger of trying to explain anti-Semitism as merely the [product] of one side of the political spectrum. By narrowly defining anti-Semitism as a far-right problem that has suddenly bubbled up under President Trump, liberals and their allies in the media are not only spreading misinformation but are making it more difficult to address a complex and growing crisis seriously. Failing to understand that anti-Semitism comes in many forms is one reason why rising violence against Jews has been able to fester and grow.

Unfortunately, de Blasio’s effort to explain anti-Semitism as merely right-wing does not make him unique. As anti-Semitism has reared its ugly head, liberals have gone out of their way to categorize it in a way that fits neatly with their partisan interests.

Senator Bernie Sanders, whose campaign has provided a safe haven to anti-Semites of the left, argued that the spike in anti-Semitic attacks nationwide was “a result of a dangerous political ideology that targets Jews and anyone who does not fit a narrow vision of a whites-only America.” One of Sanders’s prized endorsements came from Representative Ilhan Omar, who has brought anti-Semitic conspiracies about all-powerful Jewish puppet masters to the halls of Congress.

Read more on Washington Examiner: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-truth-about-anti-semitism