Jay Michaelson, columnist at The Daily Beast (plus appearances on CNN and MSNBC) has an advanced degree in Jewish Thought. But that didn’t stop him from sounding appallingly ignorant, finding excuses for black liberal anti-Semitism in a piece titled “What’s Behind the New Wave of Anti-Semitic Hate? -- The suspect in the Monsey, NY stabbings has some things in common with classic anti-Semitic conspiracists, but the differences between them may be more important.”
New York is reeling from a wave of anti-Semitic attacks, and speaking as a Jewish parent who lives in Brooklyn, I can tell you that it’s terrifying.
It is also confusing. The vast majority of anti-Semitic attacks in this country are carried out by right-wing white supremacists. But most of the recent New York-area attacks have been carried out by people of color expressing very different grievances, or none at all. So is this the same phenomenon, or a different one? Hate, yes, but what kind of hate?
As Michaelson demonstrated, recent incidents of anti-Semitism that don’t follow the media’s “right-wing hate” template have left it discombobulated, unable to deal with terror closer to The Black (or Hebrew) Israelites than Trump’s conservative fan base.
Michaelson tried to minimize left-wing anti-Semitism.
The answer is not simple. The recent street violence and acts of terror are based, in part, on anti-Semitic conspiracy theories similar to those on the Right. And yet, it is dangerous and misleading to see this as the same phenomenon, because the social contexts, the dynamics of race, and the relationships to power are all quite different.
....
But in these cases, the anti-Semitic themes are sometimes wedded to quasi-progressive concerns about racial justice, or, more broadly, to grievances against Jews as usurious landlords or agents of gentrification.
He followed with tortured explanations for minority anti-Semitism that would not be granted to any right-wing flavor.
....the Crown Heights riot of 1991 was in part about city resources, housing, gentrification, policing and political power, but also shot through with conspiracy theories and the blaming of all Jews -- or, more specifically, all Hasidic Jews -- for the misdeeds of a few.
Michaelson downplayed Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan ,while conflating Trump's election with hate crimes.
....there is no left-wing or African-American equivalent of President Trump, who has freely traded in anti-Semitic stereotypes....the notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan may be the leader of the Nation of Islam, but Trump is the leader of the free world....there is simply no comparison between right-wing anti-Semitism, which arguably stretches into the White House itself (if not Trump, then some of his recent advisers), and the fringe sects, street violence, and bigotry found among small segments of the African-American community.
It cannot be a coincidence that the rise in anti-Semitism coincides with the rise in Trumpism.
He concluded:
But to eradicate anti-Semitism, we must understand it -- and right now, when it comes to this devastating new wave of attacks, we don’t.
The Daily Beast certainly can’t be accused of “understanding” anti-Semitism.
