The weeping antisemite

Antisemites, generally speaking, have a remarkable capacity for self-pity. Indeed, their entire worldview is based on it. Universally, they see themselves as hapless victims of Jews oppression, while their vicious invective and incitement are merely speaking truth to Jewish power. Anyone who points out that what they are saying and doing is evil is portrayed as a monstrous oppressor attempting to silence them in service of craven Jewish ends.

We see this today perhaps more than at any time since Hitler proclaimed that the Jews had engineered all of Germany’s woes, but something has been added to it: the factor of sympathy, in particular, the profession of sympathy for the Palestinians as both sword and shield.

Many if not most current antisemites claim to be compassionate, empathetic, progressive citizens who are simply lamenting Israel’s “genocide” of the Palestinian people and attempting to stop it. The fact that this is a blood libel is irrelevant to them. They proclaim themselves partisans of humanitarianism and human rights. Often explicitly and always implicitly, they claim that it is Israel and the Jews who are enemies of those principles and, as such, humankind.

This presents us with a remarkable phenomenon: that of the weeping antisemite.

Unlike the undiluted hate of the Nuremberg rallies, the weeping antisemite’s unabashed, shrieking demands for the assassination of Israel and, in many cases, world Jewry itself always come with endless crocodile tears. He sobs perpetually over the alleged sufferings of the Palestinians and the awful carnage coursing across his screens. He is not an antisemite, he claims. He is merely a decent human being. That nothing he proceeds to advocate is remotely decent escapes him, or more likely, he does not care.

Indeed, if there is anything that defines the weeping antisemite, it is hypocrisy. In his professions of perfect innocence, he is not just guilty; he is infinitely guilty, because he accuses the Jews of infinite crimes and has committed all of them: It is, after all, the Arabs who have stolen thousands of miles of other people’s land. It is Hamas that committed attempted genocide on Oct. 7, 2023, and wants to commit further genocides unto the Jews’ extermination. It is the weeping antisemite himself who wants to marginalize and ghettoize Diaspora Jewry, and strip the Jewish people of everything they have suffered and achieved over the centuries, among those achievements being Zionism and Israel.

In the name of the world’s redemption, the weeping antisemite seeks to dispossess the Jews of anything that even resembles redemption. In doing so, he sees himself as a savior of the world, the finest and most moral person in the entire history of the universe—a literal saint. But he is not a saint; he is the devil.

We know he is the devil because of a simple test of integrity: his hate. If the weeping antisemite really did care about humanity and human rights; if he were really a deeply compassionate and empathetic person; if he really did want peace and justice, then he would never embrace such hate.

He would not call for genocide. He would not attack and kill Jews and non-Jews. He would not demonize an entire people with the sole exception of its collaborators. He would not seek to marginalize and ghettoize a community that has given so much to its host society. He would not be what he is or do what he does.

The essential point in this regard is that the weeping antisemite does not have to do any of this. He could easily criticize and oppose Israeli policies without engaging in racism, hate and violence. He could denounce them, moreover, with a certain measure of understanding. He could acknowledge the long history of persecution the Jews have suffered, their natural desire to be redeemed from it, Israel’s legitimate concerns about its security and safety, and the fundamental justice of Zionism itself.

The weeping antisemite will have none of this, and as a result, he becomes the devil. The truth is that antisemitism is a choice, and the weeping antisemite has chosen it. For this, he has no one to blame but himself and must stand to judgment.

I know this is the case through personal experience. I have leftist friends who criticize Israeli policies constantly. They do so out of a sincere and deeply felt empathy for both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They genuinely believe that Israeli control of Judea and Samaria is immoral. They are horrified by the violence of the ongoing war. They want some kind of path to peace.

None of them engage in blood libels. None of them call for the genocide of Israel. None of them spew antisemitism and hate speech at Jews or Israelis. None of them are anti-Zionist. They genuinely do oppose the policies of Israel’s current government, not Israel itself. They are most certainly not OK with attacking and killing Jews. They do not hate.

The weeping antisemite is not like this. He hates with gusto and pleasure. He is perfectly fine with attacking and killing Jews—and wants to see more of both. He adores atrocity and murder.

And we know all this because he says so. Indeed, he says so as loud and proud as he possibly can.

This leaves us with the question of “why?” What motivates such hypocrisy? Sadly, I believe the answer is obvious: Human beings have a strong streak of sadism in them, and the temptation to indulge it is irresistible to the weak and the craven. To indulge this impulse with a clear conscience, however, requires antisemitism.

Thus, the weeping antisemite needs antisemitism. Without it, he could never justify what he does and says. He could never justify mass murder, mass rape, a worldwide pogrom and the demonization and ghettoization of an entire people—the desire to place us under a global apartheid. He must believe that the Jews are so evil that they deserve all of this and more. He must believe that antisemitism is the duty of all humanity.

Without his hypocrisy, without his tears, without his depraved empathy, the weeping antisemite could not exist. He would be forced to acknowledge his own evil and, in doing so, destroy himself. This is unthinkable to those who fancy themselves saints, but absolutely necessary for the devil.

Against this, we can only say: We know what you are. Your tears can avail you nothing. We are not moved by them and will not be moved because of them. We are not fooled. Dry your eyes.

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