I had meant to pop in for a Hanukkah/end-of-year post all last week, but am only getting around to it now, a day after we’ve lit our last candles for this year.
Hanukkah had started with the massacre of Bondi Beach, an act of unspeakable evil that had re-traumatized our already collectively traumatized nation and reminded us that, sadly, Jews aren’t safe in any corner of the globe right now.
Several people have contacted me on social media asking whether I can explain the extent and power of antisemitism. This is a question many people, cleverer and more educated than I, have grappled with; and while it’s a big topic, here’s something I can say right away: antisemitism is NOT a “response” to whatever the Israeli government is or isn’t doing. This wouldn’t explain all the pogroms, blood libels, expulsions, forced conversions, seizures of property, and countless hostile decrees Jews had experienced throughout history while stateless and scattered.
There’s a spiritual dimension to this: “Esau hates Jacob.” But the way I see it, antisemitism is not a unique phenomenon. Many ethnoreligious groups had suffered persecution.
The Sámi, indigenous people of Northern Europe, had lived through language bans, mandatory boarding schools, land theft, and forced assimilation. The Samaritans, once numbering over a million, have shrunk to a group of just around 140 at the beginning of the 20th century (their numbers have grown thanks to the protection Israel gives them). The Roma people lost about 25% of their population to the Nazi genocide, after centuries of being distrusted, marginalized, and accused of sinister practices like black magic.
So why is antisemitism so widely known and discussed? First, because the Jews are so scattered around the world that antisemitism isn’t confined to one region. It’s a global phenomenon.
Second, antisemitism is pervasive because Jews had stubbornly refused to share the fate of the Etruscans, the Minoans, the Jie people of China, many indigenous American tribes, the Manicheans, and numerous other ethnic/religious groups that had vanished from the pages of history. Preservation of the group is such a core principle in Judaism that it overrides almost any other consideration, like individual safety, comfort, or acceptance.
Third, and this is perhaps most important, Jews were hated for their success, which they had achieved despite almost universal persecution and restrictions.
In a largely illiterate world, Jews had emphasized education. Jewish folklore glorified not the knight riding out against the dragon, but the young boy displaying incredible persistence in mastering a difficult Talmudic portion. Jews were forced to move from country to country, becoming multilingual, culturally flexible, inventive, and adaptable. Resilience, resourcefulness, and creativity became an inseparable part of being Jewish.
Furthermore, with restrictions on land ownership, many Jews who would perhaps otherwise become farmers had turned to pursuits like banking and trade. Of course, it was a no-win situation that created the stereotype of the heartless and tight-fisted Jewish lender.
In the Soviet era, every Jewish mama had drilled into her children’s heads that they MUST work ten times as hard as everyone else to get past the infamous “Jewish quotas” in good universities. This kind of work ethic still persists.
When you’re already marginalized, success breeds envy, much like a school bully might hate a talented dorky classmate. So here we are, following thousands of years of oppression, still going strong – and not going anywhere.
If you want a deeper insight into the trajectory of the Jewish people, I thoroughly recommend Jews, God, and History by Max Dimont.
I wish all my followers a happy, peaceful, healthy, and productive year in 2026!
Domestic Felicity 