Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Jews
The Children of Amalek, Ch. 9
There is a common notion, especially among Zionists, that Judaism should have some sort of special exemption from disparagement, and that disparagement of Judaism is somehow essentially sinister and based on racial hatred while disparagement of other religions isn’t essentially sinister or racist and other religions are legitimate targets of disparagement. For example, no one is going to be accused of racism for disparaging Scientology or ridiculing Mormonism. No Zionist organization that I know of accused the musical The Book Of Mormon of being murderously hateful or racist toward Mormons.
One longstanding Jewish trope that isn’t discussed much is the anti “gentile” or anti “goy” (terms that often have been used by Jews to refer to non-Jews) perspective that anyone, particularly non-Jews, who disrespects Judaism or the behavior and ideology of some Jewish sects, especially modern Zionism, secretly harbors Nazi-like “hate” toward all individual Jews in general. For example, “Anti-Semitism” and “Jew-hate” are sometimes attributed to the most ridiculous things, like giving an insufficient amount of privilege to Jews. Recently a group of entertainment professionals, aka actors, including Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing, Julianna Margulies, Tiffany Haddish, David Schwimmer, Josh Gad, and Michael Rapaport wrote an open letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences accusing the entertainment organization of anti-Semitism:
While we applaud the Academy's efforts to increase diverse and authentic storytelling, an inclusion effort that excludes Jews is both steeped in and misunderstands antisemitism….
While many mistakenly believe that Judaism is only a religion, Jews are actually an ethnic group, with varied spiritual practices that not all observe…
Jewish people being excluded from the Motion Picture Academy's Representation and Inclusion Standards is discriminating against a protected class by invalidating their historic and genetic identity…
A space like this has never existed for Jews in Hollywood, and the Motion Picture Academy has an opportunity to combat Jew-hatred by creating a framework for nuanced and authentic representation.
Jews are marginalized and hated in Hollywood? It sounds like an SNL skit, but it’s a real letter. In that letter we can strangely hear echos of Hitler’s notion that Jews aren’t a religious group. While Jews certainly have varied spiritual practices that not all observe (just like Christians) they all have some shared spiritual practices because Jews are a distinct religious group, not an “ethnic group” with a “genetic identity”. The primary shared Jewish spiritual practice of the authors is believing they belong to a mythological Jewish “genetic identity.” The authors don’t seem to be aware of their own religious belief, but that is irrelevant; most people think their religion is true, and we can observe some who will assert that their religion is not a religion but simply Truth. Black Hebrew Israelites believe they are descendants of a lost tribe of Israel; the state of Israel currently considers that belief erroneous, a myth (which I agree), but is ignorant of the racial mythology that is the foundation of the state of Israel itself.
The expectation for special treatment that reveals itself in that letter isn’t just shared by some Hollywood Zionist Jews, it’s common to Israeli Jews. According to a Pew poll in 2016, 79% of Israeli Jews think that Jews deserve preferential treatment in Israel. Which shouldn’t be all to surprising, since Jews actually do receive preferential treatment in Israel, by Israeli law. And Zionists are trying to have that in the U.S. as well. But if we consider the weapons delivered and the tax money disproportionately shoveled to the apartheid “Jewish State”, arguably they already do have that, given how important Israel is to the vast majority of American Jews. Which isn’t surprising because the creation of Israel through the conquest of Canaan is one of the foundational and central myths of the religion of Judaism found in the Torah.
In fact in the Torah before even the state of Israel was formed the followers of Moses were collectively called Israel. Before there were “Jews”, there was the cult of Israel, which sought to conquer and rule the land of Canaan (Palestine).
Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it [Palestine]; that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life; and that your days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them; that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. - Deuteronomy 6