Chronicle poll results: Antisemitism on the far right and far left
We asked our readers from which ideological camp antisemitism is most dangerous. Here's what they said.
Last week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an online poll the following question: “From which ideological camp is antisemitism most dangerous?” Of the 325 people who responded, 26% said far right; 26% said far left; 45% said equally dangerous; and 3% said they weren’t sure. Comments were submitted by 81 people. A few follow.
This is tough. Far right antisemitism may be what most people reach for first: inquisitions and pogroms from Christian antisemites and Nazism, which perpetrated the Holocaust. The Tree of Life massacre and the Poway Passover attack were perpetrated by men identifying with Christianity. The anti-Israel/Hamas war protests from the left have become increasingly violent, peaking thus far with the murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Hatred allowed to fester, no matter its origin, eventually leads to violence, dehumanization and potentially murder.
Far left antisemitism manifests openly even in their elected politicians, making it more dangerous to all of us.
Antisemitism is equally wrong from both political extremes, but far right antisemites tend to be more dangerous as they are armed and willing to use deadly violence.
The shift in the past five years has been remarkable. I never thought I’d fear more for my safety from liberals than from conservatives.
Both are dangerous but in different ways. The far right is the most assured to commit direct bodily harm, but the far left is more normalized and more likely to discriminate.
It’s all dangerous, but since the Jewish community overall leans left, the corruption from within is a special threat. Pro-Hamas leftists are influencing Jews and damaging the community.
The left will get over their problems with Israel once the Gaza situation is resolved. There will always be antisemitism on the right.
It’s not as simple as left vs right. Horseshoe theory tells us that instead of being a straight line, politics is a horseshoe. Extremists on both sides converge. Far right and far left antisemitism is actually just antisemitism. It may wear different clothes, but it is the same underneath. We are failing to combat it because we treat both “sides” differently.
If we are keeping score, there appear to be many more antisemitic voices coming from the left as it has become an acceptable position within the progressive ecosystem.
Far right white supremacists. Tree Of Life, Oct. 27, 2018. Enough said.
The far right sight overtly announces its hatred with Nazi Swastikas and the like, while the far left’s stupidity/ignorance/hatred is a more insidious and subtle danger.
The worst assault on the Jewish people in American history occurred right here in Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life and was committed by a right-wing zealot who believed in the antisemitic “great replacement theory.” Nothing any left-wing students have said or done on campuses about the Gaza war remotely compares.
Most conservatives I know recognize right wing antisemitism. Most liberals I know do not know or care about left wing antisemitism.
Two sides of the same coin. PJC
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