Ruth Fatiolis
Who was Mireille Knoll? She was an 85-year-old woman, who at age nine just barely escaped the Vel d’Hiv roundup of Jews in Paris. For those who don’t know, the Vel d’Hiv roundup was a mass detainment of Parisian Jews in the Winter Stadium. After the war, she returned to Paris to live out the rest of her life—cut short when she was stabbed eleven times and her body set on fire. The murder of Mireille Knoll took place as part of a robbery, in which the men who committed the murder believed that she had to have money because she was Jewish. Mireille Knoll is just another casualty of French antisemitism. Other casualties include Sarah Halimi, Ilan Halimi, the hostages in the Hypercacher kosher supermarket siege …the list goes on.
But what about antisemitism which doesn’t result in murder? Brutal hate crimes draw international attention to antisemitism, but violence comes from quiet, insidious hatred of Jews. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) did a survey of anti-Semitic attitudes in ten European countries. The survey showed that expression of anti-Semitic attitudes had risen to 24% of the population, up from 20 % in the previous survey. Although that’s not as bad as in some other European countries, the high-profile anti-Semitic violence in France has led Benjamin Netanyahu—Israel’s Prime Minister–to urge French Jews to move to Israel, which might be a snappy pull-quote but hardly a solution.
Before finding the answer, it is necessary to define the problem. The language of antisemitism often doesn’t represent itself in obvious statements—rare is the person who openly admits to hating Jews. Rather, antisemitism often is expressed through negative attitudes and stereotypes. In their study, the ADL offered statements and noted how many people responded that the statement was “probably true.” The statements included “Jews are more loyal to Israel than their own country,” which 45% of French respondents said was “probably true;” “Jews have too much power in the business world,” which 35% of respondents said was “probably true;” and “Jews still talk too much about what happened to them during the Holocaust,” also described as “probably true” by 35% of respondents. The first two statements in particular showcase two of the most common stereotypes about Jews: they are incapable of loyalty towards anyone and anything but their own interests, and they secretly control all major institutions. The belief that Jews have too much power ties into the belief that all Jews are rich: an idea that killed both Mireille Knoll and Ilan Halimi (who was kidnapped and held for ransom because his kidnappers believed that his family had to have a lot of money—they didn’t, and he was tortured and left to die).
Anti-Semitic graffiti in France often includes the image of the swastika, and a recent piece of graffiti (at an elementary school, no less) referred to the students as “dirty Jews.” “Dirty” is a fairly common pejorative for Jews, as is comparisons to rats or vermin. In English, one might see references to Jews as lizards or aliens strongly contributes to their dehumanization: when Jews aren’t seen as human, it’s easier to justify violence against them. Derogatory words are often combined with claims of a “Jewish Conspiracy” that aims to take over the world: Us versus Them.
Anti-Semitism has been referred to as the “world’s oldest hatred,” so it’s no surprise that it has infected language worldwide. I read a book written about anti-Semitic language in contemporary Germany, in which the authors discussed various terms and ideas of modern German antisemitism. The examples used are German, but the concepts embodied by the examples are, unfortunately, universal to all anti-Semites. In fact, I was struck by how much the quotes and ideas referenced matched up to my personal experience of antisemitism, as well as papers I wrote in the past about antisemitism in nineteenth century Europe and America. One striking example is a quote pulled from a message board in which the writer says, “you are a guest in this country, so behave yourself as such and stop your constant instigation against the host people.” If Jews are not viewed as true citizens, it is no wonder that the ADL found that 45% of French respondents believed Jews had more loyalty to Israel than to France.
Speaking of loyalty to Israel, Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are often conflated in anti-Semitic thought. In a Jewish Students’ Union office at a French university, graffiti claimed that the office was “racist” and “anti-goy,” and told the students that “Palestine will prevail.” Although antisemitism and anti-Zionism aren’t necessarily correlated–and there are many legitimate criticisms of the Zionist movement–anti-Zionism often becomes a socially acceptable way to hide hatred of Jews, which I have especially noticed in the American Left. I must confess, I am tired of being asked my opinion of Israel by “woke” people the moment they find out I am Jewish. I have never been to Israel, nor do I have any family or personal ties to the country. Asking me my opinion on the right of Israel to exist because I am Jewish is no more useful than asking an English Protestant his or her opinion on whether the United States deserves to exist. Intentionally or not, when I am asked my feelings on Israel based purely on my religion, what I am really being asked is if I am one of the “good ones.”
Politically active people often hold Israel to much higher standards of behavior than they hold other countries, particularly other aggressive, imperialist, but predominantly Christian countries such as the United States. What I find particularly striking is how often otherwise sensitive, conscious people reference the Holocaust as a “lesson” from which the Jewish people ought to have “learned” better behavior. And unlike other violent countries, where the blame for imperialism is placed on the government, many critics of Israel make no distinction between political entities and civilians.
When anti-Israeli sentiment meets barely disguised antisemitism, references are often derisively dropped to the “chosen people.” For example, one of the quotes taken from a message board in the book on contemporary German antisemitism says, “You need to fix your relationship with your neighbors. But then you see yourselves as the chosen people.” The implication of the quote is that Israel—in this case, a stand-in for the Jews—is aggressive and unwilling to negotiate because of the Jew’s sense of self-importance. The view of Jews as inherently aggressive can be seen in the graffiti calling the association of Jewish students a “Zionist racist anti-goy office.”
Mireille Knoll was not killed by antisemitism, per se: she was killed by two men who based their action on stereotypes. People who protest Israel’s political stances are largely acting in good faith against a government that has a recent track record of disproportionate violence against civilians. However, justifiable distrust of Israel provides a cover for active anti-Semites, and many gentiles who are against Israel unknowingly reference anti-Semitic ideas. It is nothing new to view anti-Semitic violence as “deserved” because of harmful actions attributed to all Jews: think of the myth of blood libel, finding a new home in the condemnation of all Jews for Israeli actions. The language of antisemitism is never new.
“ADL Survey in Ten European Countries Finds Anti-Semitism at Disturbingly High Levels.”Anti-Defamation League, 20 Mar. 2012, www.adl.org/news/press-releases/adl-survey-in-ten-european-countries-finds-anti-semitism-at-disturbingly-high#.UTtIW9GSBpd.
Knobel, Marc. “#Crif #Entretiens – Le Dernier Rebondissement De L’affaire Céline : Le Projet D’une Réédition Des Trois Pamphlets Antisémites.” Conseil Représentatif Des Institutions Juives De France, 13 Dec. 2017, www.crif.org/fr/actualites/crif-entretiens-le-dernier-rebondissement-de-laffaire-celine-le-projet-dune-reedition-des-trois-pamphlets-antisemites.
Schwarz-Friesel, Monika, and Jehuda Reinharz. Inside the Antisemitic Mind: the Language of Jew-Hatred in Contemporary Germany. Brandeis University Press, 2017.
Weiss, Bari. “Jews Are Being Murdered in Paris. Again.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Mar. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/03/30/opinion/jews-murder-paris-knoll.html.
Languages in Conflict 