This is scary.
According to a German poll, 51 percent of Germans say there is not much of a difference between what Israel is doing to the Palestinians today and what the Nazis did to the Jews during the Holocaust, The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday on its website.
I confess that I've had a hard time relating to anti-Semitism. This probably has something to do with me being a blond, blue-eyed Jewish boy from northern Indiana.
(When I was an undergrad at UCLA, I tried on numerous occasions to get involved with Hillel and the Jewish Student Union, but after the 23rd time some arrogant Los Angeles resident asked, "There are Jews in Indiana?" I gave up. Maybe that's part of why today I'm in Israel.)
I never personally experienced anti-Semitism. It also makes no sense to me how people can hold such views in a modern world. Of course I know some do, but I just can't understand how they do it.
The political use of the anti-Semitism card is also problematic. Today many Israelis and Jews scream "anti-Semitism" too often in response to legitimate criticism of Israel. This creates a "boy who cried wolf" situation.
Germany was considered a center of culture when the Nazis rose to power, so the values of modernity offer no protection against anti-Semitism. But while I say this and believe in on an intellectual level, I confess that I haven't internalized it. I know it's there, but it just doesn't make sense to me.
In addition, some in Europe certainly use criticism of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians as a means to advance anti-Semitic propaganda.
Suddenly I'm feeling patriotic - both as an Israeli and an American - and all that European criticism of the U.S. for the war in Iraq and of Americans for reelecting Bush sounds a lot less credible.
