- Pathfinder

Reply To: Have you been exposed to harmful antisemitic tropes about Jewish control over finances or foreign policy? After participating in this course, how would you go about responding to these tropes if you encounter them?

#3714
Daniel Saba
Participant

Hi Shawrath,

If Philos achieves one thing and one thing only- standing up for the truth against the bigotry and defamation one often encounters when trying to educate themselves about the conflict and the history of it- then that would be a monumental accomplishment.

Where you say that many who are exposed to maliciously spread disinformation do not realize it for what is- antisemitism- I think you point out just how virulent a problem this is. I think this is why explaining to people the nature of the problem is so important.

It’s unfortunately, not enough to say “this bigotry is wrong.” We have to also be able to say “this is why we call what we see as bigotry when we see it.” Reasonable people may differ about some of the nuances (for example: believing AIPAC controls our foreign policy is not a reasonable assertion, but believing they do have an influence does not make one an antisemite, in my opinion), but like I said, any organization that can succeed simply at policing our public discourse so that the bigotry and defamation isn’t as pervasive as it has historically been has accomplished something great.