Undue Stress on American Anti-Semitism?

Publication Date: September 1989

Publisher: Sh'ma, Inc.

Author(s): Steven M. Cohen

Research Area: Culture and religion

Keywords: American Jews

Type:

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

In the last two years, or so, American Jews' anxieties about American anti-Semitism have mounted considerably. Some major community relations agencies advance the view that Jewish interests are seriously threatened by American anti-Semitism. They argue that anti-Semitism is a potent and growing force in American society; that anti-Semitic motives underlie the behavior of the most powerful opponents of our communal agenda; that anti-Semitic stereotypes among the public can readily influence the policies of important institutions; and that anti-Semitic attitudes invariably lead to anti-Jewish behavior. I want to argue here that each of these propositions is demonstrably false. But more critically, I also want to argue that the price of an undue emphasis on anti-Semitism is not merely superfluous vigilance; it also means that we exert less influence on American society than we might otherwise.

In Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility, v.19 no.376, September 1, 1989, p.113-115.