“Clearly, racism trumps anti-Semitism in the hearts and minds of most Americans”

Clearly, racism trumps anti-Semitism in the hearts and minds of most Americans. A casual anti-Semitic remark, the polite indictment of a Jewish lobby, or the questioning of the dual loyalties of American Jews can pass without a gasp or anyone noting a slur. Anti-Semitic tropes exist on a lower scale of outrage than the n-word, for sure.

The evil and residue of slavery is an American disease, part of the nation’s DNA, seared into the soil. Not even an African-American president could make it disappear. Racism within these 50 states always demands special handling.

Anti-Semitism … not so much. In the minds of most Americans, bigotry against Jews belongs to other continents where a Holocaust can happen and where Islamists threaten Israel with annihilation.

Thane Rosenbaum, “UCLA, Oklahoma and Campus Bias”, The Jewish Week (20 March 2015), 25, 49.