Moslems Archives - Stephen Altschuler

As an older secular Jewish man, I believe I’m in a good position to judge a politician’s attitude towards Jews. And one’s attitude and behavior towards Jews does not necessarily coincide with one’s opinion towards Israel and their governmental policies. That’s a very complicated snake pit that involves religious, territorial, nationalistic, historical, and cultural considerations. But one’s attitude and opinion of Jews is more visceral. Put the word Jew before any Western person and ask for their first impression and you will discover their basic attitudes and inclinations, especially if the responses are confidential and discreet. Because of historic racism and prejudice towards Jews in the Middle East and Western worlds, I suspect those responses will be mostly negative and derogatory, depending on geographical, educational, economic, and religious factors.

I’m not a professional historian, but it is commonly accepted that the first Crusaders, around the year 1096, on their way to liberate the Holy Land from Islamic rule, invaded Jewish villages along the way, and massacred most of their inhabitants. The Crusades, after all, were church-sanctioned genocidal escapades to combat paganism and heresy. Jews were lumped in with Moslems in that regard. And to solidify the hatred, a conspiracy theory started in the Middle Ages, called blood libel, was spread by word of mouth, accusing Jews of murdering Christian children in order to use their blood as part of religious rituals. These claims—alongside those of well-poisoning and host desecration—have been major themes of the persecution of Jews in Europe. And Europeans brought such vicious falsehoods to America when they colonized this territory.

Believe it or not, this conspiracy theory still survives [Read more…] about Why Jews, and really everyone, should not vote for Donald Trump or any of his Republican enablers

I finally understand what white privilege is, after not understanding for a long time. I always justified it by saying, to my wife, mostly, that I had no control of my skin color at birth and so how could I be privileged when compared to a black person. On the other hand, do I have to think about my skin color and how society will respond to it when I leave the house? Other than have to put sunblock on my very light white skin, I did not have to think about my skin color when in society or how people will respond to it. That, in a few words, is white privilege. It doesn’t make me a racist but it does make me much more aware of how a black person feels when he or she leaves his or her house in America. Whether it be the police, the grocery store, the bank, the gym, a school, or even a sporting event blacks know they will often be judged by the color of their skin and not their character or personality or achievements. Whites may not have an easy life financially, emotionally, or physically, but, other than sunblock, they do not have to worry about their skin color and how people will react to them because of it. That is white privilege.

And that is not acceptable in a multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural, democratic, supposedly free, society. The plaque on the Statue of Liberty invites all to our shores. We have and do represent a hope for the [Read more…] about Understanding White Privilege