"The forces arrayed against Jews, on the right
and the left, are far more powerful than they were 50 years ago. The surge of
anti-Semitism is a symptom of the decay of democratic habits, a leading
indicator of rising authoritarianism. When anti-Semitism takes hold, conspiracy
theory hardens into conventional wisdom, embedding violence in thought and then
in deadly action. A society that holds its Jews at arm's length is likely to be
more intent on hunting down scapegoats than addressing underlying defects.
Although it is hardly an iron law of history, such societies are prone to
decline. England entered a long dark age after expelling its Jews in 1290. Czarist
Russia limped toward revolution after the pogroms of the 1880s. If America
persists on its current course, it would be the end of the Golden Age not just
for the Jews but for the country that nurtured them.”—American journalist
Franklin Foer, “The End of the Golden Age,” The Atlantic, April 2024
(The image accompanying this post, of Franklin Foer at
Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, DC, was taken Sept. 17, 2023, by Sdkb.)
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