It's OK to be a Jew
Ethnic hatred against Jews is wicked and is a sin against God.
Back in 2022, I wrote a newsletter arguing that "It's OK to be Russian" in response to efforts to cancel all Russian culture, artists, writers and athletes in response to Russia's war of aggression and conquest against Ukraine. This was a blind rage that even targeted dissidents against the Putin regime.
Now it is 2026, and here's an even more controversial take: It's OK to be a Jew.
When the self-righteous online "cancel culture" mob wants to destroy an author because she included an unnamed Israeli character in her novel, it is nearly impossible to give the mob the benefit of the doubt and assume they simply disagree with the policies of the Israeli government. No, this is collective guilt against all Israelis, and there have been plenty of instances where Jews who are not Israelis are subjected to scorn and hatred simply because they are Jews. We saw this in the deranged pro-Hamas protests in 2024, which no doubt helped President Trump win re-election.
Do we really need to say this? Apparently, because ethnic hatred of Jews is more common and more open than it has been at any time in my lifetime. Not all Israelis agree with the policies of the Israeli government, and obviously not all Jews around the world agree with those policies. Blaming all Israelis or all Jews for the actions of a government you dislike is not standing for the oppressed. It is another version of the "blood libel" and ethnic hatred that has resulted in countless Jews being raped, tortured and slaughtered over thousands of years. There was actually a little bit of shame for a few decades after the Holocaust, and anti-Semitism was suppressed. As the Holocaust fades into memory, that old hatred is flaring up and some are even denying the Holocaust happened at all.
This brings to mind a quote from President Dwight Eisenhower when American soldiers liberated the concentration camps: "Start taking pictures. Start taking pictures - because someday some son of a bitch is going to try to say this never happened."
Including an Israeli character does not "normalize" any action by the Israeli government. According to Slate, that character does not even have any lines. Israeli people exist. Jews exist. They should be allowed to exist without deranged Leftists and neo-Nazis trying to damn all of them over the war in Gaza. Many of the reports of "atrocities," of course, are lies. It is utterly absurd that we should should automatically believe the claims of Hamas, a terrorist organization filled with rapists and pedophiles. This does not mean Israel can do no wrong, but nobody with any level of wisdom and discernment should ever trust anything Hamas says without independent verification.
We live in a dangerous, scary time. Almost every conspiracy theory you can think of usually leads back to blaming "THE JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS" in some way or another, to the point that is has become self-parody that is openly mocked. Even worse, anti-Semitism is creeping into the Church. Israel's war of self-preservation against Hamas (remember what happened on October 7?) is not the reason for the increased flare-up of ancient ethnic hatred against Jews. That war is the excuse for that hatred. Conservatives, and especially Christians, need to be very clear that this vile hatred and blood libel is utterly wicked and must be opposed. This includes having enemies on the Right.
Previously:
♣ - We need moral clarity in the Israel/Hamas conflict.
♣ - The "free speech" of terrorist sympathizers.
♣ - Have "America First" conservatives forgotten September 11?
♣ - The Bloomington City Council's shameful Gaza resolution.