Neil Lazarus, an internationally acclaimed expert in the field of Middle East, Israel advocacy and effective communication training, spoke to a full-house at the Kristallnacht commemoration organized by the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg on November 10 at the Berney Theatre. His topic was: “Kristallnacht until today: Is anti-Semitism still a threat?”
According to Lazarus, anti-Semitism today is drawn from four sources: classic Christian, Islamic, right-wing and left wing anti-Semitism.
Att he outset of his talk dLazarus referred to the quote given by Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Propaganda Minister: “If the lie is big enough and told often enough, it will be believed.” He had the audience repeat the quotation to show how through repetition a statement becomes ingrained in our minds.
Lazarus, who gave a power point presentation, began by showing how Christian anti-Semitism today demonizes Jews as money launderers, killers of Christ, and re-iterates the ‘blood libel”, and shows Jews as the devil [the anti-Christ]. He showed current cartoons where Jews have tails or ears like the devil, “drawing on traditional Christian anti-Semitism.”
In his power point presentation Lazarus showed that 48% of people in Poland in 2009 still believe that Jews killed Christ. Majorities in Hungary, Poland, and Spain also believe that Jews have too much control/power in the business world. The presentation showed that Hungary, Poland and Spain have very high levels of anti-Semitism, as compared to Austria, Germany, France, and Great Britain.
In an interview following the event, when asked how to explain these findings Lazarus said that there is still “a latent anti-Semitism” that has been present historically, and is reflected in the findings. This is the case in Hungary and Poland, notwithstanding there are very few Jews who live there.
Regarding left wing-anti -Semitism, Lazarus showed statistics that one in every three Americans believe that 9//11 was some “inside job”, and there are those,(he did not give the percentage) “ who believe that 9/11 was a Jewish plot by Israeli intelligence.”
Regarding anti-Semitism on campus, Lazarus said “When a Jewish student goes to university and has to think twice about how they express their loyalty to the State of Israel, or whether they should wear a kippa, that’s anti-Semitism.”
Lazarus said that the answer to the question of whether anti-Semitism today parallels that of the past, “The answer is no. The simple difference is the existence of the State of Israel.”
He spoke of Israel as the home for the Jewish people, “a place where you always know you are welcome. Even if you live away from home, it doesn’t mean its still not home.”
He said the answer to Anti-Semitism is “pride,” and the ability to say you are proud to be a Jew. Lazarus, paraphrased an Israeli Prime Minister who said “We don’t have Israel because of the Holocaust. We had the Holocaust because we didn’t have Israel.
The Jewish people have historically have had ties to the land of Israel, and have seen it as their homeland for thousands of years, long before the Holocaust.
Lazarus ended his presentation by saying: “If there is one commitment you want to make to the next generation, you want to guarantee that your child and your grandchild will be able to visit Israel,” and explore it as their homeland.” He said that this is one positive step towards molding their Jewish identity.
In an interview after the event, the Winnipeg Jewish Review asked Lazarus how he would respond to those, including very left wing Jews, who say that Judaism is a religion, but that that Jews are not a nation or people entitled to their own self-determination, and they don’t need a State of their own. Lazarus responded, “That doesn’t reflect Jewish history.”
