Vichy Soirs
This one's for my parents, who respond to the news of any trip to Paris I take, not with "bon voyage, have a great time," but with emails and leaflets about anti-Semitism in France.
Well, as expected, in the thick of my deadline and packing craziness, I got an email from my mother, raining on my Paris parade -- a much-forwarded, non-bylined piece, which turned out to be a copy of this Jeff Jacoby column from 2002. (My mother thinks Google is something kids mumble when they're teething.)
Little snot that I am, I emailed my mother back to ask her if she responded to the guy who emailed her with tales of my blissful, anti-Semitism-free childhood in America (kids egged our house, called me "dirty Jew," and a group of girls were disciplined for chasing me around junior high, yelling anti-Semitic remarks, and throwing a chair at me). Of course, anti-Semitism in America isn't exactly over at the moment, either.
Then again, maybe I'm just too immature to admit that my parents might be right. What do you think?
Perhaps your parents are referring to the fact that the authorities have tacitly condoned the nasty things going on in Paris recently. If it's a general issue of intolerance, then both you and your parents are probably correct.
These earlier incidents happened to you during your childhood in Detroit? Lovely.
Dmac at July 12, 2005 7:19 AM
(Reposting in the right place)
There seems to be some broader misunderstanding about anti-Semitism in Europe -- it's not just confined to your mother, Amy.
The misunderstanding lies in the fact that while anti-Semitic attacks undeniably occur -- and deserve every condemnation -- they are not nearly as widespread or as threatening as the US media, in particular, likes to make out.
Vandalism in Jewish cemeteries et al capture the imagination because they are an echo of a deeply sinister past. But Jews, as a group, are not under more than the most peripheral of threats in Europe any more. Their rights to work, housing, marital rights, religious freedom, access to police protection and other public services etc etc etc are entirely intact. Anti-Semitism is taboo in mainstream public discourse, and every infringement of that taboo(eg by Le Pen and his buddies) is jumped on and squelched in short order.
The really big discrimination question in Europe -- and, to a lesser extent, in the United States -- concerns Muslims, not Jews. It's perfectly fine in much public discourse (talk radio, Hollywood movies, even a few news discussion programmes) to bash Islam, to lump all Muslims together with Osama bin Laden, to characterise the deprived, heavily Muslim/Arab suburbs of French cities as nothing but breeding grounds for extremist violence etc etc. There are far more attacks on Muslims in Europe than there are on Jews; Muslims, especially foreign-born Muslims, struggle to win residency and citizenship rights, struggle to find work, struggle to climb up the social ladder, struggle to attract anything but abuse from the police -- all those things, in other words, that are usually identified as symptoms of institutional racism, if not something more overt.
I would argue that much of the anti-Jewish vandalism and violence of the past few years has in fact been a reaction to the much stronger trend toward anti-Muslim discrimination. That makes it no less unacceptable, of course, but I do worry that the constant invocations of anti-Semitism risk being misused an excuse not to look at the broader picture.
modestproposal at July 12, 2005 8:55 AM
I haven't personally witnessed any anti-jewish phenomena in France either (anti-moslem, par contre, oh yes). However, I mis-spend some of my time chatting on the IRC french-language channel IRCnet#paris, and I'm sorry to report that flagrantly anti-jewish comments are not uncommon there, unchallenged except by me.
Amy ma chère, you do have a talent for headline-writing :-)
Stu "El Inglés" Harris at July 12, 2005 8:56 AM
Yeah but . . . how welcome was that new picture of Amy on the blog (Hitler notwithstanding)? As a Jew myself, let's get back to what's really important . . . more picture of Amy on the site!
snakeman99 at July 12, 2005 9:10 AM
Wow, one of the best pictures of Hitler and his mistress I've ever seen. Blondie looks a little bit anemic but i'm sure some human meat will fatten her right up. Eva the hat's just devine, you are, how you say, ze rage of Paree. Ze Brittany Spears of another age, qui qui.
chris "world teacher" volkay at July 12, 2005 10:37 AM
Funny picture. I bow to your talent.
LYT at July 12, 2005 11:16 AM
Also, I've been accused of being an anti-Semite lately for using the term "dead Jews" in conjunction with Schindler's List. Some of my readers told me that the term "Jew" was offensive, as opposed to the preferred "Jewish person."
I asked Luke Ford about that, and he said he thought that was nuts. I asked Andy Klein, and he said it was insane.
So there are some people who are overly sensitive about the issue, it seems.
LYT at July 12, 2005 11:18 AM
I love that picture- hilarious! It is hard to think of any group that would not be offended by it in someway...
eric at July 12, 2005 12:01 PM
ps- wickedly cool outfit, though I bet Adolph had the nicer boots.
eric at July 12, 2005 12:03 PM
Amy looks beautiful in any company.
It makes me angry to hear about how you were treated while growing up, Amy. I grew up in the Detroit area and have returned there again. Some of my closest friends were/are Jewish. Some religious, some not. My best friend was Jewish, my favorite family to babysit for was Jewish, many of our neighbors were Jewish. All of my favorite doctors and therapist are Jewish.
From my personal experience, I don't quite agree with modestproposal (if I understood him/her correctly). My husband is a British citizen. In conversations with people, who I would consider progressive as well as European, both in London and Glasgow, I have been shocked to realize that they essentially blame the Jews, along with Bush and US foreign policy, for the rise in terrorism and for the plight of poor muslims. To discount or deny anti-semitism in order to bring attention to discrimination against Muslims is irresponsible.
Claire at July 12, 2005 12:39 PM
LYT, the photo is all Gregg. I didn't even ask him -- he thought of it after I told him about the email from my parents. His other idea was me with Jewish star pasties. Incidentally, I sent it to my mother.
Thanks, Mod Prop, especially, for the voice of reason.
Oh, and Luke, anybody who says that, in my book, is a boob.
And Claire, bonjour to a fellow escapee. I do have to say, as somebody who's sometimes mistaken for Irish, it happens eveyrwhere-- people say stuff not realizing you're a (former) Heeb.
Amy Alkon at July 12, 2005 4:44 PM
PS Just to clarify, Luke, I mean that saying you have to say "Jewish person" is ridiculous. You're no racist, and that's what matters.
Amy Alkon at July 12, 2005 4:45 PM
*rotfl* What a picture! Great! (Reminds me of a scene from Woody Allen's movie "Zelig" in a strange way.)
Cheers, Rainer
Btw: It's a pity you had such a hard time in school. I hope the chair throwers all work in low-level jobs now.
Rainer at July 12, 2005 5:29 PM
Small world...small nasty/funny world: I grew up in Detroit, too!
Luckily, we had racism to supplant anti-Semitism.
My Jewish friends and I were on the same team, in that unfortunate campaign. I'd have never thrown a chair *at* you; I'd have thrown chairs *with* you.
Being wrong is highly educational. We're all apologists, now. Back then, we had no idea that there was more than one predicate for hatred.
Now if I could only stop persecuting SUVs and the Church.
Paul Wicks at July 12, 2005 9:21 PM
"Eric, did you just say the f-word?"
"Jew?"
(from teh South Park movie)
LYT at July 12, 2005 11:41 PM
LYT-
The F-word is my favorite adjective, so I probably did. It usually shows up after the 3rd glass of wine, which is why I had to leave the cocivilized world for Idaho. F- this, and F-that. I love ya, ya stupid f-r. Awwww F- you and the horse you rode in on. Where are my f-n keys? Awwwww- f-it.
Somewhere there is a therapist with me name on it!
Wait!!! Did that with my wife, to a marriage counselor. We burned her out, and somehow are still together after almost 20 years! Never underestimate the power of blind revenge....
should not post this, but F-IT!
eric at July 14, 2005 10:36 PM
I swear like a longshoreman, but did not use "fucking" for a title of something for tomorrow, lest my site get banned from any more libraries and schools than it already must be.
Amy Alkon at July 14, 2005 11:31 PM
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