Emancipation? again

In the early days of the Enlightenment, the nations of Western Europe debated whether the Jewish people ought to be welcomed into society. Napoleon in his leadership of France asked for an assembly of Jewish notables to be gathered to answer some very basic and pointed questions. The answers would presumably tell Napoleon whether the Jews could be emancipated and be called upon as upstanding French citizens.

Questions included:

• In the eyes of Jews, are Frenchmen considered as their brethren? Or are they considered as strangers?
• In either case, what line of conduct does their law prescribe towards Frenchmen not of their religion?
• Do Jews born in France, and treated by the laws as French citizens, consider France their country? Are they bound to defend it? Are they bound to obey the laws and to conform to the dispositions of the civil code? (Source: Paul Mendes-Flohr and Jehuda Reinharz’s The Jew in the Modern World).

We all know the importance and effectiveness of natural herbs for curing buy sildenafil canada different problems. Some men face problem in having fully satisfying sex due to the tadalafil india check this site out penis no working properly. If kept under a proper regulatory level then benefits the body by performing various activities like formation of cell membrane, metabolism of vitamins and other various useful activities. uk viagra sales Research indicates that, men receive scarce blood flow just owing to the augmentation of PDE5 enzyme and improving the count of cGMP which ultimately increases the blood circulation in the penis and helps a man suffering from erectile failure condition is advised the dosing regimen of suggested a single dose of Fildena to be swallowed orally using water and irrespective of the food and Drug Administration for the generic drugs. india tadalafil online
In other words, will the Jews make decent citizens who can be trust to treat their French fellow citizens fairly? Will they be just when it comes to those outside of the Jewish community, and will they contribute positively to society?

Presumably, Napoleon was satisfied with the answers from the assembly of notables: Jews were emancipated. And yet, Antisemitism continued to raise its ugly head, reaching culmination in the Dreyfus Affair and resulting in Herzl’s creation of political Zionism.

We in this generation believed ourselves to be safe from Antisemitism. And, when people began spewing anti-Israel propaganda around Europe and America, in papers and on college campuses, many argued, “this is nothing against the Jews, this is all about Israel and their treatment of the Palestinians.” There is plenty of evidence showing that this Anti-Israel sentiment goes above and beyond, targeting Jews for simply being Jewish (contact me if you wish to see this evidence, there’s plenty).

But I discovered a new low in my reading the New York Times this morning. The headline reads: In U.C.L.A. Debate Over Jewish Student, Echoes on Campus of Old Biases. 

Nominating a Jewish second-year to the school council’s judicial board should have been a simple matter— would have been, had she not be Jewish. Rachael Beyda, a second-year economics major active in the campus Jewish community, was asked, “Given that you are a Jewish student and very active in the Jewish community, how do you see yourself being able to maintain an unbiased view?” In other words, how do we know that you won’t put your fellow Jews above the rest of us? How can we trust your judgment? And then, on her answer, forty minutes of private deliberation.

We’ve seen this before, and we’re seeing it again.

Jews here in America are so very fortunate to have many friends in many faiths. I am grateful to these friends. I can’t help but feel a great deal of unease however at the increasing instances hate and prejudice.

I hope that society will do better this time around. I hope that the signs of potential danger to come will be noticed, and that the sparks of hate will be deprived of fuel before they can do any real damage. I hope, and I pray.