Remember: Existing as a Jew is itself radical and a statement against the status quo

There can be no denying this: antisemitism is exceedingly common across the political spectrum. I have been reflecting on why, trying to understand why the dislike and distrust of Jews is so common. I reflect back on the work of historian Robert Ian Moore, author of “Formation of a Persecuting Society,” which argues that medieval Europe used persecution of Jews, gays, heretics, and lepers as a form of political control which manifested in the persecution we experience today. I believe this universal antisemitism comes from the fact that Jewish existence is a massive challenge to the status quo.

I can speak from experience living in a Christian society and will mostly be using examples relating to that, but I believe this can also speak to antisemitism in Muslim society as well. It should come as no surprise that, even if a society claims to be secular, the dominant religion drastically influences the politics and culture of the nation. Even those who consider themselves atheist will default to Christian traditions and moral assumptions merely because Christianity is the default for morality. How many times in America have you heard “church-going” to inherently mean good, a school advertising itself as having “Christian education” to mean quality education, or entire moral arguments predicated on someone’s Christianity? Even when an openly Jewish politician like Bernie Sanders is seen as moral, people cannot just say he’s a good person, they must compare him to the one good Jew, Jesus. He is forced to fit the Christian framework.

Judaism’s existence is a bit of a problem for Christianity. If Jesus, the supposed son of the Hebrew G-d, really was so correct in his teachings, why are there still Jews? Why are the Jews unconvinced about the “truth” of a supposed development of biblical morals? Jews represent to the Christian status quo a massive problem. A reminder that they are not universally correct, that there is something that came before them that remains unconvinced. That something different to them can not only survive, but thrive. This is what makes our existence radical, and why it upsets people on all sides of the political spectrum. Conservatives want us gone, either chased off to Israel or dead. Many Leftists want Jews to experience Judaism in a way that makes the larger goy population comfortable, as to not upset their still Christian worldview (whether they admit they have one or not).

As long as we exist as Jews, religious or not, we partake in radical challenges to the status quo. Being Jewish says to the world that there is always a different way. That something else can exist. That even if you seek to usurp and force your own ideology on the world, that will never go unchallenged. Be openly Jewish. Talk about your experiences. Wear a Star of David/Hamsa/Menorah on your person. That “well this is how it’s always been, so why change it” is so deeply wrong that it shatters them to their core. Show to a world that demands submission that our light will never be extinguished, that their status quo that puts them on top will never be safe.

Be Jewish. Be radical.