Dem
47
GOP
53
Readers, especially Jewish readers, hardly need us to tell you that antisemitism remains a real problem in (some corners of) American society. That means that combating antisemitism, either broadly, or in specific contexts (e.g., campuses) is a very worthy goal.
The Trump administration has cynically used that very worthy goal—specifically, fighting antisemitism on campus—as cover for its anti-education/own the libs war on America's universities. We imagine that approximately 100% of our readers agree with combating antisemitism, and that approximately 0% of our readers believed that cutting Harvard's research grants or imposing new anti-DEI rules on Penn had anything whatsoever to do with that goal.
Over the weekend, the administration showed its true colors in just... utterly blatant fashion. FBI Director Kash Patel showed up for work long enough to announce that the Bureau is cutting ties with the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. He explained that "This FBI won't partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs." Later, there was also some meaningless prattle about wokeness.
(Z)'s very first paper in grad school was on the Ku Klux Klan (the one from the 1920s). And so, he's got some expertise here, and has also followed the general subject of American extremism for many years. You can be absolutely certain, beyond any doubt, that any serious effort to combat antisemitism (and other bigotries) demands the ADL and SPLC as partners.
The game here could not be more clear. The administration is making a concerted effort to frame political violence as a predominantly/exclusively left-wing problem. Donald Trump, Patel, FBI Assistant Director Dan Bongino, etc. want to unleash everything they've got against left-wing "extremists," including many "extremists" who aren't at all extreme and aren't guilty of anything. The Trump-issued NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM/NSPM-7, which was promulgated just a few days before Patel made his announcement, makes clear that the administration will be pursuing "domestic terrorists," which are defined as people or groups whose message "include(s) anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity" or "extremism on migration, race, and gender, and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality." In other words, if you indulge in any activism, or even any thought, that is lefty in nature, you are guilty of WrongThink, and you may be deemed a domestic terrorist.
Decreeing political violence/domestic terrorism/left-wing thinking to be one and the same conveys two benefits as far as Trump, et al., are concerned. First, it allows them to "own the libs," up to and potentially including all kinds of dirty tricks in relation to next year's elections. Second, it allows them to ignore right-wing violence. That is the vast majority of political violence, but it's also perpetrated by folks who are, by and large, MAGA.
We will also note here that the Trump administration's support for Israel is also not really about pro-Jewish or pro-Zionist advocacy. Sure, MAGA might attract the occasional Jewish supporter here and there, but the real agenda is two-fold: (1) pander to Christian evangelicals who believe Jewish control of the Holy Land is key to inaugurating the end times, and (2) "own the Muslims."
We are also well aware, by the way, that Trump did some saber-rattling in the direction of Hamas this weekend, and that there's been some reporting that today—the second anniversary of the commencement of this terrible, terrible conflict—the two sides are close to some sort of peace agreement. If an agreement is actually reached, we will certainly write about it, and will be pleased to give credit wherever credit is due. However, these things always seem to fall apart at the last minute, or they seem to be less substantive than the Trump administration claimed, or both. So, we shall cool our jets until there's something more substantive than "maybe an agreement is near." (Z)