The sad reality of Europe and America today is that anti-semitism is resurgent in the public sphere after decades where it was hidden.
On both the Right and Left there are people who openly and shamelessly express anti-semitic views in public forums.
While some on the right deny the Holocaust and others call for another one, the Left generalises the Holocaust to remove its uniquely Jewish content and calls the victims of the Holocaust "Nazis" for defending themselves from terrorist murderers whose long and uninterrupted association with National Socialism is well documented.
While President Trump is clearly the most pro-Israel and philo-semitic US President in history, some of his supporters mis-interpret his call for resurgent patriotism and nationalism as code for anti-semitic white supremacy.
However, while it is true that there is anti-semitism on both the Right and the Left, there have been dramatic and terrible changes in the extent to which anti-semites have their hands on the levers of power on each side of the aisle.
On the Right, European parties like Le Pen and Austria's Freedom party which have a long history of anti-semitism have taken great efforts to purge the anti-semites from positions of power. Marie Le Pen went so far as to kick her own father, the party founder out of the party!
All across Europe the parties of the Right have made great efforts to build relationships with Israel and many look to the outstanding success of the resurgent Jewish nationalism (Zionism) as a model for fixing their own countries' anomie and fertility crisis.
In contrast, on the Left, the trend of open anti-semites reaching positions of power in mainstream political parties is gathering pace.
The success at recent US mid-term elections of open antisemites like Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and the new media darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is very disturbing.
Worse still is the continued leadership of the UK Labour party by the open antisemite Jeremy Corbyn and his success in moving his anti-semitic supporters into positions of power around him while emptying the party of its traditional Jewish leaders and supporters.
In contrast, the UK Right is led by the strongly pro-Israel and philo-semitic Tommy Robinson (
Moreover the Left continues to ally itself with the third main source of world anti-semitism, Islamists, via the BDS movement and hatred of Israel.
This is despite the fact that on every other issue, including rights of homosexuals and women and the role of religion in society, the Left and the Islamists are diametrically opposed. Strange bedfellows indeed!
For much of the last 70 years Jews have supported the parties of the Left as the more philo-semitic and pro-Israel side of politics. Indeed 90% of US Jews vote Democrat and in the UK & Australia Jews voted far more strongly for Labour.
Israel itself was a socialist country from 1948 to 1977. It is perhaps the only successful example of socialism, albeit in very particular and difficult circumstances.
However, just as generals make the mistake of fighting the last war, Jews, and those who care about stopping anti-semitism and the destruction it brings, need wake up to the new reality: the threat of anti-semitism from the Left is far greater than that from the Right.
