Needed Time

The New York Jewish Week of February 22, 2008 carried a thought-provoking article by staff writer, Tamar Snyder: “Hatred on the Web: Anti-Semitism 2.0 Going Largely Unchallenged.” Among the signs of the times Snyder enumerates are demands to revoke the classification of Israel as a nation-state and “Truther” cloned 9/11 Jewish Conspiracy theories ranging from the vile to the ridiculous.

Anti-Semitism has been called “the oldest hatred” by classic writers on the problem. A noxious strain of the original has found the worldwide web to be quite hospitable, exploiting this vulnerable host. Anti-Semitic slander and incitement are a plague now routinely introduced into the matrix of crowded online communities.

Can the people who are exposed to this barrage of hate avoid carrying the assumptions and attitudes into society at large? Concern is growing that the public could be infected by constant exposure to the unchallenged lies and distortions spread by these viral rats in the bilge.

Anti-Semitic attitudes and conspiracy theories easily jump ship, allowing a haze of bias and slander to fog public awareness and political discussion. Perhaps the most visible real-world evidence is the prevalence of disturbingly anti-Semitic signs now present at anti-war rallies everywhere.

Internet venues are easy, in a sense allowing everyone to pose as a pundit and change agent. Because it is free, public and very easy, internet crusading easily morphs into reflexive hatred. Hatred is rife, a sort of political STD, now rampant on the overcrowded network of web logs.

The public internet services like YouTube, Facebook, the blogs, have been carriers of distortions and hidden agendas from various political extremes. The young demographic sector of the U.S. is technically precocious, but in too many instances remains intellectually untutored. They are uniquely vulnerable among the overall populace. Even as they swim the great cyber ocean with ease, too often they fall prey to the internet’s predatory species. Among those predators are the haters.

What passes for political satire can be easily uploaded for all to see, user content produced by millions of amateurs, anonymous, devoid of filters to provide accountability or common sense. These toxic little Petrie dishes have spread subtle and overt anti-Semitism. The oldest hatred has gone viral. Public indoctrination by this means into reflexive Israel hatred and crude stereotyping of Jews is an internet pandemic. As the New York Jewish Week article rightly concludes, it is past time for savvy and reason-based outreach to counter the spread of “Anti-Semitism 2.0”