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British-Jewish Comedian Explains Why Antisemitism Has Become Trendy
(Israel Hayom) Ami Friedman - For years, British Jewish comedian David Baddiel, 59, has been analyzing modern antisemitism, especially how it has taken root in progressive circles, becoming a status symbol and a distinctive characteristic of those who fiercely defend anyone else who is treated insensitively because of their race or ethnicity. But "anti-Jewish racism isn't considered racism by a lot of people," he writes in his 2021 book Jews Don't Count. "Antisemitism is a form of racism that has been around for generations and generations, long before the establishment of Israel," he said in an interview. "It is truly perverse to think that Jews around the world are responsible for what is happening in the Middle East, that they are to blame for what happens. This isn't the case for Britons of Chinese descent when China behaves unacceptably. It isn't the case for British Indians when India does something, and it isn't the case with any other minority. It's just Israel's actions that are blamed on all Jews, wherever they may be." "Israel has become...the thing you have to hate. In the past, South Africa played this role, and I'm afraid now it's Israel. Part of the identity of these people is to hate Israel. People for whom politics is their identity are not interested in complexity....And if the good guys, which for them is the Palestinians, do something as terrible as October 7, those people can't fit it into their worldview. They say, 'That can't be true! It has to be the Jews, the Israelis created this themselves.'"