Volume I: 30 Essays Exploring Antisemitism and Culture

The first collection of this series is now complete. Here's a run-down of the topics covered so far.

Jan 16, 2023

blue and white flag on pole — Photo by Taylor Brandon on Unsplash

Back on November 29 of last year I unintentionally began a series of writings discussing antisemitism and culture, infuriated by Donald J. Trump’s decision to dine with three known antisemites: Kanye West, Nick Fuentes, and Milo Yiannopoulos. This has since become this Substack’s most widely read post of all time. The subsequent series has then fueled December to become our most heavily trafficked month yet.

I decided to both discuss current events and more “evergreen” subjects, both big picture themes and also personal, autobiographical approaches to the subject. Each entry starting with the third included this introduction:

These writings are part of my ongoing effort to overcome my PTSD by forcing myself to try to write and publish something every day commenting on and analyzing current cultural affairs and their impacts on politics, faith, and, well, everything. “Politics is downstream from culture,” the late Andrew Breitbart popularized among conservative bloggers while he was alive. I’d go a step further: Everything is downstream from culture. The cultures you embrace determine who you are and who you become. You become what you worship.

Here is the full list of entries in “Volume I” of the series, which I will then provide short introductions describing:

What did I talk about through this series? Here’s a brief summary of each installment:

What It Means When the Leader of the Republican Party Dines With THREE Antisemites

I began this series commenting on the infamous Trump-Kanye-Fuentes dinner and explaining that it was symbolic of an American Right today which simply refused to take evil and cultural rot seriously.

What Causes Someone to Be an Antisemite?

The impetus for this series’ focus on antisemitism and culture came in answer to a friend asking me what factors caused someone to become an antisemite. It’s a complex question which I answered in more depth later in the series but in this installment I decided to focus in answering it in broad. I identified how the culture someone embraces was the primary determinant, and then provided statistics showing how cultures globally vary tremendously in the rates of antisemitism in them.

When & Why Conspiracy Theorists Sometimes Stumble Onto the Truth

In part 3 of the series I responded to the news that the infamous dinner may have been intentionally engineered by Yiannopoulos to hurt Trump. I put this possibility in the context of conspiracy theory thinking more broadly, explaining that while the overall conspiracist mentality and ideology were problematic, they were often based on nuggets of truth, and it was thus best to tread carefully, looking for which aspects of conspiracy thinking might have some legitimacy.

The JFK Conspiracy Theory Which Makes the Most Sense & Why It Matters Today

In part 4, I followed up on part 3 and explained a conspiracy theory which I do think has a fair amount of evidence to back it up: the idea that the KGB was responsible for the Kennedy assassination and then created confusion by sowing so much disinformation about it all around the world for decades. I explained this in the context of the KGB’s broader disinformation efforts which included promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories in the Muslim world.

An Open Letter to Elon Musk Thanking Him for the Correct Decision Shutting Down Neo-Nazi Kanye West

Next, I began responding more directly to breaking news events, in this installment here the news that Elon Musk had chosen to again ban Kanye West from Twitter for the latter’s promotion of antisemitic ideas.

Why Morally Decent People Can't Buy Bitcoin

I again used current events in post 6, using the Sam Bankman-Fried/FTX breakup story to explain why I had long opposed Bitcoin, noting in particular how the antisemitic regime oppressing the Iranian people was utilizing the cryptocurrency to fund terrorism.

4 Stupid Reasons People Don't Take Antisemitism as Seriously as They Should

By now I was starting to get some strange pushback on my series from some of my old right-wing blogger colleagues. I addressed their complaints here.

Obsessing Over 'the Left' Sabotages the Fight Against Antisemitism

Installment 8 was a follow-up to the points from the previous episode. I explained my background in conservative blogging and how it involved a focus on “the Left.” I noted how now this attitude had become much more prominent and how it prevented many people on “the Right” from taking antisemitism as seriously as they needed to. There are more enemies out there than just those on “the Left”!

Is Campus Antisemitism So Pervasive It's Now Normal?

This installment in the series was inspired by the research for my very first feature article that I wrote for Jewish News Syndicate, which you can read here. I explained two intertwining reasons why antisemitism had grown so prominent on college campuses across North America.

Elon Musk Brings Onboard 'How to Fight Anti-Semitism' Author Bari Weiss to Twitter 2.0

I again responded to breaking news in this installment, noting that the author of a great book opposing antisemitism had been contacted by Elon Musk to reveal some of the inner workings at Twitter before he purchased the company. I further explained how Twitter had become such a dangerous home to antisemitic discourse.

Even the Smartest Brains Can Become Infected with Antisemitism

This installment is a sequel to my previous part on campus antisemitism. I excerpt and link to the story I was working on that day and explain why I regard “anti-Israel” or “anti-Zionist” views to be the same as antisemitism.

How Hanukkah Should Inspire Christians Too

Hanukkah was just starting as I was writing part 12 and I explained how the holiday had largely lost much of its original meaning, as had Christmas. There’s much, much more to the story.

Is Qatar the Most Terrible State in the Middle East? Or Is Iran Worse?

In this installment in the series I laid out my radical - actually revolutionary - views on the despots dotting the Middle East. I explained why I believe many of them need revolutions to liberate their people - Qatar and Iran in particular.

How the Bible Reveals the 3 Types of Antisemites

Part 14 expands on what I started in part 2, explaining why some people become antisemites. I cite a fantastic op/ed by Steve Lipman which puts the 3 main types of antisemitism - religious, political/economic, and racial - in the context of biblical figures. This is one of the most important installments in the series for understanding antisemitism.

3 Hidden Weapons to Defend the Jewish State

In this installment I presented two more articles which I had written for Jewish News Syndicate and explained how education, journalism, and lawsuits were weapons to use to fight antisemitism.

Indifferent to Racist Hate in America, Indifferent to Genocidal Hate in Ukraine

In this installment I took Tucker Carlson to task for his defense of Vladimir Putin’s brutal genocidal war against Ukraine. I linked his indifference with Putin’s evil to his tolerance of the antisemitism of such American far right figures as Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul.

Please, My Jewish Friends: We Desperately Need You Here in America

In this installment I responded to one of my new friends on Substack who was urging all Jews to move to Israel. I sympathized with his point and certainly support Jewish immigration to Israel but urged some Jews to stick around as their cultural contribution to our nation is so valuable.

7 Reasons This Christian Hippie Became a Zealot Against Jew Hatred

In another very important installment in this series I get autobiographical, explaining the various life experiences and professional moments which had shaped me into the Zionist writer/activist I am today.

What Zionism Means to Me Today

The nineteenth installment in this series is also very important as I lay out why I regard Zionism as a much broader movement than many people realize today, that it’s not just about defending Israel but opposing antisemitism everywhere.

Bipolar Disorder Is Not an Excuse for Kanye West's Jew Hatred

In the 20th part of this series I get into a Twitter argument with an old boss who was trying to minimize Kanye West’s antisemitism as an expression of his mental illness, since he preferred to keep focusing on the antisemitism of Ilhan Omar.

How to Satirize the Idiotic Haters

Here I praise Sacha Baron Cohen for his Borat character’s brilliant satire of antisemitism. I embed a video of his recent revival of the character at the Kennedy Center Honors Event.

Why This Bible Thumper Is Going to Keep Using Plenty of Profanity

For the 22nd installment I defend my use of profanity in condemning antisemitism, genocide, and other great evils. In my view this is not at all a contradiction with my promotion of Judeo-Christian moral values.

The Torah Should Be the Moral Foundation for All

In this installment I begin discussing a particular form of antisemitism I anticipate writing about much more in future posts: Christian antisemitism. I explain how and why some Christians fail to recognize the importance of our faith’s Jewish roots.

3 Reasons Why Everyone Should Cancel Netflix

Here I reveal that Dave Chappelle’s “The Closer” special inspired me to cancel my subscription to the streaming service and that it was not the only anti-Israel, anti-Jewish connection the company possessed.

Kevin McCarthy Makes a Deal with the Devilish Far Right Allies of Antisemitism and Genocide

Again responding to current events - the many votes Kevin McCarthy needed before becoming Speaker of the House - I explain how the far right Republicans initially refusing to support him were calling for cuts to defense spending and how this aided the genocidal regimes of Russia and Iran.

How Multi-Faith Mysticism & Maimonides Can Bring Peace to Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Everyone

In this installment I present my prescription for how to overcome antisemitism: mysticism based in the unique insights of the Jewish sage Maimonides.

Must Amazon Sell Antisemitism?

Another installment of the series responding to current events, this piece highlights a campaign to push Amazon to more diligently enforce their policies against selling hateful items.

RIP Paul Johnson, a Catholic Warrior in Defense of the Jewish People

The 27th installment in the series highlights the incredible writing of historian Paul Johnson, both his praise of the Jewish people’s role in history and his devastating take-down of Karl Marx-inspired antisemitism.

Who Counts as a Jew? An Epic Debate of Mystic Vs. Fundamentalist

In the longest episode of our series I engage in an extended Twitter debate all day with a secular Jew wanting to “gate keep” Judaism, defining who counts as a Jew and who does not. I tried to no avail to explain to him why Jews had argued about this for so long and not reached a conclusion. I also revealed who the ultimate “gatekeeper” was of Judaism: the antisemite, who does not care whether the Jew is secular, reform, or orthodox.

Still Christian: Why I Don't Call Myself a Jew Even Though I Could

For the last installment in this volume of the series I explain why I have chosen not to convert to Orthodox Judaism myself, even though I sympathize with so many of its ideas. By remaining a Christian and a mystic I can advocate for Jewish ideas in these spaces and more effectively oppose antisemitism.

What do you think of the series so far? Is there anything you’d like me to tackle in volume II?

Volume I: 30 Essays Exploring Antisemitism and Culture

The first collection of this series is now complete. Here's a run-down of the topics covered so far.

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