Dr. Alon Milwicki on Differentiating Canadian and American Antisemitism
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
Frequency: Three (3) Times Per Year
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 12
Issue Numbering: 3
Section: A
Theme Type: Idea
Theme Premise: “Outliers and Outsiders”
Theme Part: 31
Formal Sub-Theme: None
Individual Publication Date: August 15, 2024
Issue Publication Date: September 1, 2024
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Word Count: 796
Image Credits: Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash.
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2369-6885
*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citations, after the publication.*
Abstract
Dr. Alon Milwicki is a senior research analyst in the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Milwicki discusses: Canadian and American antisemitism; antisemitism as political currency; and deconversion from antisemitism.
Keywords: antisemitism in Canada and America, De-radicalizing extremists and education, Extremism versus ignorance in antisemitism, George Soros and antisemitic tropes, Jewish stereotypes and combating racism, Mainstream use of antisemitic language, Overt antisemitic incidents and symbology, Political currency and conspiracy theories.
Dr. Alon Milwicki on Differentiating Canadian and American Antisemitism
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Do Canadians and Americans differ in their styles of antisemitism?
Dr. Alon Milwicki: Judging purely by antisemitic incidents I’ve seen. This is purely by overt antisemitic incidents because that’s what I’ve seen in Canada. I’m not a Canadian historian. I haven’t been following Canada for work or my interests. So, judging by overt antisemitic incidents, no. They still use the same symbology. They use the same language. But again, that’s the top-level stuff. That’s the swastikas. That’s the “Jews did 9-11.” That’s attacking or vandalizing Holocaust museums—that kind of thing. Again, we’re not going to do international affairs, generally domestic. But the same things that I would track as an antisemitic incident in the U.S., I see in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, all that stuff.
Jacobsen: How much is antisemitism used as political currency? The whip up of a fervour.
Milwicki: antisemitism with the conspiracy theories. Well, Soros. Soros-backed DAs, Soros-backed anything, Donald Trump just put out a mailer calling Kamala Harris a Marxist, whatever. There’s your trope right there. So it’s used. It’s used by extremists, for sure. However, the more troubling aspect is how the mainstream uses it. And that speaks to what we discussed before about how endemic it is. A lot of these people using antisemitic tropes probably don’t even know they’re using antisemitic tropes. It’s a question of ignorance versus extremism. I waver sometimes, which is” better.” With Extremists, at least, you know where they stand. Ignorance: sometimes, people are so dead set on their ignorance that you can do nothing about it.
So, George Soros is probably one of the ultimate visual conspiracy currencies we can see right now in terms of antisemitism. From Elise Stefanik to Ted Cruz to Donald Trump to all of them, they’re using Soros. “Soros-funded,” “Soros-backed,” everything is run by Soros. Soros is this evil man, etc. It works from neo-Nazis up to the Republican nominee for president. So, if it spans that spectrum, that’s sound currency. Another way it works is in this support for Israel. This blind support for Israel. That falls into this Christian lens. Now, this has been true. This speaks to what I was saying before. This has been true before, but post-October 7th, it’s more highlighted now.
We highlight this on the one sheet where criticism of Israel is often seen as antisemitism. That’s just not always true. Can it be true? Absolutely. But you have all of these people rushing to do all of the pro-Israel things that, again, are just nominal. They’re surface-level. They carry no meaning. That plays into, or at least is interpreted as, kowtowing to Jewish power. And one of the ways you know, or you can make that argument, is the antisemites are accusing the people whom they used to support of kowtowing to Jewish power because they interpret their supposed submissiveness to Israel as a betrayal. So it’s like you use the antisemites to understand the mainstream hardcore antisemites, to know why the mainstream antisemites are doing things. Their reactions are very telling.
Jacobsen: How long does it take to “deconvert” people from antisemitism? It depends on whether they’re extremists or ignorant.
Milwicki: Listen, de-radicalizing extremists. Before working at SPLC, I worked with them. That is not easy. It is not easy, but it can be done. Ignorance is brutal because they’ll be like, “Oh, you’re just seeing antisemitism where it’s not there.” “That’s not antisemitic.” Or the people who say, “Look, I’m not racist, but…” That’s hard. “I’m not racist, but Jews always seem to have good financial sense.” I need better financial sense. I need help understanding the financial market. Sorry, dude. I skipped that gene.
This goes back to education. Open, honest, discursive education. It doesn’t mean that there has to be an antisemitism month where high schools all focus on antisemitism or something. However, it should be noted when discussing certain American or world periods. I can only speak to American history. This is where antisemitism plays in. You can see this trope here. The only way to combat racism of any kind–I would argue–or the only successful way to combat racism of any kind is education. That’s my honest opinion on it, at least in my lifetime.
If you can encourage somebody who doesn’t know, I’ve been told by students that “you don’t seem like a Jew.” I’d be like, “How many Jews do you know?” They say, “You’re the first Jew I’ve ever met.” I’d be like, “What tropes do you have?” They’re like, “How many do you know, sir?” While I would always preface that with, “Please don’t use me as emblematic of all Jewish peoples.” It is important to tackle antisemitism tropes that Jews are supposed to act a certain way.
Bibliography
None
Footnotes
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Citations
American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition): Jacobsen S. Dr. Alon Milwicki on Differentiating Canadian and American Antisemitism. August 2024; 12(3). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/milwicki-2
American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition): Jacobsen, S. (2024, August 15). Dr. Alon Milwicki on Differentiating Canadian and American Antisemitism. In-Sight Publishing. 12(3).
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT): JACOBSEN, S. Dr. Alon Milwicki on Differentiating Canadian and American Antisemitism. In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, Fort Langley, v. 12, n. 3, 2024.
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott. 2024. “Dr. Alon Milwicki on Differentiating Canadian and American Antisemitism.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 3 (Summer). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/milwicki-2.
Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition): Jacobsen, S “Dr. Alon Milwicki on Differentiating Canadian and American Antisemitism.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 3 (August 2024).http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/milwicki-2.
Harvard: Jacobsen, S. (2024) ‘Dr. Alon Milwicki on Differentiating Canadian and American antisemitism’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, 12(3). <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/milwicki-2>.
Harvard (Australian): Jacobsen, S 2024, ‘Dr. Alon Milwicki on Differentiating Canadian and American Antisemitism’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 12, no. 3, <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/milwicki-2>.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott. “Dr. Alon Milwicki on Differentiating Canadian and American Antisemitism.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vo.12, no. 3, 2024, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/milwicki-2.
Vancouver/ICMJE: Scott J. Dr. Alon Milwicki on Differentiating Canadian and American Antisemitism [Internet]. 2024 Aug; 12(3). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/milwicki-2.
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