How class and classroom wars is fueling antisemitism

In our current social and political paradigm, people tend to see things two dimensionally – usually to the left or to the right. Of course, as current trends bear witness to, this is causing a great deal of social and political friction, which often spills over into violence. Sometimes this is agitated by nefarious forces who have a deeper agenda and sometimes it occurs organically, aided by a spiritual enemy who hates mankind, who hates the Jews and who hates God. The latest trigger point for demonically inspired violence against Jews is the war that Israel is conducting against Hamas and Hezbollah.

Aside from the spiritual paradigm with which Christians view and stand with Israel, most rational people (even unbelievers) would have a sense that sympathizing with Hamas right now is akin to endorsing the kidnap, torture, rape, beheading and murder of Jews. People who thought that the horrors of the Holocaust were long behind them have suddenly been shaken by a terrifying sense of foreboding as people the world over call for the annihilation of Jews once again. In the early stages of Hitler’s plan to exterminate the Jews, perhaps ordinary people in far-off nations would have pleaded ignorance to the Jewish plight on the basis that the news didn’t reach them. However, this time around, the evidence of Jew-hatred is there for all to see since antisemites cannot resist posting their abhorrent material online.

It must be said that it is vitally important for Christians right now to hold a Biblical worldview. In short, this means that the believer clings tightly to the very Scriptures that offer practical and spiritual wisdom that enables us to consider everything we encounter in the world from a godly perspective. For all people (believers or unbelievers), when faced with a problem or challenge, our worldview becomes the source and foundation on which we make our actions or response. This means that whatever content we filter into our worldview will determine how we act, speak and think. Therefore, it is probably of little surprise that the most vulgar displays of antisemitism have been found on college and university campuses because many colleges and universities of this era are indoctrinating their students with politically progressive and unbiblical ideas. The fundamental reason behind this is that students are taught what to think rather than how to think. As an American newscaster once said, “They [professors] dominate and intimidate the students. If you go up against them, your grade often suffers. There is a tyranny in higher education that is gravely harming this nation.”

Another reason that colleges and universities seem to be hotbeds for hatred is that many are taught that the only paradigm with which to view the world is the “oppressor” and “oppressed” class. Ostensibly, the education system (including lower grade schools) has sought to address cultural and racial prejudice but has in fact inflamed the culture and race wars. For example, James Logan High School in California offers a course in ethnic studies and social justice that aims to teach students to challenge and criticize power, oppression, capitalism, white supremacy, imperialism and colonialism. From their website we read, “Ethnic Studies encompasses the 5 C’s: Cultural Competence, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Community and Creativity. It is curriculum relevant and accurate to the cultures in our classroom and it is a path to understanding and appreciating everyone’s identity, the factors that create it, and the evolution of identity. Ethnic studies will help students understand how our social construct is affected by race and the root causes of oppression, power, and privilege.” Furthermore, the New Haven Unified School District’s Ethnic Studies and Social Justice Academy (which is part of James Logan High School) adopt the motto: “Learn, Lead, Liberate” which features a (socialist) raised fist grasping a pencil.

Don’t be fooled by the benign sounding name, “ethnic studies”. It is simply Critical Race Theory in disguise. It is a cleverly crafted deception that, on the face of it, offers a unifying cultural learning experience while essentially promoting hostility amongst races. In fact, recent reports indicate that Minnesotan lawmakers are introducing changes to their education system which are among some of the most radical in the country. The changes aren’t about education – they are about incitement to take action to disrupt and dismantle America’s fundamental social and political institutions. Minnesota’s new K-12 social studies standards exemplified this ideology as it requires students to organize with others to resist systemic and coordinated exercises of power against marginalized, oppressed groups.

Education institutions are no longer focused on raising socially adjusted, educated people. New education standards and related benchmarks are focused on instilling a seed within people that leads to hostility against any who belong to the “oppressor” class. To give examples, kindergartners must “retell a story about an unfair experience that conveys a power imbalance.” First-graders must “identify examples of ethnicity, equality, liberation and systems of power and use those examples to construct meanings for those terms.” How times have changed. In first grade I was focused on colouring in and producing poorly made craft items which my family would pretend to love.

Our young adults are supposed to be viewed as leaders of the future. Sadly, their education experience has led them to believe in vulgar binaries in which they must place themselves and the rest of humanity. When I was young, we often played war games. The premise was simple – there were good guys and there were bad guys. And, just like those pretend war games in our youth, it would appear that many view the world through a similar and unalterable paradigm – good guys (oppressed) and bad guys (oppressors). That is why, despite the horrors of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, many refuse to see Israel as oppressed. Long ago, it was determined by social justice crusaders that Israel will perpetually fall into the category of oppressor and because of the oppressor-oppressed narrative, people assign themselves a moral licence to identify and hate the oppressor (Israel) without disrupting their conscience.

Antisemitism is an early indicator of a troubled culture and if the terrorist attack by Hamas teaches us anything, it is that Western nations are in deeper trouble than they thought. Many may claim that the virtue of free speech must be upheld. But free speech which abuses this privilege to spew Jew-hatred must be denounced and condemned. Free speech of the kind we are hearing throughout our nations is not the hallmark of a free and vibrant culture – it is the hallmark of a culture which is in great spiritual peril. In 2022, Deborah Lipstadt, a noted historian and the US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, said this: “Antisemitism is like the canary in the coal mine of democracy. It is a threat, a warning. If you’re an antisemite, then you think, well, the justice system isn’t fair because it’s controlled by Jews. The government isn’t fair because it’s controlled by Jews. The media isn’t fair because it’s controlled by Jews. You lose faith in the democratic institutions. As a historian, I can think of no democracy that tolerated antisemitism and remained a vibrant democracy.”

Deborah is correct. But the peril is even greater than that. Embracing Jew-hatred is not only an indicator of cultural decline but also of God’s impending judgement. The evidence of this is found not only in the Bible but also the history books. Egypt, Philistia, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, the Byzantines, the Crusaders, the Spanish Empire, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. They all touched the apple of God’s eye and felt God’s hand of judgement. As Christians, we must not only pray for Israel but pray for our own nations. God is taking note of individuals and nations who are cursing His people.