The anti-Semitic assault in America continues unabated

In the past few weeks we have witnessed a Black comic on SNL (who should know better) taking a cheap shot at Israel, explicitly and falsely accusing the Israeli government of discriminating against its Arab citizens by intentionally withholding vaccine inoculations in favor of its Jewish citizens. This incident reminds me of the saying, “People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”

On Feb. 9, 2021, NBC broadcasted on its digital platform a Canadian-produced episode of “Nurses,” which according to numerous newspaper and other Internet sources, contained a scene in which an Orthodox Jewish patient is told by his treating physician that his seriously injured leg would require a bone graft from a cadaver to which the patient recoiled, “You want to put a dead person’s leg inside of me?!”, and to which his father at his bedside disparagingly added, “A dead goyim leg — from anyone. An Arab, a woman.”

NBC released a photo of the alleged scene which depicted a perfectly diversified bedside image of two medical professionals, one a white female nurse and one a Black male physician, along with the two easily identified Orthodox Jews.

The bedridden son was depicted with his long “payas” showing, and who was deliberately named “Israel” to add a bit of anti-Zionism into the mix. His orthodox father was dressed in full beard and unmistakable black hat and Chasidic garments, to assure that the viewers would see the father and son characters as Jewish racists and misogynists.

The occurrence of these two examples did not come about by retail lone wolves with personal hatred of Jews. They are the wholesale products of well-established professional organizations and educated individuals who, at every level of production and content review and pass muster on what is acceptable for publication and presentation to millions of viewers.

The people who produce this garbage know full well what they are doing and what the consequences of their actions will be. It stretches the imagination that they cannot see how content of this nature perpetuates anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.

Why do they do it? Because in most instances, they feel they can and do get away with it. And they do it, partially with the knowledge that the established Jewish organizations will after the fact meekly request removal of the published Jewish-hate material and an apology, only to once more have to continuously repeat the same requests for removal and apologies from the same or similar errant organizations and celebrities.

In a previous column I described this pattern as the “Anti-Semitic Methodology of Apology”: “Make the apology for the anti-Semitic publication or hateful statement, say you are sorry and blame it on an institutional mistake or some other lame reason; retract it to a smaller audience, play on the misguided good intentions of the Jewish people to forgive. Then continue to spread irrational and false reasons to hate the Jews and Israel.”

They allegedly also do it (even though they would probably never admit it) because there is still a significant American and international audience which is anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist; and approves of the perpetuation of Jewish pejorative stereotypes and tropes. It reinforces the viewer’s own prejudices, and equally important, it sells advertisers’ products and services.

The organized Jewish community needs to come up with a new preventative approach in dealing with this form of wholesale Jewish hatred.

I call upon the Council of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations to convene a virtual summit of national Jewish secular and religious leaders across the political spectrum, including all local community professionals, lay leadership and interested members of the Jewish community to address this issue and to develop and implement a plan of action to abate this continuing anti-Semitic assault on the American Jewish community and on the State of Israel.

If you wish to comment or respond you can reach me at melpearlman322@gmail.com. Please do so in a rational, thoughtful, respectful and civil manner.

Mel Pearlman holds B.S. & M.S. degrees in physics as well as a J.D. degree and initially came to Florida in 1966 to work on the Gemini and Apollo space programs. He has practiced law in Central Florida since 1972. He has served as president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando; was a charter board member, first vice president and pro-bono legal counsel of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Central Florida, as well as holding many other community leadership positions.