Who do we attack—friends or enemies? Enemies, of course. So we shouldn’t attack others, even if they attack us first. Here, I’m not referring to instances in which our attackers are truly intending to injure or kill us!

We tend to think of attacking as the province of bullies. The truth is that most attacks, and certainly the most vicious, are carried out by people who feel like victims. A major problem of the victim mentality is that it equates weakness with virtue; people who feel like victims believe whatever they do is right because they’re the “good guys”. It’s hard to combat this warped way of thinking because the anti–bully/pro–victim mindset has permeated society. That's why society so readily excuses minorities for their belligerence. After all, they’re weaker, so their anger and hostility are justified.

We Jews are so used to thinking of ourselves as victims that we don't recognize when we act like bullies. We can't stand it when others attack us, but don't think twice about attacking them. But past victimization does not exempt us from living by the Golden Rule in the present.

Name Calling                 

We have countless organizations and individuals acting as watchdogs with their ears, eyes, and noses ready to detect anti–Semitism. As soon as someone, especially anyone in position of power, says something that belittles or criticizes Jews in any way, our watchdogs eagerly pounce to brand them as anti–Semites. This is especially true whenever anyone, God forbid, compares some atrocity to the Holocaust. And for some strange reason, despite all of our attacks against anti–Semites, they keep at it.

We seem to forget that "anti–Semite" is not a compliment. It’s an insult, and people don't enjoy being called anti–Semite any more than we Jews enjoy being called Kike. It’s an attack, and when we label others that way, they don't experience us as being their victims; they experience us as being bullies. If anything, it confirms the way they feel about us.

It’s possible that some people feel so ashamed when we call them anti–Semites that they repent and commit themselves to only saying nice things about Jews. But most folks are not like this. They resent us for insulting them and they fight back. They angrily deny they’re anti–Semitic and try even harder to prove that their views are correct and not a result of bigoted distortions. So instead of our attacks stopping attacks against us, they lead to a continuation and escalation of hostilities. No wonder our pro–Semitic watchdogs haven’t succeeded in staunching the stream of anti–Semitism.

Please don't get me wrong. I’m not against combating anti–Semitism. When Jew–haters cause us physical or financial harm, or threaten to do so, they’re criminals and should be stopped and punished. I’m only against fighting anti–Semitism when it’s unnecessary or counterproductive to do so.

What’s in an Insult?

Disliking Jews and expressing that dislike are not crimes. People should have the freedom to think and say what they want about us as long as no tangible damage is done. If we want the freedom to insult anti–Semites, we have to give others the freedom to insult Jews. Our attitude should be: Say what you want; just don't kill me, rape me, burn my house down, or prevent me from competing in the job market.

Very often, the people who get called anti–Semites really are not; they may not even care enough about Jews to want to insult them. In fact, they may even like Jews. It's just that they occasionally happen to think that something Jews are doing is wrong. And sometimes they’re right! Maybe we’ll even learn something of benefit if we treat criticisms as the words of our friends.

The Holocaust: A Sore Spot for Jews

Jews often go on the attack when someone compares an atrocity to the Holocaust. Jews have earned a reputation as fine abstract thinkers, yet when it comes to the Holocaust, our thinking becomes downright concrete. We have to realize that when an event is compared to the Holocaust, it doesn't necessarily mean it’s exactly the same - only that it’s similar in some way.

We need also to remember what celebrities have learned: that bad publicity is better than no publicity. When someone compares an atrocity to the Holocaust, even if it’s an inaccurate comparison, they’re helping to keep alive the memory of that event as the ultimate example of man’s cruelty to man. Rather than attacking them, we should be grateful.