Do American Jews Suffer More Than American Muslims?

I could write a lot for this post, but brevity is wisdom.

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A common argument I've heard recently from some writers is that anti-Muslim animus is overstated and that it is Jews not Muslims who suffer the most in American from bigotry. The evidence cited is the annual Justice Department hate crimes report where antisemitic attacks vastly outnumber, by several fold, those against Muslims. A note on the data: many anti-Muslim attacks in intent are classified as, say, anti-Sikh because ignorant bigots confuse Sikhs as Muslims. And, secondly, many Muslims who have suffered discrimination do not report due to either the futileness of reporting or some Muslims have grown to distrust the authorities (especially recent immigrants from dictatorial states where citizens are loath to trust the state). So the numbers may be highly deflated for Muslims. But let's take them as is. So agree - and it may, even with the caveats, be true - that Jews as a group suffer hate crimes in for more numbers than Muslims.

But does that mean that antisemitism is a bigger problem than anti-Muslim animus? No. Whatever hatred exists against Jews is a fringe reality in America confined to white supremacists circles who are highly mobilized (hence the high rate of reported incidents) but are far from the mainstream. In contrast, prejudice against Muslims may not be as motivated as its assault but that it because it is a casual and mainstream affair. The average family may now be anti-Muslim.

The opinion polls show that Jews are the most popular religious group, while Muslims are the least popular (scoring higher only over the irreligious atheists). And certainly Jews are a greater success story than American Muslims and more economically and politically empowered.

There is a difference between a fringe, but motivated violence and a general climate of prejudice and prosecution which is what Muslims face. The U.S. Congress is not planning to host hearings on American Jews and American Jews are not targets of federal agents of entrapment.

Just to make that clear: Jews may suffer more violence, but the climate is certainly not anti-Jews. As opposed to routine Islamophobia.

Having said that, it should be a common cause to fight prejudice against all people. The irony is that in Europe Jews fear about their long-term tolerated presence due to attacks and vilification by European Muslims, while here in America the leaders of the anti-Islam and anti-Muslim hate-fest are mostly right-wing Jews who are moved by a Zionist zeal which leads them to believe that anything anti-Muslim will serve the cause of Israel. Both of these movements are wrong and short-sighted.

It should be a common cause to fight this because victimization is circular. When right-wing Zionist Jews cheer for wars against Muslims and are indifferent to the plight of Palestinians, this radicalizes Muslims in Europe and breeds antisemitism which undermines the well-being of Jews in Europe. Conversely, that provoked antisemitism only plays into the hands of America's Zionists to "prove" their claim as to the nefarious nature and goals of Muslims to then further their campaign of demeaning Muslims in America and wars abroad. Which only reinforces the former. And so on. We must recognize, at least on self-interest grounds, that antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate is connected and break from this downward spiral. Jews in America do not like to hear about antisemitism in France, so why - when they have the upper hand - do they do likewise against Muslims and cultivate a climate of hate. Likewise, Muslims do not like being victims of hate in America then they should not victimize Jews in Europe where Muslims are more prominent. We should do this because it is right.

We should recognize that, as a people, we are all vulnerable to be victims in some circumstance and not lose that sight just because we are powerful in one circumstance. Do unto to others...

At least on self-interest grounds. But - more than that - because it is just, we need to end this circular hate and unite on common grounds that political differences aside an indiscriminate hate and vilification is never, never justified.