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Anti-Semitism didn't start with Adolf Hitler. However, the Fuhrer's blatant and unmasked hatred of Jews culminating in the Holocaust is a reference point facilitating groups like the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Defense League. We all agree that the Holocaust was a brutal event which must never be repeated. Is it fair, however, to argue that it is unfair that the Holocaust takes precedence over, say, the Japanese internment camps in WWII, or the Ukrainian famine under the brutal Stalin regime, or the genocide in Rwanda, in popular consciousness? This is because of the unique economic position Jews in the Western world occupy, immersed in such prestigious and influential professions as banking, politics, law, business, entertainment, and education.This reality has, of course, led many ethnic minority groups who felt their voices were being buried beneath the wave of Semetic concerns. Many black voices were labelled as anti-Semetic in the 1980's and 1990's. In Chuck D's book "Fight the Power: Rap, Race and Reality", he states:

In recent years, there have been comments made about there being an anti-Semetic attitude
amongst rappers... Conservative white Anglo-Saxon Protestant businessmen... stayed away from
the entertainment world, and a disproportionate number of people from creative Jewish
backgrounds saw the void and filled it up. The beef is really with the business tactics and practices
of those in the entertainment industry in general.
In Western society, it is easy to hide behind the rotting shield of religion, as if being affilliated with a religious organization makes one exempt from criticism and incapable of wrongdoing. The danger is that it can fuel hypocrisy. And so when remarks are made by high-profile people in popular culture, the media takes the comment, puts a spin on it in order to take it out of context, then blows it out of proportion, leaving the ignorant general public in shock and dismay. Boxer Oscar de la Hoya came under fire when he said about promoter Bob Arum, " I beat the biggest Jew ever to come out of Harvard". More recently, rapper Foxy Brown went on a radio station and tore into Def Jam's white Jewish honcho Lyor Cohen, calling him a devil and demanding that her album be released, or to be released from her contract. Three hours later, thirteen of her new songs were leaked onto the internet. There seems to be a fine line between ethical business practices and biting the hand that feeds you.

Probably the biggest incident of alleged anti-Semitism came years ago when Inspector Griff of Public Enemy commented on the relationship between Jews and the JEWelry industry, the Jewish connection to the slave trade, and the Jewish role in the apartheid regime in South Africa. The damage control that had to be done by Chuck D was irreparable and eventually led to the Griff's split with PE. Many new rappers such as 50 Cent are offered their own record labels along with lucrative multi-million dollar contracts, but many of these are artificial packages given under the larger, Jewish-owned umbrella organizations, giving the impression and creating the illusion that the artists have finite power. An example of this is Jimmy Iovine's Interscope Records financing Death Row, after criticism that Interscope was a baking up too many cookie-cutter hip-hop artists.

As far as the situation in the Middle East is concerned, Hollywood portrayals have--obviously--sympathized with Israel while demonizing Arabs. The media also makes Arab's out to be terrorists, and while the Palestinians certainly have a lot of blood on their hands, the US and Israeli administrations are certainly not blameless. Yes, Yasser Arafat and Ariel Sharon are both war mongerers, but the problem with choosing sides--whether you subscribe to Noam Chomsky or more hawkish, right-wing interpretations of the Israeli-Arab conflict--is that a dichotomy is created which only serves to perpetuate ethnic and religious hostilites. Nothing in life is ever black or white. Today, Anti-Semitism is largely fueled by the mainstream media's interpretation of the Israeli-Arab conflict, but also stems from centuries of Jews being persecuted in Europe.

Jews have been able to influence popular culture in America because they have been brought up in long-established institutions which facilitate higher learning. This is commendable, and a testament to Jewish solidarity. Dr. Martin Luther King, in addressing the perception that Jews were able to rise to prominence simply because of their financial position, states:

...a persistent myth... Jews of America attained social mobility and status solely because they had money. It is unwise to ignore the error for many reasons. In a negative sense it encourages anti-Semetism and overestimates money as a value... Jews progressed because they possessed a tradition of education combined with social and political action... Those Jews who became lawyers, businessmen, writers, entertainers, union leaders and medicine men did not vanish into the pursuits of their trade exclusively. They lived an active life in political circles learning the techniques and arts of politics... very few Jews sunk into despair and escapism when discrimination assailed the spirit and corroded initiative. Their life raft in the sea of discouragement was social action.

© 2003 Aaron Bayley