1899 vs. 1999 
By Berel Wein
(November 18) The attitude of the non-Jewish world toward the
Jewish people doesn't seem to have changed much from the end of
the last century. 

By the secular calendar, we are now approaching the end of the 20th
century. But sometimes I wonder. The attitude of the non-Jewish world
towards the Jewish people doesn't seem to have changed much from the end
of the last century. It is as though all of the awful events that have befallen
humanity, and especially the Jews, in this terrible century, have taught the
world nothing about the evils of hatred, bigotry and the demonization of
those who are "different." 

Despite this worrisome situation, the reaction in the Jewish world is strangely
apathetic, much as it was a century ago. It is a classic example of wishful
thinking overriding common sense, of whistling past the graveyard. 

In 1899, Karl Luger was the mayor of Vienna. He was an avowed
antisemite, elected on a blatantly anti-Jewish platform. He reassured the
Jews of Vienna that they really had nothing to fear from him. They only had
to conform to Austrian norms and gemutlichkeit. His hatred was directed at
those funny-looking, garlic-smelling, unabashedly Jewish creatures from
Galicia who were then trying to settle in Vienna. 

Many Viennese Jews secretly agreed with Luger. They couldn't even dream
that in 40 years, their dutifully and proudly assimilated grandchildren -
doctors, lawyers, musicians, politicians, and so on - would be on their knees
scrubbing the streets in front of jeering mobs. 

Today, there is an up-and-coming Austrian political leader who ran
successfully on a blatantly antisemitic platform. He also meets with Jewish
leaders and reassures them that he only means "those" Jews (the Russian
immigrants, etc.), not them. And the government of Austria piously rejects all
outside Jewish protests over the matter, since it "is a purely internal matter."
Well, so was the persecution of Jews in Germany in the 1930s. 

The government of Indonesia has recently announced that it wishes to
establish trade and commercial relations with Israel. This announcement has
been met with wild riots against the government for countenancing such a
"traitorous" policy. 

In response to the unrest, Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab (officially described
as a Moslem scholar who was a visiting professor at Harvard University)
explained the government's seemingly enlightened policy as follows: "Israel is
not exactly our main objective, but we know there are influential Jewish
community members who have large funds in the world. If they sympathize
with us, they will encourage others to invest in Indonesia." 

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the myth of Jewish conspiracy and
control of the world - especially of its finances - is as alive and well in 1999
as it was in 1899. 

SUHA Arafat, who is also presumed to be our partner in the peace process,
tells the wife of the US president and the world press that Israel has
deliberately poisoned the air and water of the West Bank to harm the
Palestinian residents there. Of course, the hated, illegal and unjust Jewish
settlements in the West Bank are somehow not affected by this poisoning of
their neighbors a few hundred yards away. The Jewish devil has a built-in
immunity to plagues and poisonings. 

Shades of the Jewish "poisoning of the wells" during the period of the Black
Death in Christian Europe centuries ago! 

El Al had to decide which new planes to buy to modernize its fleet. The
choice was between Airbus and our European friends, and Boeing and our
American friends. In a Solomonic decision worthy of the wise men of Chelm,
El Al executives decided to buy some planes from each. 

A hail of fury descended on Israel from both Europe and the US. Members
of the Senate have intervened directly with the Foreign Ministry, demanding
that the entire order be placed with Boeing. (Of course, this is not "a purely
internal matter.") 

El Al, as of this writing, has yet to make a final decision. But whatever it
does now, Israel is the loser. Funny - many American airlines use Airbus
planes without US senators threatening them. Almost all European airlines
include Boeing airplanes in their fleets. All of these airlines are allowed to
decide what planes to fly on the basis of their own self-interest. Not so El Al.
The Israeli airline is special. 

The ultimate solution to this problem may be beyond our reach, since it
would require changes in prejudices that are centuries old. But we should not
fool ourselves into thinking that by satisfying Yasser Arafat, our problems
will end. Rather, we should concentrate on strengthening ourselves, morally,
physically, militarily and ideologically, instead of continually weakening
ourselves with policies of appeasement, assimilation, self-doubt and pious
naivete. 

If 1999 looks like 1899, we have to be prepared to do all in our power to
prevent the next century of Jewish history from repeating the events of this
past century.