It is without anger or condescension but with absolute perplexity that I throw my arms up and ask of those 21 percent of Jews who supported Trump, “What were you thinking?"
I’m surprised somewhat, but not entirely. Many American Jews know basic facts about the Holocaust, but never studied the rise of National Socialism and fascism. They don’t understand the history, and the ignorance can be extraordinary. More than once I’ve been in professional, religious contexts where my Jewishness has been in question because I speak German fluently. Aside from not understanding the necessity of the language for research, these Jews also didn’t understand the complexity of late 1920s and early 1930s, particularly that German-speaking Jews, many years after coming to the US, we’re still attached to the rich culture they grew up in. I inherited my grandfather’s complete works of Goethe and Schiller that he brought with him from Vienna to Connecticut.
I’m surprised somewhat, but not entirely. Many American Jews know basic facts about the Holocaust, but never studied the rise of National Socialism and fascism. They don’t understand the history, and the ignorance can be extraordinary. More than once I’ve been in professional, religious contexts where my Jewishness has been in question because I speak German fluently. Aside from not understanding the necessity of the language for research, these Jews also didn’t understand the complexity of late 1920s and early 1930s, particularly that German-speaking Jews, many years after coming to the US, we’re still attached to the rich culture they grew up in. I inherited my grandfather’s complete works of Goethe and Schiller that he brought with him from Vienna to Connecticut.
The only good Nazi is a dead Nazi . Period . Full stop .