Anti-Semitism is one of those vicious maladies that ought to be close to eradication, like polio. But it turns out it's more like crabgrass: You can never eliminate it entirely, and given half a chance, it will spread rapidly.
The evidence of that depressing reality is abundant lately. "There's a certain atmosphere in the country that's disturbing," says Ken Jacobson, deputy national director of the Anti-Defamation League, which combats this and other types of bigotry. "There is a new legitimacy to saying things that were beyond the pale."
Hmm. Where could that come from?
Well, Donald Trump recently accused Hillary Clinton of meeting "in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers, her special interest friends and her donors"--language that echoes the perennial conspiracy theories of Nazis and other anti-Semites.
But this phenomenon is not a monopoly of the alt-right. It's also detectable on the left, particularly on university campuses, where campaigns to get schools to disinvest from companies that operate in Israel often end up stimulating hostility toward Jews.
A recent study by the Amcha Initiative found that anti-Semitic incidents on campus increased by 45 percent in the first six months of 2016 and seemed to be connected to the "boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign" against Israel.
The evidence showed that "anti-Semitism was twice as likely to occur on campuses where BDS was present" and "eight times more likely to occur on campuses with at least one active anti-Zionist student group."
A survey by scholars at Brandeis University found that Northwestern is one of several universities "where the majority of Jewish students perceive a hostile environment toward Israel, and over one-quarter perceive a general environment of hostility toward Jews on their campus." At the University of Chicago, Amhca reported 14 cases, up from two in the first six months of 2015.
The good news is that anti-Semitism is the toxic superstition of a shrinking minority. Since 1992, a 2013 poll found, the share of Americans expressing such attitudes has fallen from 20 percent to 12 percent, the lowest figure on record. Those younger than 39, it showed, are "remarkably free of prejudicial views."
But anyone acquainted with history knows that prejudice can wax as well as wane. Modern social media gives more outlets to bigots who once had none. Visibility can promote the disease.
So vigilance is needed now as much as ever. In the effort to combat anti-Semitism, no victory is permanent, and every generation has to take up the challenge.
Editorial on 11/01/2016