The strange case of the Combating European Anti-Semitism Act

On January 14, 2019 President Donald Trump signed into law the Combating European Anti-Semitism Act of 2017,¹⁾Full text, Congress.gov. which states among others that “it is in the national interest of the United States to combat anti-Semitism at home and abroad” (emphasis added), that “there is an urgent need to ensure the safety and security of European Jewish communities”, and that “the Department of State should continue to thoroughly document acts of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic incitement that occur around the world” (emphasis added).

The text raises a few legitimate questions.

One. Why the protection of the Jews is in the national interest of the United States rather than Israel?

Two. Why is the United States concerned about anti-Semitism and not with resentment against other races, nations, and creeds?

Three. Does the United States recognize the sovereignty of European countries or the European Union as the case may be? The act is not limited to the United States, as the very name indicates. Is the United States not arrogating to itself the entitlement to be the only sovereign in the world?

Four. The fact that Jews, who make up 2-3 percent of the American population, have that law that serves their collective interests passed is obviously indicative of their influence – is it not? To prove the point, we might mention that Congress adopted almost verbatim the definition of anti-Semitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (see the legend of the text). If you make the observation presented above, are you automatically guilty of harbouring anti-semitic feelings? The wording of the Act stipulates that anti-Semitic resentment includes “the myth […] of Jews controlling the media, economy, government, or other societal institutions”.

Five. The document goes to great lengths to describe forms of anti-Semitism, and stresses the fact that it occurs worldwide. Can a question be raised why we have the persistent, global phenomenon of anti-Semitism but have never heard about a persistent global phenomenon of anti-Chinese, anti-French, anti-German, or anti-Arab resentment? Is that question alone also an act of anti-Semitism? And finally,

Six. Why should a people – especially if this people has its own state – insist on living in another country where it is not particularly liked? Why should this people dare to teach the host nation how to behave?

Will this text be recorded as anti-Semitic?