Introspection Is NOT A Sin! (not even for Jews!)

“How dare you suggest that Jews could be responsible for antisemitism! That very idea is antisemitic! You’re trying to justify hate! You’re blaming the victim!”

No, I’m inviting you to introspect.

Introspection is the process of asking oneself, “How did I contribute to the conflict I’m in?”

This is the question that all humans, and all groups, are supposed to ask yourselves. This is a normal human thing that I’m asking Jewish people, and The Jewish People collectively, to do. It’s not singling Jews out. It’s not treating Jews with a different standard. It’s the application of the same standard that’s expected of everyone else, to Jewish people.

In just about all human conflicts, both sides hurt each other, both sides contribute to the generating of the conflict, and both sides carry culpability.

This applies to individuals, and it applies to collectives, too – such as nations, tribes, religions, and peoples.

If this were not true of the Jewish People, then Jews are magical unicorns to whom the rules of human psychology do not apply – superior beings, unburdened by normal human foibles.

And such a proposition is absurd, of course. Jewish people are humans, and come with all of the same basic traits as all other humans – including the disposition to engage in subconscious behavioral patterns that generate animosity and give rise to conflict.

This is true of everyone, and it’s true of Jewish people.

And the practice of conflict resolution – you know, that thing we want to achieve, vis-a-vis the Jews and the Gentiles, so that everyone can live in peace and Jews can be safe – involves each side introspecting to figure out how they’ve contributed to generating that conflict.

Introspection is not antisemitic.

“So then why don’t you ask the Gentiles to do the introspection? After all, they’re the ones who have been discriminating against us, waging pogroms, and persecuting us for all these many years. Tell them to introspect!”

Yes. And Gentiles have been doing this introspection for decades.

They’ve learned about the pogroms. They’ve learned about the expulsions. The discrimination. The riots. The H-word.

They’ve learned about the bad things Gentiles have done to Jews. It’s been taught extensively, in the school curricula, the textbooks, the museums, the talk shows, and the Hollywood movies. The world has been having this half of the conversation, for decades. And that’s a good thing.

Because that stuff was bad. It shouldn’t have happened. And we must make sure it doesn’t happen anymore.

And we do that through conflict resolution And the first step is to listen to your adversary.

And the thing your adversary is going to immediately want to tell you, as soon as you start listening, is their reason for being adversarial, and all the things you’ve done to them that have caused them to arrive at that disposition toward you. They’re going to tell you their grievances.

The first step in healing a relationship is for both parties to open themselves to communication with the other, and to listen. And by listening, to hear the other’s grievances. And in so hearing, to examine the possibility of oneself having acted in error. This is the basic humility that defines all healthy ability to relate interpersonally.

When people are mad at other people, it’s because they’ve been wronged by them. That’s where anger comes from. This is a universal principle in human relations. This is how humans work. It is not antisemitic to suggest that the thing that universally makes humans angry when other humans do it, also makes Gentiles angry when Jews do it. Gentiles are angry. And if Jewish people introspect, you might find that the thing that made them angry at Jews is the same thing responsible for making any human group angry at any other human group.

And since Gentiles have given space to Jews, for decades, to tell them all about the many Jewish grievances about Gentiles… it is now time for Jews to learn about Gentiles‘ grievances about Jewry. It’s time to discuss the other side of what’s generating the perennial conflict.

Jewish consciousness has (thus far) taken an inimical attitude toward this concept, and written off the very idea of introspection as “antisemitic.”  The mere suggestion of Jewry having played a part in the deterioration of the world’s relationship toward it, or having done anything warranting legitimate animosity from the world – this mere suggestion provokes anger, indignation, and accusations of bigotry.

This needs to stop. It’s what’s making the problem intractable, and putting Jewish people in increasing danger. The refusal to introspect is what causes conflicts to continue to escalate.

Jews want the same rights and dignity as everyone else – and that’s perfectly reasonable – but it means you also must accept the same duties and responsibilities as everyone else – and that includes the duty to introspect on your own role in generating the conflicts in which you find yourselves.

Introspection is healthy. All people, all groups, and all nations, should be willing to open themselves to criticism – including about how they themselves contributed to the conflicts in which they find themselves. Nobody likes to hear that they’re part of the problem – but this is, nevertheless, what healthy, mature people do, on a regular basis.

Jews should do this, too. The collective consciousness of the Jewish people should do this. And the faster this becomes habit, the faster we can create an understanding between peoples, and diffuse the tension, prevent conflict, and keep everybody safe and happy.

“Ok. So give me a head start here. What causes antisemitism? Is it because of jealousy? Is it because of indoctrination? Is it because we Jews are the Chosen People? Is it because someone’s grandpa got ripped off by a Jewish merchant a century ago? What is it?”

Thank you for asking!

First, we should examine the false explanations of what causes antisemitism, and explain why they’re false.