Antisemitism: The canary in the coal mine

OPINION:

In a world where liberty and human dignity are often under siege, the resurgence of antisemitism serves as a chilling reminder that hatred does not die. It adapts. Defenders of free societies and individual rights have a moral and philosophical obligation to confront this ancient hatred head-on. Atrocities like the ones we have seen recently right here in the United States can happen only when ideologies that oppose individualism and liberty gain influence. In this foundation of collectivist thought, hatred breeds and becomes a core tenet of its functioning.

Marxism, a political and economic theory developed by Karl Marx, advocates for a classless society achieved through collective ownership. Though largely theoretical, Marx’s ideas have been repeatedly co-opted by authoritarian leaders to justify the consolidation of power, often for regimes that weaponize antisemitism and silence dissent. Under Josef Stalin, the Soviet Union launched purges of Jewish intellectuals, shut down Jewish cultural institutions and propagated conspiracies about “Zionist plots” to justify their oppression. In Eastern Europe, communist governments demonized Jewish citizens as “cosmopolitans,” enemies of the proletariat and agents of Western capitalism, ironically blaming them for both globalism and nationalism. In Maoist China, collectivism erased religious and cultural expression altogether, proving that when the individual is crushed beneath the state, minorities suffer first and worst. Always.

From each of these historical atrocities emerges an ideology that claims to liberate the masses by brutalizing dissenters. These convictions hope to purge “impure thought.” Utopia is only a people away. Whether Jew, capitalist, Black or gay, the target shifts. The goal is purity. In the pursuit of Marxism comes a vessel of injustice.

This ideology does not care for the human spirit. Instead, it advances moral dissonance. Pervasive ideologies such as regulation and laissez-faire are deeply moral, even when they appear purely economic. When the state becomes supreme, individual identity is disposable. In these systems, antisemitism has often become the avenue to externalize blame, galvanize masses and destroy dissent, counter to everything we believe as Americans.

Upholding the sanctity of the individual, dignity in difference and the essential freedom to live as one wishes is the road to freeing the shackles of inequality. When society begins to demonize simply for identity, it signifies a breakdown in the values that sustain civil society and free enterprise.

The torture, murders and imprisonment of millions are attributed to socialism in its most extreme forms. Yet many modern believers have distanced themselves from this legacy. We hear that socialism has never really been tried. In its modern rebrand, we are witnessing the rise of “democratic socialism.” This presents many questions about drawing the line between idealism and historical reality. As former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, “There’s no such thing as a democratic socialist. You can’t be a Yankees fan and a Red Sox fan.” The tension lies in the reconciliation of lofty aspirations with the danger of centralized power, the unresolved conflict in almost all collectivist experiments.

Our republic exudes diversity by solely existing. Our Constitution is admirable, and it is a mission we strive for. Time and again, we’ve heard the same words read from a document written in a time of slavery that freed these same people, expanded voting rights for women, ushered in the Civil Rights Movement and advocated for the fair treatment of LGBTQ communities. Yet we see on college campuses a growing movement that encourages vulnerable youths to adopt a mindset of self-victimization while targeting other groups, repeating the pattern of collectivist propaganda once spread by Adolf Hitler.

On May 21, two Israeli Embassy workers, both prominent peace activists, were gunned down outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. Caught on camera, the murderer screamed about “one solution,” a chilling heir to Nazism. Then, on June 1, Molotov cocktails were thrown on American soil, setting a group of Jews on fire.

Antisemitism is not a fringe error of history. It is a symptom of ideologies that erase the individual. When we are reduced to group labels and moral value is determined by allegiance to a collective idea, hatred finds fertile ground to take root. This is the soil of Marxism: Dissolve personal responsibility and justify cruelty in the name of an imagined, altruistic justice.

These regimes, whether under the hammer and sickle or hidden in plain sight at our institutions of higher education, have always begun by dehumanizing. Today, the sickness has reappeared, cloaked in new language, but the results are no different.

This is not simply a policy disagreement. It is a battle of a moral vision. America is not merely geography or economy but an idea rooted in the sanctity of the individual. The liberty to speak. The freedom to believe. If Jews are unsafe in America, they are unsafe everywhere.

We must stop pretending Marxism is a benign theory. It is a failure. It is dangerous. Time and again, it has turned nations into graveyards. History is clear. When it speaks, we must listen. Antisemitism is a canary in the coal mine.

Call it what it is every time: a weapon of mass destruction.

• Jessica Dobrinsky is the chief of staff at the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy.