Novak: Should American Jews Fear Nationalism?

By Jake Novak

Whenever nationalism and Jews are discussed, surely we all must refer to that short dictator who rose from humble beginnings to take over his country with a message of militant nationalist superiority that included massive changes in the treatment of the Jews. Then that man led his nation to conquer almost all of Europe and even parts of Africa, where he enacted shocking new laws concerning the Jewish populations. His dream of world dominance died first on the Russian front and then at the hands of the resilient British army. Of course, that uber-nationalist little dictator I’m speaking of was Napoleon Bonaparte, perhaps the greatest emancipator of the Jews since Moses. Whom do YOU think I was talking about and are you sure you know what nationalism and the Jews are all about?

Did my introductory paragraph trick you? Did you think I was talking about Hitler until the second-to-last sentence?

If so, you shouldn’t feel bad. But it is too bad if you’ve missed out on some great facts about Napoleon and the Jews. It’s really a travesty how much of our Jewish history has been lost because Napoleon’s interactions with our community are so little known by Jews of all stripes today. Most of us have never known key facts like Napoleon’s efforts to reestablish a Sanhedrin in Europe. Maybe fewer of us seem to know about the smaller things, like the fact that some of the tunes we use to pray were copied from the music that accompanied Napoleonic military marches.

None of this means Napoleon was a saint, (he wasn’t). But it’s just a small taste of what we lose as Jews, Americans, and human beings when we let political ideology taint or destroy important and fascinating historical information.

Our communal ignorance about Napoleon and nationalism overall is because much of what we “know” about nationalism is taught to us by those who, either by design or their own ignorance, promote the idea that nationalism is always akin to racism, xenophobia, and ultimately Nazism. They thus assure us that any nationalist movement or politician who declares himself a nationalist, like President Donald Trump has recently done, is either an anti-Semite or is enabling antisemitism in a big way.

Well, I have a shocking news flash for our fellow Jews who think that way: Judaism and nationalism are not only not at odds; to be truly honest, Judaism created nationalism.
It started in ancient times when Jews in Israel became the first people to truly take on the notion that their religion could only be fully practiced in their homeland. Thus, nationalism was born. As such, a large portion of the 613 commandments could only be observed in the land of Israel. That’s true even today.

Moreover, the very definition of modern Zionism is Jewish nationalism. And since Rabbis as far back as the early Middle Ages were writing about recreating a Jewish homeland in Israel, the modern form of nationalism was also created by Jews.

Another problem is too many people mistake nationalism for imperialism. To be an American nationalist or a Zionist, for example, does not mean one supports the idea of conquering foreign territories or other people. Notice how most anti-Zionists and anti-American groups deliberately conflate nationalism with imperialism. They often accuse Israel of trying to create a “Greater Israel” that controls the entire Middle East. Then they say America is scheming to subjugate its neighbors by using a buzz word those groups love to throw around called “hegemony.” The point of doing all that is to eliminate any chance of a fair and balanced debate about American nationalism or Zionism and turn it into a litany of imagined and exaggerated complaints.

That brings us to another key point. The very word “nationalism” cannot even be discussed or debated without some kind of modifier. Just saying the word “nationalism” is like saying the word “food” and asking someone if she wants to have it for dinner.

So we must discuss the positives of Jewish nationalism, American nationalism, and Napoleonic French nationalism, just as we also discuss the negatives of Czarist Russian nationalism, Communist nationalism, and Nazism. Failing to pinpoint exactly what kind of nationalism you’re speaking of is again either a sign of deliberate misinformation or ignorance.

I’m not 100% sure where most of the Jews who are promoting the “Trump’s nationalism is anti-Semitic” idea truly stand. Sure, many of them are anti-Trumpers to the core who would proudly state that 2+2=5 if President Trump said it equals four. But again, we have to remember we are dealing with a long history of poor education in our public schools and even our yeshivas when it comes to teaching political theory in an honest and historically accurate context.

Of course, much worse than forgetting Napoleonic history is the willful or accidental ignorance about Zionism’s seminal role in creating modern nationalism. Almost as bad are those who fail to recognize just how good American nationalism has been for the Jews for more than 200 years.

Just as Zionism is Jewish nationalism, American nationalism is really just patriotism. And it was American nationalist/patriots like George Washington who guaranteed the freedom of religion that America has upheld since its founding. The nationalist/patriot American soldiers liberated the death camps in World War II and punished the war criminals at Nuremberg. The list goes on.

Because of this, rejecting American nationalism on its face is not only ignorant and anti-American, it’s actually anti-Semitic in the same way those who accuse President Trump and his supporters of being because they support nationalism.

Jewish nationalism and the ideals espoused by American nationalism are so important to Jewish life today that Jews who reject nationalism and insist it’s anti-Semitic are treading dangerously close to the path taken by all the Jews who reject various other parts of our tradition. To be a so-called “secular” or “cultural” Jew without observing a least some form of that tradition is not to be a Jew at all. Judaism without the Torah, the mitzvot, and Jewish nationalism is nothing.

Every Jew, secular or observant, has a right to oppose President Trump and his policies. Doing so does not make someone a “bad Jew” or a “bad American.” But it’s important to note the context and the premise of their arguments as Jews. The simple fact is the nationalism in its Jewish and American contexts are not only good for the Jews, they are essential to our survival. Arguing otherwise, or promoting the ludicrous fallacy that President Trump’s personal declaration as a nationalist is anti-Semitic or enables anti-Semites simply isn’t true.

Just as egregious are those who either ignorantly or dishonestly push the idea that criticizing billionaire George Soros is inherently anti-Semitic because he was born a Jew. The fact is, George Soros is a true enemy of Israel, the Jewish people, and the United States of America. The State of Israel has said as much more than once. The fact that he sprang from a Jewish womb changes none of that.

It’s time to call out these phony claims of implied or outright anti-Semitism for the fallacies they are. Those who promote these falsehoods deliberately need to be refuted, and those who promote them out of their own ignorance need to be educated.

Let’s get started.

Jake Novak has been a TV news producer and editorial columnist for more than 25 years, with expertise in political, economic, religious, and cultural issues. He has produced shows at CNBC, CNN, FOX, and several local stations across the country. Novak is a graduate of the Yeshivah of Flatbush, has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University, and a master’s degree from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny and read more of his 5TJT columns here.