Donald Trump has just won the election and British David Baddiel is depressed, but not over the loss of the 100 pounds he bet on Kamala Harris.
This type of psychotic strong leaders was something we thought belonged to the 1920s: Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco. And now they're back, it's completely unbelievable, says Baddiel, who quotes Trump's statements about Jews being rich and conspiring.
Progressives would never express themselves like that, but among them, there is still an unconscious association with "Jews with money, Jews with power".
David Baddiel is verbal, medial, and entertaining. In the UK, he has, against his will, taken on a public role as "Mister Jew", and even before his book "Jews don't count" was published, he was known as one of the few public Brits who embrace their Jewish identity.
"At heart"
In his essay, he writes about friends, progressive British left-wingers who are anti-racists "at heart of their identity". Yet, he feels that they associate with underlying Jewish stereotypes.
"Anti-Semitism is the racism that just passes", he says, quoting a formulation in a letter from a reader who felt affected by the book.
These people are drawn to vulnerability, to marginalized people who suffer and struggle, and they have a hard time including Jews in that category. Jewish vulnerability is something they don't see.
Lack of knowledge about historical pogroms is an explanation, he emphasizes, but also unconscious prejudices.
Jews have both low status and high status, they are seen as foreign, stinking, and thieving by racists, but also as powerful and rich, and that creates a mix of disgust and envy. It's very strong and it leads to attacks on Jews.
Refuses to accept
He refuses to accept the notion that all Jews would be bound to Israel. After October 7, it's an idea that has gained wings, he thinks. At the same time, the terrorist attacks, not least for him personally, showed that even "strong Israel", a country far from his own Jewish identity, was vulnerable.
My entire book is a polemic for Jews to be regarded as a real minority, and then we must stand for not being defined by what happens in a foreign place. Now I have to say it all the time – you can't use Israel (as a starting point) for how you think about all Jews in the world.
Born: 1964.
Lives: in London.
Current: With "Jews don't count" now being published in Swedish. In the UK with the autobiographical book "My family: the memoir" and with stand-up shows on Sky Arts.
Does: Storyteller (stand-up comedian, author, TV producer, podcaster). Started after October 7 the acclaimed and now award-winning podcast "A Muslim and a Jew go there" together with the pro-Palestinian and Muslim politician Sayeeda Warsi, former minister in David Cameron's conservative government.
If we don't agree with each other, we still have to sit in that atmosphere. For me, it has been a help in understanding how Muslims feel in this situation.
