The Last Jew In Europe. Thoughts and Reflections on Anti-Semitism and How to Address It

I said in an earlier post that I would try write out my take on the play's controvery and impact, and I'll do so here. The opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarly reflect those of the playwright, Tuvia Tenenbom.

While the production has been successfully produced in both Israel and Europe, it has meet with resistance and controversy here in the states.

I "get" why the Polish government is irritation with the way Poland, overall, is portrayed, especially in light of its horrific past jewish persecutions, and I'm sure many many good Polish citizens would take strong exception to any implication that they, personally, are anti-Semitic. Nor can one forget that Poland itself suffered enormously under German National Socialism and later Soviet Communism (see Karolina Lanckoronska's Michelangelo in Ravensbruck: One Woman's War Against the Nazis).

On the other hand, I have no sympathy for or understanding of the New York Times refusal to review the play -- a national newspaper of record indeed . . .

I have no sympathy for them because there IS today a disturbing rise in anti-Semitism in Europe, and, in my opinion, the Polish Government would have been better off acknowledging the entrenched Polish anti-Semitism that obviously exists today along with convincing assurances that all it's citizens are protected from violence and persecution, both from within and without rather than responding as they did.

As a modern child of The Enlightenment, I do not believe that Government can change the content of men and women's minds and hearts (nor should it try), but it sure as hell can insure the existence of civil institutions that protect life, liberty and property, i.e., Economic Freedom.

It is therefore not surprising to me, nor to the Fraser Institute, in their annual report of Economic Freedom of the World, that Poland does does not rank highly (56 out of 141) in terms of economic freedom. Nor is it surprising that many middle eastern counties, e.g., Syria, Egipt, are also at the lower end of the scale. While the coorelation between Economic Freedom and Democratic values is easy to see -- the relationship between the two is not, i.e., contrary to Bush et al., imposing a "Democracy" doesn't automatically insure the social expression of democratic ideals or economic freedom (as they've painfully larned in Iraq and Gaza).

However, there's plenty empirical evidence that the contrary is true -- that is, that the protection of life, liberty and property, (i.e., Economic Freedom) is the single best and most effective way to pursue human rights and human development [See Arthur A. Goldsmith's 1997 article, "Economic Rights and Government in Developing Countries: Cross-National Evidence on Growth and Development," published in Studies in Comparative International Development 32 (2) (summer): 29-44, where he argues that

developing countries that score better in protecting economic rights also tend to grow faster and to score higher in human development. In addition the paper finds that economic rights are associated with democratic government and with higher levels of average national income.

In sum then, perhaps Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe is correct that Polish anti-Semitism on the wane. Let us hope so. However, Paul Hockenos' Free To Hate,

in his final chapter "Anti-semitism without Jew," offers a sad commentary on that lingering ancient problem in the aftermath of a Holocaust that has not been adequately explained within the lands where it actually happened.The distortion of history that took place under Marxism-Leninism touched the Jews as well. It dealt with their ancestral existence in Eastern Europe simply and lethally: by total silence—which was itself a kind of “final solution” that was in effect as devastating to the reality of Judaism as Nazi barbarism. The people of Eastern Europe today are thus unable to appreciate all of what happened, or why; they cannot quite fit themselves into the puzzle, and continue to harbor animosities against a people they never quite understood. But Hockenos does not end on a hopeless note, for there are lessons to be learned and progress is possible. [Hockenos] concludes: "The states that provide their minorities full political and cultural rights, that grant their peoples and regions more autonomy, that practice multiculturalism will in the long run be more democratic and stable." No classical liberal would disagree.[Juliana Geran Pilon, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Cato Journal].

. . . and if the people of Eastern Europe today are thus unable to appreciate all of what happened, or why [and] if they cannot quite fit themselves into the puzzle, plays such as "The Last Jew In Europe" may help them (and us) contend with that almost un-contenable, seemly intractable problem of anti-semitism by starting to acknowledge it's dark existence -- however, once exposed, it is Economic Freedom and the Ideals of Liberty & The Enlightenment that will leave it no place to hide:

The Bill of Rights is one of the most brilliant and beautiful documents ever written. It is based on the idea that all humans are capable of extraordinary acts. I believe this to be true. (David P. Baugh, Attorney, Criminal Defense & First Amendment Law, Richmond Virginia, U.S.A.)

The relationship between political economy, capitalism, globalization, culture and social justice is a complex one, and while I'm no expert, others are, and the positive relationship between these entities and institutions and the outcomes we all want and desire seem, at least to me, obvious and straightforward. For more, I give you excepts from Tom Palmer's paper, Open Societies, Global Markets, and the Bourgeois Virtues. Tom is Vice President for International Programs at Cato's Center for Promotion of Human Rights: