It Was Never About the Victims

In December 2019, there was a series of violent attacks on visibly Orthodox Jews in New York City during Hanukkah. After the muted reactions in the media: “possibly antisemitic attacks” (The Guardian); and reports that the man who attacked worshippers in a Rabbi’s home with a machete had “no history of antisemitism” (The New York Times); I realized something about the progressive left — which claims to care about victims.

Given the lack of outrage (or even sympathy) regarding the Hanukkah attacks, it would be easy to conclude that if the victims are Jews, the progressive left (distinct from the liberal left) doesn’t care.