#sartre

The antisemite doesn't accuse the Jew of stealing because he thinks he stole something. He does it because he enjoys watching the Jew turn out his pockets to prove his innocence.

This quote is often attributed to Jean-Paul Sartre, but this phrasing appears nowhere in his published works.

It is, however, closely related to ideas he explored in his 1946 essay, Anti-Semite and Jew (Réflexions sur la question juive).

Sartre argued that antisemitism is not based on actual grievances with Jewish behavior, but rather on a deep-seated psychological need to construct an enemy.

The antisemite, says Sartre, does not engage with facts but instead enjoys the humiliation and power dynamics of forcing Jews to defend themselves against baseless accusations.

It is tempting, looking at the recent, relentless blood libels from Hamas (which are repeated by NGOs, the UN, and countless media outfits) to stop there and simply agree that these examples prove Sartre correct.

I disagree.

I think Sartre was close, but for a man as brilliant as he was, he missed something shockingly obvious.

History has repeatedly shown that it's not really about and has never stopped at humiliation.

The antisemite doesn't employ this dynamic just to enjoy feeling power over the Jew, but to achieve the ultimate power over the Jew.

How do we see that today?

They are not engaging with facts, and (Western useful idiots aside) don't actually believe there's been a genocide in Gaza. The accusation isn't made to enjoy humiliating the Jew.