Yesterday Jews Around the World Observed Yom Hashoah
This annual day of remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust is observed by Jewish communities worldwide — I decided yesterday to cast light upon the dark specter of antisemitism on this platform
Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance leads to unthinkable recurrences of history’s atrocities.
In May 2020, “The Never Again Education Act,” which sailed through the House of Representatives and the Senate, became law. The law stated its purpose thusly:
As intolerance, antisemitism, and bigotry are promoted by hate groups, Holocaust education provides a context in which to learn about the danger of what can happen when hate goes unchallenged and there is indifference in the face of the oppression of others; learning how and why the Holocaust happened is an important component of the education of citizens of the United States. [emphasis added]
I have witnessed and battled unchallenged hate on this platform and have decided that I need to do so more publically than I have in the past.
A top writer in poetry, whom I used to consider a friend, wrote in February what would have amounted to an intelligent politically scientific poem, had he eliminated “and Zion” from the lines, “Britain and Europe divide what’s deemed minor, Dominated by kings, bigwigs and Zion.” I promptly pointed out to him in private notes that the inclusion of those two words propagates the stereotypical and scapegoating myth that Jews control the world, used by Hitler and others, to justify the Holocaust and other genocide against Jews.
The writer responded that Jews are too sensitive, and how could he possibly be antisemitic when he lives among Jews and his poetry has many beloved Jewish fans. I told him that I did not accuse him of being intentionally antisemitic — rather I contacted him privately to explain how his poem contained antisemitic rhetoric and to request that he remove the offensive and dangerous content.
He refused. I reported the poem to the platform, and they responded as follows:
Hello, Thank you for writing in. We are reviewing this matter in terms of our Rules and will take action if appropriate.
Thanks, Trust & Safety
They took no action. Clearly, their guidelines require revision.
Upon their refusal to act, I reported the incident to the Anti-Defamation League. They requested that I again ask the platform to act, which I did, to no avail.
Yesterday, I received this email from my kids’ secular high school:
Dear Prep School Community,
Today is Yom HaShoah, or National Holocaust Day. We marked this important occasion in the Prep School this morning with a school-wide assembly featuring a talk by Holocaust survivor and [school] grandparent, Ms. Ruth Millman. Ms. Millman shared the details of her family’s escape from Nazi-occupied Poland as a small child and her experiences growing up in Monmouth County, New Jersey. At the conclusion of Ms. Millman’s speech, Prep School students had the chance to ask questions which were moderated by 10th Grade Dean. You can read more about Ms. Millman’s life story here.
I then looked back at the offending poem and grew very angry seeing the over 4,900 claps from 110 people, and 59 comments ignorantly gushing favorably over the writer and the poem. I decided to leave many replies to the commenters stating my conclusion about the poem. Several responded to me supportively or asked me to explain my reasoning, which I did as explained hereinabove, and added:
I stayed somewhat private on this matter for months but when I saw that yesterday was Yom Hashoah (National Holocaust Remembrance Day ( https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/yom-hashoah-holocaust-memorial-day/ ) I was sparked to go back into the poem and leave comments to educate many of the readers who gushed and fawned over what they believed to be a great poem. The antisemitism in the poem is subtle, but very dangerous. It is precisely this type of undercurrent that when rose to the surface led to the Holocaust.
The Problem with this Platform’s Guidelines
The definition of hateful content works:
Hateful content We do not allow content that constitutes or promotes violence, harassment, or hatred against people based on characteristics like race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, caste, disability, disease, age, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity.
This part of the policy does not work:
[management] has the sole authority and final decision as to whether content or behavior violates our rules.
Last May, as an ILLUMINATION editor, I flagged a story on the then-current escalation between Arabs and Israelis for hate speech. It contained outright vitriol but I spotted and identified the allegation that Israel abducts an Arab child every three minutes as the propagation of a 1000s-year-old antisemitic lie and then stepped away so my being Jewish would not prejudice the process, trusting that my co-editors would heed my judgment. My trust was misplaced. Another editor published a somewhat sanitized version of the story but with that line intact. I immediately removed and reported the story to the platform.
The battle that ensued shocked me and boiled my blood. The publishing editor said my being offended did not make a comment hateful. Sheer ignorance. I was not offended. I am sympathetic to all people on each side of that conflict that are pawns of their respective governments and other power structures.
I noted in the very heated conversations:
“There is nothing to put to a vote — when the members of a targeted group say that words are hate, it’s not for a member of another group to say they disagree. They do not have the context to get a vote. I specifically noted at the outset that the allegation of kidnappings was hate speech [these hits in this link explain] and it was left in and published with that intact over my voiced objection. Agree to disagree is correct over policies — Not what is and what is not hate.”
“Words that may seem innocuous to many may be recognized as hateful to others. It is possible that your perspective and life experiences may provide insight that we may miss. If you recognize hate that we have missed, please bring it to our attention and it will be addressed accordingly. People need to agree to disagree about beliefs such as politics, religion, economics, and philosophy, etc., but when a targeted group recognizes hate speech, that is something that is not up for discussion. We should defer to those that have been discriminated against without putting it up for a vote.”
The good news is that this debate led to Dr Mehmet Yildiz issuing this policy, which I primarily and substantially drafted, with the help of my friend Stuart Englander:
Regarding content that propagandizes or fosters the continuation of stereotypes based on race or creed or gender beyond what Medium guidelines may deem to be hate speech, the editors of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications (IIP) will reject any work that is written primarily to demonize or diminishing the value of another group of people. We will not tolerate such speech whether blatant or implied — whether couched as fact or opinion. We believe that our message of inclusiveness is furthered by erring on the side of excluding a piece that some but not all may find to be hate-filled. [emphasis added] The editors of IIP are all from a diverse background of people, and though we occasionally disagree, we recognize we are all human, regardless of our cultural history. Having an argument against a governmental or philosophical policy is appreciated when discussed in a thoughtful and respectful manner but we have zero tolerance for content that targets a specific group, gender, or creed. Unsubstantiated claims or attempts to make broad assumptions against an entire culture will not be tolerated.
The Trust and Safety Department should adapt their policy to more closely resemble ours, particularly with regard to the deference afforded a complaint.
In Rama I create, with soul-energy surging through my body, inspiring me and breathing wind into my sails,
Marcus (Gregory Maidman)