Anti-Semitism: Perennial Corruption

From Vasily Grossman, Life and Fate, trans. Robert Chandler (New York: New York Review Books, 1985), Part II, Chapter 31, Page 484:

     "Anti-Semitism is always a means rather than an end; it is a measure of the contradictions yet to be resolved. It is a mirror for the failings of individuals, social structures and State systems. Tell me what you accuse the Jews of--I'll tell you what you're guilty of."

 

At present, as at all times, if you are accusing the Jews of starting wars, you are guilty of abetting anti-Jewish terrorism. If you are accusing the Jews of genocide, you are guilty of abetting attempted anti-Jewish genocide. If you are singling out Israel for blame, you are guilty of abetting the guilty. You may be the victim of an ideology (like Communism or Islamism or unregenerate Christianity), or the victim of your own particular temptation to envy, resentment, despair, or revenge. Whatever you tell yourself, if you are for any reason hating the Jews as a people, you will find the actual culprit in the mirror.