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Published: December 5, 2009

Has anti-Semitism more or less disppeared from the workplace?

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Visitor Comments: 11

(11) Davíd C., June 4, 2010 6:40 PM

Well, I'm Jewish, and secular, and I have one thing to say...

What the hell is wrong with the man? Can't he say some thing?! JEWS need to toughen up! If you working with gentiles or what we Jews would say: goyim, ignore anti-semetic comments and get to work! That's the only way to gain respect. Toughen up!!

(10) Helene, February 4, 2010 6:31 PM

To true to be funny!

Although people are less likely to be as overt about theuir feelings, this is no different today, just more subtle. People have learned pc and alway "have a Jewish friend", but do not include us in the every day business of business, unless it is a Jewish business to start with, and then the owners go out of their way;; to hire non Jews that there is really very little difference.

(9) Yehoshua Shiloni, January 5, 2010 4:10 PM

Hurray for Anti-Semitism!

It is soooooooo refreshing to see pure anti-semitism and to really experience it in real life as well! really wish it happens to everyone in Golus at least once in their lives and make them realize, "what the Hell are you doing there?"! You have a homeland where you can truly be free! You have a people that needs YOU to contribute your uniqueness to build our Nation to be a light onto the Ntions! These incidents, minor to some traumatic to most remind us all where we truly belong, cause there's no place like home....no place like home.

(8) David, December 11, 2009 7:04 PM

Anti-Semitism is Alive and Well

Anti-Semitism is alive and growing. Just look at the internet and the "alternative media" and "patriot Movement" It is thriving there. I fear that as the economy gets worse people will look for a scapegoat.

(7) Bob, December 9, 2009 8:00 PM

Not Funny, just sad!

I have been told not to get upset when the business associate across from me talks about jewing down the competition. Or being asked by potential clients when they call my law office whether I am Jewish. I just assume racists be up front about their anti-semitic beliefs. That was until my daughter who is in High School had to suffer a texting attack glorifying Nazisim and using the familiar epitaths that have been reserved for us over the last 1500 years. I wish the clip from MadMen was a funny and just a quaint look back at the past. For me, I still see it in real time. Not funny, just sad!

(6) Sharon, December 9, 2009 2:21 PM

You've got to be kidding, Feigele!

.."know our place and keep a very respectful attitude"?! Wow! I know my place is anywhere I wish to be and damn anyone who stops me from being there because I am Jewish! A respectful attitude should be a universdal attribute and not designated for Jews only! As a matter of fact, if we all truly respected each other, this world would be a hell of a lot healthier between people as well as the natural world under our stewardship. One would follow the other!

(5) Elana, December 9, 2009 5:02 AM

First hand experience in this!

Don't worry; it's alive and thriving; thinly veiled. Picture this...graduated nursing with honors; straight A's; with a health care background; was unable to find a nursing position in a hospital for SIX months. Every other classmate have gotten a position within almost their first interview. This is because I told them outright that I could not work on Friday nights due to my religious beliefs; I offered them every Sunday instead of every other weekend; I offered to accept a lower paying position...nothing...Yes, this is in NEW YORK; at a time of nursing shortage. Ya gotta love it.

(4) David S. Levine, December 9, 2009 12:52 AM

Whether there are places where Jews cannot advance today is a matter of conjecture and that's the point. In the 1950s there DEFINITELY were places in all industries where Jews could not either be hired or advance. Today Jews are not only in those places but in management roles. For example the law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell is a glaring case in point. In the 1950s the only Jewish partner was one Eustace Seligman and there are doubts that he would, according to Halacha, be considered Jewish. Today that managing partner in not only Jewish, but is as it is said, "visibly Orthodox." "Big Eight" (now "Big Five") Accounting firms, which were at one time notoriously anti-Semitic now have Jewish partners. Large industrial corporations now have Jewish executives. This is particularly true of, of all places, the Ford Motor Company--the only automobile company to refuse TARP funds. It seems to me that one of the few institutions where Jews are now openly UNwelcome is academia where to be pro-Israel is a mark against advancement. This is particularly true of Columbia University but also true of Harvard where former President Lawrence Summers was forced out in part because he was perceived as such because of his Jewish origin. On college and university campuses across the nation Jewish students are made to feel unwelcome and are sometimes physically attacked because they are verbally pro-Israel. Journalism is another field of antisemitism because of the same reasons. It's not at all an accident that these are both left-liberal institutions because that is the focus of antisemitism in America today.

(3) Feigele, December 9, 2009 12:47 AM

And the answer is “NO”!

Although it seems that way, don’t let it lure you. It has become very fashionable for a company to say that they abide by the law regarding racism and discrimination whatsoever. One could be in very big trouble with the law for expressing feelings of discrimination, especially in the workplace. It’s all about respecting the law but not the individual. If the law changes saying do whatever you want, then you would see a resurgence of anti-semitism and racism and very quickly. I have to point out though, that in all my years of working, I had Jewish and non Jewish bosses, and the nicest ones where not the ones you would expect to be. I always emphasize on the fact that we, Jews, must always know our place and keep a very respectful attitude.

(2) Sammy, December 8, 2009 8:55 PM

Not sure

It's hard to say. I would like to think that it has, but do we really know what our co-workers think of us? Even in the deep recesses of their subconscious? Thousands of years of anti-semitism can't disappear in a few years can it?

(1) Alan S., December 6, 2009 10:57 AM

Yes and no, in my opinion. First off, back in the 50's, I believe it is safe to say that sadly, anti-semitism was alive and well in the work place. Secondly, two thoughts I believe are accurate these days. While you can be sure that there are firms and businesses where it still exists -- the term "the glass ceiling" is still used to describe the advancement restrictions of many, not only minorities and woman. Nonetheless, depending on the field, in an age when the buzz word is 'diversity', thankfully, openly anti-semititic practices are greatly frowned upon. My final thought is that you can be sure that many (certainly not most) individuals -- Jewish or non-Jewish -- have their own internal prejudices.

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