Kristallnacht's Lessons: Unchecked Left-Wing and Islamist Jew-Hatred Today Echoes 1938 and Demands Action
Source: https://www.facebook.com/americanspectator/. "Nights of Broken Glass, 1938 and Today | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics." November 9, 2026. spectator.org
The Gist
The author says that what happened on Kristallnacht in 1938 shows how hatred of Jews grows when people ignore it or get used to it. He argues the West is now seeing something similar, mostly from the left and from radical Islamists, and that Americans who shrug it off are helping it along. He concludes that people need to start pushing back hard now, before it gets worse and harms everyone.
Conclusion
Americans must recognize the parallels between 1938 Germany and today and commit to the long, hard task of confronting and rolling back the Jew-hatred (and the left-leaning institutions and political forces that enable it) now, because delay will make it harder and the resulting violence will eventually harm Jews, Christians, and conservatives alike.
Premises
- Kristallnacht was a carefully orchestrated, state-directed pogrom that marked a turning point toward the Holocaust, made possible by years of demonizing propaganda and the desensitization or fear of ordinary Germans.
- Many German Jews, especially assimilated and secular liberal ones, ignored mounting evidence of danger and believed the persecution would pass, until it was too late.
- Today a virulent Jew-hatred has taken hold in western Europe and the US, mostly on the left, and has seeped into universities, media, and entertainment, while Hollywood and others deflect from Islamist-linked antisemitism.
- Post-October 7 demonstrations, European attacks on Jewish shopkeepers, and attacks on synagogues and churches resemble 1938 in being orchestrated, selective in targeting Jews, and tolerated by the public.
- Recent US midterm results show many Americans, including 'moderates' and 'independents', have become inured to this hatred and effectively shield it, while radicals no longer feel the need to disguise it as 'anti-Zionism'.
- Hatred left unchecked escalates, so if people stand aside, violent episodes will recur and spread to Christians and secular conservatives, as hinted by threats against Trump supporters.
Assumptions
- The parallels between 1930s Germany and today's West are close enough that the historical trajectory is a reliable predictor of what will happen now.
- Hostility to Israel or pro-Palestinian protest is largely a cover for, or indistinguishable from, antisemitism.
- Left-leaning institutions and Democratic electoral success causally contribute to the growth of antisemitism.
- Protest demonstrations and unrest in Europe are centrally orchestrated and funded in a manner comparable to Nazi organization.
- Antisemitic violence will escalate if not opposed politically, and the political response proposed (taking back the country) is the appropriate remedy.
- Islamist communities are the principal locus of present-day antisemitism and Muslim-targeting selectivity is evidence of intent.