Only five sections are named for biblical characters. In the fifth reading of Exodus, that rare privilege goes to Jethro: a non-Israelite, the father-in-law of Moses, and the priest of Midian.
It took the Holocaust to make casual anti-Jewish talk so toxic that polite society wouldn’t stand for it. Eroding that sense of toxicity is much easier; internet memes can do it. But it’s also possible to invite backlash against strong, important taboos by clinging to weaker ones that are broader than necessary. We ignore the distinction at our peril.
Democrats may wish this story fades away, and pro-Israel advocates are probably hoping that the last moment could be magically erased, but the Ilhan Omar story is here to stay. At least for a while.
The House of Fates is ground zero in a struggle over history and memory, raising questions that are pertinent today not only in Hungary but also across post-communist Europe. The struggle is about the politicization of the Holocaust by an increasingly autocratic government and about who gets to tell its story, and how.
Last week, Republican Lee Zeldin introduced House Resolution 72. Its title, “Rejecting anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hatred in the United States and around the world,” should have promised a wide bipartisan group of co-sponsors rushing to sign on.