Why are societies in Western countries, including the United States, so vulnerable to the influence of toxic woke myths about race and Israel being a “settler colonial” state?
According to JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin, the explanation for the failure of elites to resist ideologies that attack the foundations of Western civilization, as well as fueling antisemitism, is about more than politics.
Tobin is joined this week by JNS columnist Melanie Phillips, author of the important new book, The Builder’s Stone, which takes a deep dive into this issue. Phillips believes the rise of leftist ideas is caused by a spiritual crisis in the West. The same forces that are driving the post-Oct. 7 surge in antisemitism are the ones who have been assaulting Western civilization through their takeover of education and culture, the denigration of faith and so much else.
Phillips believes the answer to this problem isn’t just a matter of electing better leaders who choose wiser policies. She says that what is needed is a revival of faith. According to Phillips, this involves recognizing that the idea of the nation-state as the defender of liberty and the Western civilizational values are ideas that cannot thrive without Christianity and an understanding that the Judaism from which it sprung provides a model for the West’s survival. The fact that Jews are the targets of both Marxists and Islamists is a natural consequence of the fact that Jewish ideas and values are the foundation of the Western canon and legacy.
Phillips’ book, which traces the history of both the current crisis and antisemitism, prescribes a 10-point plan for a resurgence of Western values and the defeat of its enemies. That involves creating a “coalition for civilization, “a PR-makeover” for religion, as well as a willingness to fight the culture war against the forces seeking to denigrate faith and the family in which Jews should play a major role.
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