On Dec. 28, The Los Angeles Times published two, opposing op-ed pieces on the resurgent wave of worldwide anti-Semitism. Remarkably, the debate wasn't about what to do about the problem, but rather if a problem exists at all.

ADL Director Abraham Foxman cited, among other recent events, the viciously anti-Jewish statements of the Malaysian Prime Minister, the synagogue bombings in Istanbul, and the burning of an Indiana holocaust museum, to conclude:

Anti-Semitism is not a relic of history but a current event. Its resurgence is stronger and more widespread than even the most pessimistic among us predicted. And the threat is growing...Democratic leaders and good people must stand up ― for their own sake as well as for the sake of Jewish communities ― so that the theme of "never again" will be a living reality.

Michael Neumann

Foxman's words were deemed debatable by the Times, who invited Michael Neumann, a philosophy professor at Ontario's Trent University, to counter Foxman with an article entitled "A Minor Problem, Overblown." Neumann claims that anti-Semitism just shouldn't concern us today, and supports his view with arguments such as this:

Concentration camp survivors still alive deserve sympathy and justice, but they are few. Myself, I'd feel a bit embarrassed saying to a homeless person on the streets of Toronto, much less to the inhabitants of a Philippine garbage dump: 'Oh yeah? You think you know suffering? My grandmother died in a concentration camp!'...Perhaps anti-Semitism is not, after all, a high priority.

The LA Times accorded Neumann a prominent space to air his views, despite the fact that Neumann has an established record of actively supporting (in Neumann's own words) "vicious racist anti-Semitism" to bring on the destruction of the Jewish state. Last year, Neumann had a correspondence with an anti-Semitic web site called the Jewish Tribal Review in which Neumann wrote:

My sole concern is indeed to help the Palestinians, and I try to play for keeps. I am not interested in the truth, or justice, or understanding, or anything else, except so far as it serves that purpose...I would use anything, including lies, injustice and obfuscation, to do so. If an effective strategy means that some truths about the Jews don't come to light, I don't care. If an effective strategy means encouraging reasonable anti-Semitism or reasonable hostility to Jews, I don't care. If it means encouraging vicious racist anti-Semitism, or the destruction of the State of Israel, I still don't care.