As to, say, Hizbollah, well, that’s different. It’s flattering, really, that he expects so much of us…and curious that he seems to expect very little of our enemies.

This language may surprise some American audiences, unfamiliar with the humiliating and mocking dimension with which European anti-Judaism so commonly expresses itself — the honor-shame language of public mocking. But after a relative hiatus in public after the Holocaust, since 2000 this spirit is common in the lands. In any case, derision aside, this particular comment leads us to a discussion of the nature of chosenness that can be very difficult and touchy… a discussion that Jews normally do not challenge Christians and Muslims about because these later monotheistic religions do not come out well in the comparison. But since this matter of chosenness seems to lie at the core of your complaint, Mr. Gaarder, let us grab the nettles.

As for Carter, you are of course 100% right, Meryl. Several years ago I saw Carter being interviewed by Bill Moyers and he made sarcastic, contemptuous references to the “Chosen People” that were just appalling. Most people don’t want to recognize this, but he is a dyed-in-the-wool antisemitic bigot on a par with the likes of Farrakhan, Duke, and Buchanan.

chsw