US envoy: Likening post-Oct. 7 situation for Jews to 1938 is inaccurate

US Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt rejects comparisons some are making between the current situation for Diaspora Jewry and the plight of European Jews in 1938.

“I’m often asked as a historian, is this 1938? I say no, that’s a bit of an extreme position,” Lipstadt says during a virtual event organized by her office.

“I think it’s more like the early 1930s, maybe the late 1920s,” she added, referencing the destabilization of society that was taking place then and likening it to what is happening in many countries after October 7.

But Lipstadt notes two difference between then and now.

The “delivery system” for the spread of antisemitism is much more dangerous today because of social media.

But the other difference is that today, there are governments — including in the US — that have appointed senior officials to combat antisemitism, she says.