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The Most Dangerous Lie That New York Jews Tell Themselves

JL;DR SUMMARY Nachum Kaplan argues that New York Jews are dangerously complacent about the rising tide of antisemitism, falsely believing that their city's Jewish population size and historical success equate to safety. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish HistoryJewish IdentityDiasporaNew YorkAssimilationJewish SafetyIntifadaBudapestBaghdad

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"Central Synagogue in New York City, constructed from 1870 to 1872 (photo: Central Synagogue/Facebook)"
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
"as mobs scream for intifada in places like Manhattan and Melbourne"
Warsaw, Mazovia, Poland
"Warsaw was a Jewish city (30 percent Jewish), as was Baghdad (30 percent), Vilna (28 percent), and Budapest (24 percent)."
Budapest, Hungary
"Warsaw was a Jewish city (30 percent Jewish), as was Baghdad (30 percent), Vilna (28 percent), and Budapest (24 percent)."
Salonika, Central Macedonia, Greece
"Almost half of Salonika was Jewish."
Berlin, Germany
"Jews once believed Berlin was safe because Jews helped build modern Germany, and likewise Vienna because Jews shaped its culture."
Vienna, Austria
"Jews once believed Berlin was safe because Jews helped build modern Germany, and likewise Vienna because Jews shaped its culture."
Baghdad, Iraq
"Warsaw was a Jewish city (30 percent Jewish), as was Baghdad (30 percent), Vilna (28 percent), and Budapest (24 percent)."
Vilna, Vilnius County, Lithuania
"Warsaw was a Jewish city (30 percent Jewish), as was Baghdad (30 percent), Vilna (28 percent), and Budapest (24 percent)."

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Retrieved 2026-05-28 05:30:57 UTC
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