Gerald M. Steinberg
Jerusalem Post, Apr. 11, 2025
“How did this ludicrous inversion of oppressor and oppressed, and of victimizer and victim take place? Who is responsible for erasing, distorting and appropriating the moral principles that distinguish between right and wrong?”
When Jews worldwide sit around the Seder table and retell the 4,000 year old story of the Exodus from slavery to freedom, we have no doubt about the identities of the heroes and villains. Jacob (aka Israel) and his extended family, later to become the 12 tribes, were invited by Joseph and Pharaoh to settle in Egypt to escape the famine, and they prospered.
But then, their descendants were enslaved for over 200 years, and the reigning Pharaoh, concerned that they would join with Egypt’s enemies, ordered the murder of male Israelite children – a form of genocide. When the slaves cried out, God heard and appointed Moses to lead them out of the house of bondage through 10 plagues that devastated the entire Egyptian population.
In the finale, the first-born son in every household died (and among their animals), and only then did Pharaoh fold briefly to allow the slaves to march out, carrying unleavened dough on their backs.
Antisemitic inversions of reality
Today, if these events transpired, the powerful “human rights” industry, led by the UN and the NGO superpowers (Human Rights Watch and Amnesty) would issue lengthy reports, hold press conferences and publish posts on social media platforms condemning Moses and Aaron as war criminals. The International Criminal Court would issue arrest warrants charging the Israelite leaders with genocide and other versions of the blood libel. Campus mobs under the heading of Students for Justice for Pharaoh (SJP), supported by their “progressive” allies, would be vandalizing buildings, intimidating Israelites (now Jews – descendants from the tribe of Judah), and demanding the return of the runaway slaves to their Egyptian taskmaster…..SOURCE