* The (probably unreleaseable) Jerry Lewis film w/ the Holocaust setting is reputed to be tonally and substantively divergent from Benigni’s liberal-sensitive movie (which, oddly enough, no one today watches or talks about, other than to mock his Oscars behavior). The problem in the former case seems to be more that it’s just a tacky flick rather than specially taboo-violating in some way.
Documentaries aside, I am aware of no financially successful cinematic or literary work taking the Nazi internment/genocide regime as its main subject that was immune to withering accusations of dastardly anti-Jewish sentiment by someone. That includes Schindler’s List, Maus, The Pianist, Apt Pupil* (*n.b. a Stephen King short story reinterpreted by Bryan “Cabana Boy” Singer), Everything Is Illuminated, Sophie’s Choice, even the pedestrian NBC miniseries about the Warsaw ghetto uprising; I would not be surprised if Judgment At Nuremberg had its incensed critics at the time.
Like the JFK assassination, the 1960s civil rights movement, or any depictions of Jerusalem-area public executions ca. 2000 years ago, it seems impossible to handle this subject in a conventionally acceptable way, or at least without the cranks flocking to it. I remember in the mid 90s believing that, as older generations passed away, these historical episodes (perhaps not the 33 A.D. one) would lose their grip on the public imagination and come to be seen from a more equanimous perspective. That has not happened (if anything we’re going in the opposite direction). Witness Natalie Portman reaping the whirlwind recently for, not unreasonably if yet somewhat clumsily, questioning if the WWII Jewish genocide deserved any pride-of-place over more recent, apparently ho-hum genocides in sub-Saharan locales. I don’t even think the “genocide” benchmark is what’s fueling it. These historical-fiction strands whether they’re from Nazis or slave auctions or lone gunmen clearly still serve some purpose, remaining useful to someone.
* Jews have had an outsized influence in the leftist white guilt movement. Some Jews defended Israel and Jewish ethnic sovereignty while demonizing similar white countries. The white leaders who crusaded against South African white sovereignty were largely Jewish.
But beyond that, you are right. Netanyahu and his ilk have zero animosity towards whites and West Europe. And while his job is to defend Israel, I suspect he’s very sympathetic with white Europe. Many regular Jews are equally horrified by what is happening. Jews are prominent among immigration critics like Ilana Mercer and Ben Shapiro.
* I don’t mind Jews asking themselves the question “is it good for the Jews?”. What I object to is that so many Jews reflexively try to shout-down and/or stamp-out any gentile who asks if something is good for for us.
* 1. Muslim immigration to France means you need airport-style security at every synagogue, Jewish school and community center. And still you live in fear.
2. The goyim in America have been very good to us. The least we can do is preserve their country for them.
