Losing your job because you’re Jewish

The adage that history repeats itself has never been truer than today.  But the real mystery is why humanity doesn’t learn from the tragic mistakes it has made.

As early as 1933, when Hitler came into power in Germany, “the systematic removal of Jews, from the workplace, advanced through key legislative stages, according to historical records from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.” 

It affected judges, teachers, professors and other government-employed professionals, all of whom lost their jobs for the unforgivable crime of being Jewish.

Licenses were stripped from Jewish lawyers, doctors and notaries, barring them from working with public health and insurance funds.

Now, it’s happening all over again. Here are just a couple of examples.

An orthopedic surgeon, who worked at an Ohio Hospital, was fired for being Jewish. Despite his successful record at Mercy Health in Youngstown, he was “subjected to unfavorable terms and conditions of employment and said to have been fired due to his religion and race, shortly after the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel.”

Enduring libelous charges and comments, that the Jews were responsible for the massacre, Dr. Ian Walton was subsequently fired in November, 2023.  Of course, a lawsuit was filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming, among other things, that one cannot be terminated for reasons other than their job performance.

Nonetheless, disregard for the law was flagrant. The hospital administration excluded the doctor from scheduled meetings and reduced his surgeries, all in what appears to be an attempt to send the message that Jews are not wanted in that particular health facility.

In another incident, a Jewish professor of psychology at Duquesne University, was also “subjected to ongoing antisemitic harassment, a hostile work environment and severe professional retaliation after he opposed anti-Jewish discrimination within his department.”

The professor, specifically targeted by other staff members, was forced to bear the humiliation of being stereotyped while also having to listen to other colleagues who rejoiced over the horrific acts that were perpetrated against Israeli civilians on October 7.

In his case, a legal complaint was also filed, “outlining a pattern in which university administrators repeatedly dismissed the concerns of Dr. Alex Kranjec, the professor in question. Determining that his ideology was incompatible with the work of students,” Kranjec was ultimately removed from his responsibility as a committee member, overseeing student examinations.

Because most everyone knows that firing someone for their ethnicity is illegal, there is a much simpler way to work around that. Just make sure that the work environment is unbearable and the employee is made to feel uncomfortable and marginalized.  

With enough offensive antisemitic comments, jokes or Jewish tropes, who would want to remain in their position? But even without such obvious efforts, it’s gotten to the point where one Reddit post asked the question, “Was I fired for being Jewish?” The individual wrote that there was no good reason for having been let go.

The person in question, the only Jew at the facility, attributed their termination to having worn a visible Star of David necklace, thinking that it may have played a part. While some responded to the post, stating that there was no real evidence that the termination was due to ethnicity, it’s easy to see how paranoia can easily set in these days, given so much anti-Israel sentiment which has a tendency to look at all Jews with a jaundiced eye.

Making Jews feel uncomfortable has been happening ever since Israel fought back for the brutal attack which was perpetrated on them.  Israel’s military defense provided antisemites with the perfect excuse to point an accusatory finger at Jews, whether in the workplace, at universities or simply as a bloc of people who deserve the nasty looks and jeers that are reserved for humanity’s worst specimens.

When looking back at the similarities to the campaign of the 1930s, it’s clear that it was designed to disenfranchise the Jewish population from all societal privilege – the most egregious, being the inability to earn a living and provide for one’s family.

The moment that was removed, everything else fell apart for German Jews, because without being able to provide a steady income, housing and all the other necessities of life, they were imperiled. The loss of their status and financial comfort also was responsible in how they were viewed.  

Made to feel like criminals, it wasn’t long before they were avoided and held in low esteem by the rest of society. This process is being repeated before our eyes.  Only this time, it is not one lunatic who is driving the hatred, but a twisted philosophy held by many who believe that Jews are evil.

The parallels are not very different, and given the way news spreads so much faster, 100 years later, the lies and slanderous accusations are able to be disseminated with greater speed and sophistication.  

The complete reliance upon what is heard through the media has become a useful tool when trying to convince others without facts or details. Amplify it enough and it must be true.

Once that poison makes its way through the population, how long will it take before Jews are banned from clubs, snubbed by colleagues or made to feel unwanted?  

Anyone who thinks this is an exaggeration hasn’t seen the vulnerability of Jews on campuses, London streets or as they approach their synagogues, Jewish day schools or events, all of which must be flanked by armed guards, for fear of a surprise attack.

These incidents have already occurred in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Ontario, Canada, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Yerevan, Armenia, London, Golders Green, Finchley, Manchester and Kenton, U.K., Oldenburg, Wuppertal, Berlin, Germany, Rouen, France, Athens, Greece, Melbourne, Australia and Jackson, Mississippi and Colleyville, TX. 

Other attacks on Jewish sites have taken place in Vienna, Austria, North Caucasus, Russia, Washington, D.C., Brooklyn and Manhattan, N.Y. 

Just in the year 2025, 3,700 antisemitic incidents were reported in the U.K. 

While the forementioned may not be a complete list, “According to documentation by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), these acts reflect a sharp global rise in hate-fueled violence against Jewish institutions.”

Sadly, we are likely to see more incidents of Jews losing their jobs and being ostracized in their communities, because it’s a highly effective measure when hoping to demonize an entire people.