Bret Stephens is a heavyweight in the journalism world, known primarily for his work at the New York Times. While "Stephens" doesn't immediately ring as a Jewish name, he would actually be a "Ehrlich" if his grandfather hadn't opted for an Anglo-sounding change.
Stephens doesn’t necessarily strike me as a particularly frum guy, which makes his recent speech at the 92nd Street Y [you might never have been there but can probably guess where it is located...] all the more surprising. His core message was a total pivot from the status quo: Instead of sinking tens of millions of dollars into the uphill battle against antisemitism, let’s invest that money into Yeshivos and Beis Yaakovs!!
While he didn’t use the word "Yeshiva" specifically, it’s the logical conclusion of his argument. After all, what institution provides a more rigorous Jewish education than a Yeshiva?
His assertion is grounded in a grim realism:
Antisemitism is permanent: It will likely exist in some form no matter how much we spend to "cancel" it. Rather than trying to change the minds of those who hate us, we should focus our time, energy, and resources on becoming more committed, knowledgeable Jews.
The ADL was unavailable for comment....:-).
[They would probably argue that while we can't erase it completely that doesn't mean that we shouldn't combat it as much as possible].
