Readers Write: Combatting the rise of anti-Semitism in America

The Island Now

I joined nearly 25,000 people yesterday in New York to take a stand against anti-Semitism as we marched to Brooklyn.

I did this because the cold-blooded murder of Jews at prayer, at school, at work, and at leisure wasn’t supposed to happen in America. But now, brutal attacks on our streets, intimidation across college campuses, hate speech disseminated with a keystroke, the questioning of “Jewish loyalty” by elected officials who propagate contempt for “the other,” and a general concern for safety are changing what it means to be Jewish in this country.

Today, American Jews are confronted with a resurgence of anti-Semitism — in the dangerous context of weakening global norms, widening national and sectarian wars, and increasing instability worldwide.

Rampant racism and hate speech, anti-immigrant and anti-refugee politicking, emboldened white supremacist groups, and the risk of global discord, demand of us new tactics and engagement.

A heightened sense of urgency makes this the moment to address critical gaps in awareness and answer ignorance and viciousness with education, especially in these times of violence and loss.

Historian Beth Wenger once wrote, “Jews proclaimed faith in America confidently and repeatedly, often as much in hope as with certitude.”

I believe that maintaining faith in America is easy. We are still the gateway through which millions flow into this country seeking refuge, liberty and freedom. Wenger also wrote “America is different” because in part the United States lacks a history of Jewish persecution and has afforded Jews an unprecedented sense of security.

But even here, and in our own time, antisemitism is a powerful force and our sense of security is beginning to fade. Back in August 2017, the sight of enraged white supremacists marching through Charlottesville bearing torches and chanting hate speech was at once startling and familiar.

It reminded us of the Nazi rise to power and the murderous brutality that followed. It reminded us of American lynch mobs. It called to mind this country’s shameful history of systematic, institutionalized racism — as it was meant to. The hatred of Jews that has long simmered in Europe was now, for the first time in generations, on public view in America. And after Charlottesville came Pittsburgh, Poway, Jersey City, Brooklyn, and Monsey.

We debate anti-Semitism on the left and right, yet we fail to debate why we tolerate living in an era of hate and fear.

Across the many varied Jewish communities, what unites us in this moment is the hatred against us — fueled by centuries of deeply irrational antisemitism. The vocabulary of antisemitism produces mountains of misrepresentations and myths, stereotypes based on individual experiences, and a long history of scapegoating.

Anti-Semitism is not new and, in this country, neither is its use as a form of domestic terrorism.

Yet today the Jewish people persist. We still defy Nazi descriptions and resist attempts to divide our diverse communities. We must continue to envision and present other possibilities — ways in which we can hold ourselves responsible for eradicating persistent racism, increase educational opportunities, and have difficult conversations about the gap between our social realities and ideals.

The 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz is fast approaching and it is a critical time to organize beyond breaking news stories, political divisions, and indifference. Communities across this nation must ensure that the history of the Holocaust, and the stories of survivors and victims of oppression and persecution spark contemporary conversations around the devastating consequences hatred has on any society.

We have a moral obligation to answer ignorance with education. Our children and our future depend on it.

Michael Glickman

Great Neck

Michael S. Glickman is the founder & CEO of jMUSE and the former president & CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City.

 

 

Michael S. Glickman

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