In 1760, President George Washington addressed the Jews of Newport, RI saying, “May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants—while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.” A year has passed since the terrible event at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, an event that forever changed the way we ‘sit under our own vine and fig tree.’ We had seen deadly attacks happen in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. But it was inconceivable to us that a horror of that magnitude could happen here. Our American “innocence” was irrevocably shattered that Shabbat morning. Whether we like it or not, Jews in America face the threat of violent antisemitism. We have seen the loss of lives in Pittsburgh and Poway, and attacks against Jews continue on the streets of Brooklyn and elsewhere. Antisemitic conspiracy theories abound across social media and seep into our political discourse. To ensure the safety and security of our congregation and our children, we have an obligation to call out antisemitism wherever we find it – whether it comes from the far-right, the far-left, or from radical extremists who terrorize in the name of Islam.
But just as we see that antisemitism can come from many places, we also see allies ready to join us in the fight against it. We need to be ready to welcome that outreach from other faith communities to affirm what we all stand for as Americans—democracy and pluralism. We are all Americans and we all want mutual respect, understanding, support and to be protected in the pursuit of those ideals. Dag Hammarskjold once said, “In our time, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action.” Everyone has a special responsibility to do this work. Besides speaking up and reporting when you see or hear something, you can urge your elected representative to join the Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Antisemitism. This task force works with government officials and diplomatic contacts to craft policies aimed at protecting Jewish communities. Hate crimes divide our society, terrorize communities, and ultimately threaten all Americans. One way that the task force has an impact is through law enforcement training, the creation of reporting hotlines, increasing resources to liaise with affected groups, and public educational forums on hate crimes. This link will provide you with a sample email to alert your elected officials to join.
https://global.ajc.org/take-action/taskforce?ms=wb_act_20191007_TakeAction
As Elie Wiesel wrote, “This is what we must do—not to sleep well when people suffer anywhere in the world. Not to sleep well when someone’s persecuted. Not to sleep well when people are hungry all over here or there. Not to sleep well when there are people sick and nobody is there to help them. Not to sleep well when anyone somewhere needs you.”
Rabbi Janice
