It’s been three weeks since the Pittsburgh shooting. While the emotional impact will be lasting and there remain numerous substantive issues to discuss, what I'd like to focus on in these moments is the response of the Jewish community. Specifically I want to ask us to consider the following: Are we going to respond in a unified way, or are we going to let attacks from without widen the rifts that exist within?
We are challenged in these situations by what we might call the “second sentence phenomenon.” There tends to be agreement on the first sentence that we say after a terrible tragedy like this. Something like, "We are horrified, angry and saddened by this devastating attack."
And then comes the second sentence, where the divergence sometimes appears. About recent events I’ve heard, just as two examples, versions of “this is a result of the hateful rhetoric being spouted and supported by our president” or “this is because of Democrats who cozy up to anti-Semites like Louis Farrakhan.”
At times like this, I turn to people I trust, people who I believe see clearly and think clearly and write clearly based on significant understanding along with good common sense. And one person I turn to about these matters is Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University who successfully defeated Holocaust denier David Irving in a libel trial that he initiated.
Following the Pittsburgh shooting she wrote an article in Time magazine about how we should understand and respond to anti-Semitism by opposing it, vociferously, no matter the source - right or left - and no matter whether we are right or left-leaning in our own politics and ideology. Here is a chunk of what she wrote, all worth mentioning, all worthy of deep consideration:
"Do not look for haters only on the other side of the political transom. Those on the political left who only see antisemitism on the right have blinded themselves to what is happening in their own midst. Those on the political right, who are only concerned about the “lefties” on the campus and beyond, are blind to what is happening next to them.
"We may never change the minds of people who send pipe bombs or enter a sanctuary with guns blazing. But we can stop them from influencing others. This year, at Thanksgiving dinner, when your curmudgeon uncle or successful cousin (not all haters are old and ornery) begins to rant about Jews, Blacks, Muslims, and LGBTQs who are ruining this country, do not sit idly by. Challenge them. Do so, not to change their minds, but to reach others – especially young people – who are listening and watching and learning. Silence is an imprimatur for hate and prejudice.
"Do not think that this attack is only about Jews. It may start with the Jews, but it never ends there. And conversely, it may start with others – Muslims, African Americans, LGBTQ identifying folks – but it will ultimately reach Jews. Lost in the legitimate media attention to the pipe bomber and the Pittsburgh murderer was the fact a few days earlier in Kentucky two African Americans were murdered outside a supermarket by a white nationalist. He had tried to gain access to a predominantly African American church but found the doors locked. Instead, he went to the nearby mall to find some Blacks to kill. And he did."
I’ve spoken in the past about all of the points she makes, but in this context, I want to underscore the first point. When right-leaning Jews give a pass to right-wing enabled anti-Semitism and when left-leaning Jews give a pass to left-wing enabled anti-Semitism, we’re all wrong.
Right-wing anti-Semites like Richard Spencer need to be opposed strongly - by our leaders, by each and every one of us. Left-wing anti-Semites like Louis Farrakhan need to be opposed strongly - by our leaders, by each and every one of us.
A few years ago, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, spoke here on Yom Kippur and he said, multiple times, we have real enemies. Meaning, let’s not turn each other into enemies. In this regard I feel compelled to point out, as many of us know, that the man who walked into Tree of Life synagogue last week and killed 11 Jews and wanted to kill more didn’t care if they were Orthodox or Reform or Conservative or Reconstructionist. Didn’t care if they were Ashkenazi or Sefardi or Mizrachi. Didn’t care who voted Red and who voted Blue. He just wanted to kill Jews. Let’s think about that. Let’s think about that the next time we use more energy attacking each other than we do fighting the hatred that is directed toward all of us.
The noted author Yossi Klein Halevi recently posted a video of his response to the following question asked of him by a student at the University of Chicago.
Since Zionists oppress others, isn’t engaging with Zionists similar to engaging with the KKK?
And Yossi calmly, but pointedly, explained that the question is an anti-Semitic question.
What anti-Semitism has always been, said Yossi, is an effort to claim that the Jews represent the worst phenomenon imaginable in every situation.
So Christian anti-Semitism was based on the notion that the Jews killed Jesus. What could be worse than killing the Lord and Savior? The Jews did that.
Nazi anti-Semitism was based on the notion that the Jews were leading the effort to make the white race impure. If the goal is to purify the white race, what could be worse than mucking up the races? The Jews did that.
Now racial equality and giving a voice to the oppressed are good things. But anti-Zionism that is really anti-Semitism disproportionately blames the Jewish state for apartheid, racism and oppressing the marginalized. Again, the Jew is doing the worst thing possible.
We could have long, engaged conversation about whether the right-wing form or the left-wing form of anti-Semitism is more pernicious. And there might be merit to that. But we need to acknowledge - say Deborah Lipstadt and Yossi Klein Halevi and - that they both are quite dangerous and need to be called out and opposed.
Recently the editor-in-chief of the left-leaning Forward, Jane Eisner, and the editor-in-chief of the right-leaning Algemeiner, David Efune, joined with other leading journalists in crafting a joint editorial that was signed by a dozen leaders in American Jewish journalism and printed in their respective publications.
Here is a portion of that editorial:
“For many Jews, the United States has long held a unique role in our collective imagination. It has been an unprecedented land of promise, of refuge, of freedom, opportunity and of safety.
“But after the horrific attack this past Shabbat at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in which 11 of our brothers and sisters were brutally murdered, we can’t help but be shaken and concerned for the America we have come to know and love.
“We therefore join together to unequivocally condemn this brutal act of anti-Semitism and all deadly acts of hate. We also condemn the climate of hate that has been building for some time now, especially on college campuses and on social media, where the veneer of anonymity has allowed anti-Semitic cesspools to flourish, and from irresponsible political leaders who engage in hateful speech and who are abetted by the silence of others.
“As journalists, we hold a variety of opinions about politics in this country and in Israel; the American Jewish community is diverse, and those differences are reflected on the pages of its media.
“In coming together now, we are not erasing those differences, but rising above them, to issue a call for solidarity and respect, and asking our political and communal leaders to do the same.”
Shortly after the shooting, the spiritual leaders of over 15 synagogues in Great Neck synagogues called upon their membership to attend a joint gathering of prayer, held at Great Neck Synagogue on Monday, October 29. Hundreds were in attendance. I looked around the room and I thought to myself, how powerful it is that we’re together. A number of us were asked which psalms we wanted to include in the service.
By the time I wrote back, a whole bunch were already selected. All of them beautiful, poignant ancient prayers. I wrote back saying, there’s one missing and I really want to include it. The one that begins - שיר המעלות shir hama’alot. A song of ascent. הנה מה טוב ומה נעים שבת אחים גם יחד Hinei ma tov u'mah na'im shevet ahim gam yahad. Behold, how good and how beautiful for brothers and sisters to come together.
Virtually each week, a group that I love and respect who know that my politics is different from theirs on certain issues, come over to me at the Kiddush and we chat about the week’s events and we challenge each other and we joke with each other. Right after the march in Charlottesville, one individual said to me, “You know, the president should not have made a statement that there are good people on both sides. It was wrong.” Recently he asked me, “Are you concerned with the negative views on Israel that some of the new Democratic congresspeople are expressing?” And I said, of course I am. And we spoke about that.
When there is a good will, we can invite one another to transcend our own ideological frameworks enough to be thoughtful about each situation and about the overarching issues.
11 beautiful human beings were laid to rest just a few weeks ago. The tragedy makes us sad, angry, fearful. But let it not tear us apart from one another. We need to join together. Jews need to join with those outside the Jewish community who want this to be a land of liberty and justice for all.
And no less importantly, we Jews need to join with one another to fight hatred, against us, against anyone, no matter the source.
Hinei mah tov u'mah na'im - how good, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters come together. The outcome of this coming together is always better than when we pull each other apart.
Originally shared with the Temple Israel of Great Neck community on November 17, 2018
Communal prayer gathering at Great Neck Synagogue on October 29
We are challenged in these situations by what we might call the “second sentence phenomenon.” There tends to be agreement on the first sentence that we say after a terrible tragedy like this. Something like, "We are horrified, angry and saddened by this devastating attack."
And then comes the second sentence, where the divergence sometimes appears. About recent events I’ve heard, just as two examples, versions of “this is a result of the hateful rhetoric being spouted and supported by our president” or “this is because of Democrats who cozy up to anti-Semites like Louis Farrakhan.”
At times like this, I turn to people I trust, people who I believe see clearly and think clearly and write clearly based on significant understanding along with good common sense. And one person I turn to about these matters is Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University who successfully defeated Holocaust denier David Irving in a libel trial that he initiated.
Following the Pittsburgh shooting she wrote an article in Time magazine about how we should understand and respond to anti-Semitism by opposing it, vociferously, no matter the source - right or left - and no matter whether we are right or left-leaning in our own politics and ideology. Here is a chunk of what she wrote, all worth mentioning, all worthy of deep consideration:
"Do not look for haters only on the other side of the political transom. Those on the political left who only see antisemitism on the right have blinded themselves to what is happening in their own midst. Those on the political right, who are only concerned about the “lefties” on the campus and beyond, are blind to what is happening next to them.
"We may never change the minds of people who send pipe bombs or enter a sanctuary with guns blazing. But we can stop them from influencing others. This year, at Thanksgiving dinner, when your curmudgeon uncle or successful cousin (not all haters are old and ornery) begins to rant about Jews, Blacks, Muslims, and LGBTQs who are ruining this country, do not sit idly by. Challenge them. Do so, not to change their minds, but to reach others – especially young people – who are listening and watching and learning. Silence is an imprimatur for hate and prejudice.
"Do not think that this attack is only about Jews. It may start with the Jews, but it never ends there. And conversely, it may start with others – Muslims, African Americans, LGBTQ identifying folks – but it will ultimately reach Jews. Lost in the legitimate media attention to the pipe bomber and the Pittsburgh murderer was the fact a few days earlier in Kentucky two African Americans were murdered outside a supermarket by a white nationalist. He had tried to gain access to a predominantly African American church but found the doors locked. Instead, he went to the nearby mall to find some Blacks to kill. And he did."
I’ve spoken in the past about all of the points she makes, but in this context, I want to underscore the first point. When right-leaning Jews give a pass to right-wing enabled anti-Semitism and when left-leaning Jews give a pass to left-wing enabled anti-Semitism, we’re all wrong.
Right-wing anti-Semites like Richard Spencer need to be opposed strongly - by our leaders, by each and every one of us. Left-wing anti-Semites like Louis Farrakhan need to be opposed strongly - by our leaders, by each and every one of us.
A few years ago, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, spoke here on Yom Kippur and he said, multiple times, we have real enemies. Meaning, let’s not turn each other into enemies. In this regard I feel compelled to point out, as many of us know, that the man who walked into Tree of Life synagogue last week and killed 11 Jews and wanted to kill more didn’t care if they were Orthodox or Reform or Conservative or Reconstructionist. Didn’t care if they were Ashkenazi or Sefardi or Mizrachi. Didn’t care who voted Red and who voted Blue. He just wanted to kill Jews. Let’s think about that. Let’s think about that the next time we use more energy attacking each other than we do fighting the hatred that is directed toward all of us.
The noted author Yossi Klein Halevi recently posted a video of his response to the following question asked of him by a student at the University of Chicago.
Since Zionists oppress others, isn’t engaging with Zionists similar to engaging with the KKK?
And Yossi calmly, but pointedly, explained that the question is an anti-Semitic question.
What anti-Semitism has always been, said Yossi, is an effort to claim that the Jews represent the worst phenomenon imaginable in every situation.
So Christian anti-Semitism was based on the notion that the Jews killed Jesus. What could be worse than killing the Lord and Savior? The Jews did that.
Nazi anti-Semitism was based on the notion that the Jews were leading the effort to make the white race impure. If the goal is to purify the white race, what could be worse than mucking up the races? The Jews did that.
Now racial equality and giving a voice to the oppressed are good things. But anti-Zionism that is really anti-Semitism disproportionately blames the Jewish state for apartheid, racism and oppressing the marginalized. Again, the Jew is doing the worst thing possible.
We could have long, engaged conversation about whether the right-wing form or the left-wing form of anti-Semitism is more pernicious. And there might be merit to that. But we need to acknowledge - say Deborah Lipstadt and Yossi Klein Halevi and - that they both are quite dangerous and need to be called out and opposed.
Recently the editor-in-chief of the left-leaning Forward, Jane Eisner, and the editor-in-chief of the right-leaning Algemeiner, David Efune, joined with other leading journalists in crafting a joint editorial that was signed by a dozen leaders in American Jewish journalism and printed in their respective publications.
Here is a portion of that editorial:
“For many Jews, the United States has long held a unique role in our collective imagination. It has been an unprecedented land of promise, of refuge, of freedom, opportunity and of safety.
“But after the horrific attack this past Shabbat at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in which 11 of our brothers and sisters were brutally murdered, we can’t help but be shaken and concerned for the America we have come to know and love.
“We therefore join together to unequivocally condemn this brutal act of anti-Semitism and all deadly acts of hate. We also condemn the climate of hate that has been building for some time now, especially on college campuses and on social media, where the veneer of anonymity has allowed anti-Semitic cesspools to flourish, and from irresponsible political leaders who engage in hateful speech and who are abetted by the silence of others.
“As journalists, we hold a variety of opinions about politics in this country and in Israel; the American Jewish community is diverse, and those differences are reflected on the pages of its media.
“In coming together now, we are not erasing those differences, but rising above them, to issue a call for solidarity and respect, and asking our political and communal leaders to do the same.”
Shortly after the shooting, the spiritual leaders of over 15 synagogues in Great Neck synagogues called upon their membership to attend a joint gathering of prayer, held at Great Neck Synagogue on Monday, October 29. Hundreds were in attendance. I looked around the room and I thought to myself, how powerful it is that we’re together. A number of us were asked which psalms we wanted to include in the service.
By the time I wrote back, a whole bunch were already selected. All of them beautiful, poignant ancient prayers. I wrote back saying, there’s one missing and I really want to include it. The one that begins - שיר המעלות shir hama’alot. A song of ascent. הנה מה טוב ומה נעים שבת אחים גם יחד Hinei ma tov u'mah na'im shevet ahim gam yahad. Behold, how good and how beautiful for brothers and sisters to come together.
Virtually each week, a group that I love and respect who know that my politics is different from theirs on certain issues, come over to me at the Kiddush and we chat about the week’s events and we challenge each other and we joke with each other. Right after the march in Charlottesville, one individual said to me, “You know, the president should not have made a statement that there are good people on both sides. It was wrong.” Recently he asked me, “Are you concerned with the negative views on Israel that some of the new Democratic congresspeople are expressing?” And I said, of course I am. And we spoke about that.
When there is a good will, we can invite one another to transcend our own ideological frameworks enough to be thoughtful about each situation and about the overarching issues.
11 beautiful human beings were laid to rest just a few weeks ago. The tragedy makes us sad, angry, fearful. But let it not tear us apart from one another. We need to join together. Jews need to join with those outside the Jewish community who want this to be a land of liberty and justice for all.
And no less importantly, we Jews need to join with one another to fight hatred, against us, against anyone, no matter the source.
Hinei mah tov u'mah na'im - how good, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters come together. The outcome of this coming together is always better than when we pull each other apart.
Originally shared with the Temple Israel of Great Neck community on November 17, 2018
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