By Phyllis Chesler
After completion of the reading of each of the five books of the Torah in synagogue, the congregation calls out, “Chazak, Chazak, V’nitchazek!” It might be translated:
Be strong! Be strong! And let us be strengthened!
I thought this a good way to begin.
I want to carry through on that theme of strength in a different context: the fight against anti-Semitism. I recently described the plague of Jew hatred currently taking place in the U.S. But there is a great deal more to be said on the issue with regard to how Jews are responding and need to respond.
Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, author and professor of Holocaust Studies at Emory University, recently said the following (JewishInsider.com):
“The hatred that is antisemitism can best be compared to a herpes virus, a disease that cannot be cured. There are no easy correctives, no magic pills, and no silver bullets. This fight might be one that can never result in total victory. The roots of this hatred may be too deeply embedded to ever be fully eradicated. However, we must act as if we will be able to achieve that victory. The costs of not doing so are too great.” (Emphasis added)
An observation that is both wise and realistic.
There are those who believe that combatting anti-Semitism is best done via outreach and education. There is a place for this, most certainly. But changing hearts and minds – if at all they can be changed – takes considerable time.
In the short-run, Jew haters must be made to understand that expressions of their hatred, whether via public statements or acts of violence, will not be tolerated. Anti-Semitism is already on the edge of being normative or socially acceptable. That social climate must be changed:
[] Those who act violently or threateningly towards Jews must understand that there will be major consequences. Right now that is not the case.
[] Those who speak with venom about Jews must be called out and ostracized. There can be no ignoring such incidents, regardless of the source.
[] Leaders must know that they will be held accountable. They too should be called out when necessary. Legislation that addresses the issues must be promoted and passed.
[] Jews must think in terms of physical self-defense. That includes taking courses in self-defense techniques. I think in particular about Krav Maga, an Israeli-developed technique that is taught in N.Y. and elsewhere, but there are other techniques as well, including those that train in situational awareness.
Carrying pepper spray is a good option.
In some instances, consideration should be given to securing a licensed handgun and training for its use. This might include one or persons present at synagogue services who carry and are trained to use small handguns.
Neighborhood security patrols should be formed, as police cannot be everywhere even with the best of efforts.
On Sunday, January 5, a huge “No Hate – No Fear” solidarity rally was held in New York. Participants—said to number a very sizeable 25,000—gathered at Foley Square in Lower Manhattan and marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn, where there were speeches (some by politicians) and musical performances. Those joining the event included Jews from across a sizeable spectrum and some non-Jews; many carried “No Hate – No Fear” signs.
Part of the answer lies with the fact that one of the official sponsors of the rally was ADL – the Anti-Defamation League.
This is what columnist and JNS editor Jonathan Tobin had to say about ADL at the end of November, in a piece entitled, “Who can speak for American Jews against anti-Semitism? Not the ADL” (emphasis added):
“…The ability of the titular leader of British Jewry to speak out in the defense of the community’s interests at a crucial moment also makes it just as clear that at this moment there is no single person or organization that can play the same role for American Jewry.
“This is particularly true when it comes to the one group that has always been relied upon to be the principle voice speaking out against anti-Semitism: the Anti-Defamation League. Under the leadership of Jonathan Greenblatt, who took over from veteran director Abe Foxman in 2015, the ADL abandoned its former status as a respected nonpartisan agency devoted to monitoring and combating anti-Semitism. Under Greenblatt—a former Clinton and Obama administration staffer—it has become just one more liberal Jewish group with a partisan agenda …
“To its credit, the ADL has been all over the problem of anti-Semitism on the far-right. Even on that score, however, it has staked out ground that makes it hard to be a unifying factor. Greenblatt’s unrelenting animus for President Donald Trump and his efforts to blame him for anti-Semitism have failed to properly credit the U.S. administration as the most pro-Israel in history.
“Its belated response to the targeting of Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn by African-Americans has been too little and too late, and bespoke more of a group that is addicted to playing politics than a national defense organization…
“Just as bad is the fact that under Greenblatt, ADL has been slow / reluctant to recognize the threat from the left … That’s hardly surprising given Greenblatt’s role in an Obama administration that helped normalize anti-Israel sentiment within the Democratic Party …
“Part of the problem with confronting anti-Semitism is that partisans only see threats from their political opponents and are blind to dangers from their political allies. Rather than work against that trend, the ADL exemplifies it…
“…American Jewry’s primary defense organization has become part of the problem, not the solution.”
https://www.jns.org/opinion/
Yet another issue to be raised is whether there was a legitimate place in the rally for participating groups that are anti-Zionist and pro-BDS. I would argue most vigorously that there was not, but several groups were present: J Street, IfNotNow; Jewish Voices for Peace, and others.
“You cannot pretend to stand in solidarity with Jews when you stand against the Jewish State and Jewish communities in its indigenous and ancestral homeland. This is hypocrisy and a contradiction, and we should not be afraid to say so.”
In a tweet, a member of IfNotNow wrote:
“Even though there are many voices there we disagree with (even loathe), we have to engage at places like this if we are going to guide our community to where it needs to go.”
There are a great number of issues associated with anti-Semitism to address – far more than can be dealt with here (although I am fairly certain I will be returning to this situation).
There are instances of people who have attacked Jews being hauled into court and then set free to continue their behavior as before.
“You have to beat the hell out of somebody — or murder them — for there to be any consequences,” said Dov Hikind, the founder of Americans Against Anti-Semitism. “Otherwise, you are set free.”
However, the focus here is not on San Diego U, (whose officials should have vetted her before the invitation was extended) but on the words of this Farrakhan representative. She’s out there – virulently, shockingly anti-Semitic, and she is speaking to black audiences who embrace her message. It’s enough to make one’s hair stand on end. This is a reality that we must confront!
Credit: Stop Antisemitism
https://israelunwired.com/san-
And a good way to end: Chazak, Chazak!!
Farakhan is the elephant in the room and he is an Iranian agent. His group teaches that Jews are demons created in a laboratory to inflitrate and destroy the black community. . A young guy on the same site where I was attacked in one of the first punching attacks in NY some years ago, quoted this theory to me a week later, telling me he knew I was a Jew from looking at me, telling me not to try and deny it. I found this wikipedia article about this bizarre theory years after he told it to me and that’s how I found out it’s origin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakub_(Nation_of_Islam)
On the same site where I had been attacked a week earlier, a young black man accosted me and said he knew I was a Jew and I shouldn’t try to deny it and that he knew, being an educated man who had graduated from Medger Evers College, that Jews were demons created in a laboratory to inflitrate the black community in order to destroy African-Americans. Years later, I stumbled across this bizarre theory on the internet. Turns out this theory is the doctrine of Farakhan’s Nation of Islam. Farakhan’s influence cannot be understated. There are pictures on the internet of him posing with Obama, Clinton, Jesse Jackson, hugging Maxine Waters. Cory Booker, who claims to have good relations with the Jewish community, refused to distance himself from him, many if not most, if not all of the members of the Black Congressional Congress are friendly with him. He is the elephant in the room. And he is an Iranian stooge. He has visited Iran and is close to the government. He has spoken publicly there. This article includes Jews but emphasizes whites but this guy said Jews. That’s why Jews who think they will get gratitude for selflessly altruistic charity work in troubled black communities have no idea what kind of lethal hornet’s nest they are getting themselves into. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakub_(Nation_of_Islam)
From the Jewish Press (New York):
Hate and evil have sunk deep roots in the black American community. From having been oppressed in the past, many black Americans have now become oppressors. The unwillingness of most black Americans to confront the crime and drugs that plague their communities, and that create a cycle of poverty in their wake, may be a major reason why so many blacks have turned viciously against Jews as a scapegoat. People who are unwilling to face up to their real problems, like many people in Germany, Poland, Belorussia, Russia, France, Britain Iran, and the Arab countries turn on the Jews as a scapegoat. The fact that Jews are a nonviolent minority makes them a vulnerable target. Antisemites are cowards, afraid to confront their real enemies, and so they persecute friendly, peaceful neighbors.