I am Jewish. I grew up in a very secular home, reluctantly went to Sunday School on Sunday and Hebrew School on Wednesday. I loved the sugary snacks served at break time and the boys in my class. The Hebrew, history and holiday lessons? I could take or leave.
My mother knew no Hebrew, never fasted on Yom Kippur and, I’m sure, never knew the difference between Shavout and Simchas Torah. My dad, growing up in Upstate New York, was kicked out of Cheder (Hebrew School) for bad behavior. The fact that his parents had no money to pay for his Jewish education didn’t help matters. He never returned.
However, that didn’t stop my parents from giving my brother, my sister and me a thorough education in antisemitism and the Holocaust. I started reading The Diary of Anne Frank when I was in 5th grade. Since then — throughout my entire life — I have continued to read books on the mass slaughter of six million Jews by the Nazis. I read memoirs, historical fiction, non-fiction, essays and poetry — anything I can find on the topic — while trying to make sense of the senseless.
Dormant terror and rage lived in me.
Could it happen again?
I grew up thinking it couldn’t.
It was too scary to think otherwise.
Until October 7, 2023 that is.
Since then, my stomach has been in knots and my terror has grown. I don’t feel safe anywhere. I am terrified for my adult children. I am hysterically terrified for my grandchildren. What a world they will be inheriting.
Cornell University had postings on a bulletin board encouraging students to follow a Jew home and slit his throat.
Russian mobs stormed Dagestan Airport to take out the Jewish passengers arriving from Tel Aviv. Hours later, Putin claimed — without proof — that the airport riots were staged from the Ukraine.
University presidents of prestigious institutions struggle with their responses to such blatant evil. They dance around the fact that Hamas is a terrorist group focused only on death and destruction of the Jews. They are reluctant to squelch their students protesting Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 slaughter of innocents.
There is an uptick in antisemitism.
President Biden is getting rampant criticism for his support of Israel.
Israel is being held to a different level than other countries — constantly having to prove her right to exist — having to counteract those who feel, we as Jews somehow “have it coming to us.”
To those who think like that, I respectfully direct you to the article by Ann Landers about Jewish contributions to the world, which can be found online.
Hamas is a terrorist organization — intent on perpetrating evil. They don’t want better lives for their people. They want the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. They fight for death and evil.
Hamas invaded Israel based on meticulous, well thought out plotting and planning, but Hamas made no provisions for their people’s water supply, food, electricity, medical care and wellbeing after they slaughtered innocent civilians in Israel in the most inhumane manner.
And Hamas strategically places their commander’s headquarters in close proximity to Palestinian refugees so their innocent civilians get massacred when Israel rightly so retaliates.
G-d bless advertising guru Donny Deutsch, who, on October 30 on MSNBC had the courage to call what Hamas has done as blatant antisemitism. Deutsch said that Israel, “a civilized, human-valued driven democracy,” is held to a different level than any other country and the Jewish people to a different level too.
This is a dangerous time. And I feel very vulnerable, as do my people. And I know my parents and grandparents would be proud of me for raising my voice in the face of such gross injustice.
MAKE NO MISTAKE: I feel for the Palestinian people.
MAKE NO MISTAKE: Israel didn’t start this war and Israel didn’t want this war.
MAKE NO MISTAKE: Let’s hold accountable those who should be held accountable for rape, pillage, barbarism and immorality. And stop blaming Israel for defending itself and its people.
MAKE NO MISTAKE: We, in this country, would do the same.
It’s hard to keep our cool with antisemitism rearing its ugly head all around us, but let’s try to discourse with dignity and respect.