Q: I am noticing that there are more and more protests in my community. At the No Kings march, 99% of the signs were about democracy, However, I saw one woman holding a sign that said, “Kill all the Jews.” In my mind, this crosses the line between protest and incitement, and yet no one bothered her. I went to another protest, which was called a demonstration in celebration of the International Human Rights Proclamation. First, various activists read the separate article of the proclamation. Then the individual representatives spoke about specific human rights: a labor group talked about fair wages, a hispanic group talked about interference in South American countries and a lawyer for Islamic rights spoke about the need to protect Muslims from discrimination and name-calling and the right for Palestinians to have a state. There was no speaker against discrimination of Jews. I am wondering why, with all the various Jewish groups working to combat anti-semitism, they are not represented at each and every protest?
A: The battle to protect the rights of Jewish people has used many different methods over the years. Just before the destruction of the 2nd temple, the Rabbis escaped to Yavneh to continue studying, and thus preserve Judaism and Jewish learning. The Maccabees used fighting to preserve Judaism. Queen Esther did not confront the King directly, but rather curried favor with him by inviting him to dinner to tell him of the threats to her people. In other words, we have tried many tactics to overcome antisemitism. While none of us know the best way to react in a particular situation, I believe it is most likely that we cannot just depend on major national Jewish organizations to do all the talking for us. We have to be willing to speak up, or at least make a decision to keep silent in a particular case. Each of us will be faced with decisions on the methods we use to protect our communities, and we will have different answers. Sometimes our willingness to speak up has to do with the strength of our convictions. Some Jews feel that Israel can do no wrong. They believe that Israel has every right to defend itself in any way necessary and at any cost to Palestinian life. They may have no problem jumping into any conversation to defend Israel’s actions. Most of us know Jews who are much more ambivalent. Like many Israelis, they feel that there has been too much loss of life in Gaza. The decision to speak up or not speak up is a dilemma. Combatting antisemitism is a tricky problem. How, when and by what method to do it has always been problematic.
In America, we as Jews have the right to defend ourselves. Yet not every protest is about Judaism or Israel. The No Kings March was a perfect example. That was a very specific march with the very specific purpose to promote democracy. Of course, people were taken aback by a “Kill all the Jews” sign. They were not prepared to counter or defend, other than to perhaps quietly express to the sign holder that this was a march for democracy, not for violence. In this case, ignoring it might have been a good strategy since reacting would have given the sign holder more attention and amplified her message.
At the Human rights protest, there was no outright anti-semitism, but there was a glaring absence of representation by any Jewish organizations. If one had been there, they could have spoken about the Jewish desire for peace without demeaning any others.
Much of the anti-semitic rhetoric that the Jewish community is facing is on the internet. Some major Jewish groups are focusing their attention on that sphere. The Jewish Leadership Project reports that the African Jewish Alliance has an intensive social media campaign, which exposes the anti-Christian jihad across Africa. The American Jewish Committee has worked with Irish politicians to defeat proposals to change the name of a park from that of the Belfast-born Israeli Prime Minister, Chaim Herzpg, to the name of a Palestinian child. After the Boni beach massacre, AJC is working to limit anti-semitism in Australia.
These organizations cannot be everywhere. Thus, there is a need for Jews everywhere to be vigilant about defeating antisemitism in their own communities. One can do this in many ways, sometimes protesting, sometimes speaking out, loudly and clearly. Other times, one must speak person-to-person, by talking behind the scenes to leaders or by inviting people to your home for Shabbat or holidays.
We are fortunate in America to have the right to speak out. We must be aware of what is happening in our communities so our views are represented. We can talk about protecting our own people. After all, Article 2 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration, without discrimination of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.”
One of the dilemmas is figuring out when we want to bring anti-semitism and Israel into the larger discussion and when it is best dealt with quietly one-on-one. We can’t allow others to silence us.
We may not be able to come up with a good retort at the exact moment we are a part of or witness an anti-semitic incident, but we can pick up later. Ideally at any rally or protest, we must be present. We can speak positively about our own needs and rights. Having a positive presence keeps us at the forefront of the peaceful political process and requires each of us, in whatever way we feel is constructive, to combat anti-semitism.