Tuesday night marks the end of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, just two weeks ahead of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism. But celebrations come amidst growing anti-Semitic sentiment and action in the Commonwealth and beyond.
Robert Trestan, the director of the Anti-Defamation League in Boston noted that they’ve “been tracking anti-Semitic incidents for 40 years, and the numbers that we’ve seen in the last couple of years are at historic highs.”
Since March, the most notable instances of anti-Semitism in Massachusetts are three separate arson attempts at orthodox Jewish centers in May, vandalism including swastikas and slogans like “Hitler 2020” on historic sites and the defacing of 59 headstones in a Jewish cemetery.
The murder of 11 members of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburg last October is the most well-known anti-Semitic attack in recent years. These are the first High Holy Days since the massacre that has caused many to fear openly practicing Judaism.
Apart from blatant attacks and this type of extreme hate crime, Jewish people face microaggressions rooted in these ideologies every day. Not being seen as a “mainstream minority” because of the myth that all Jewish people are also white has shoved the issue of anti-Semitism into the shadows of public debate.
But discrimination and hate are not competitions. There are an abundance of racial, ethnic, religious and other minorities that are consistently verbally or physically attacked and shamed.
Pointing out that Jewish people are one of these groups does not aim to discredit anyone’s struggles and suppressing their right to fight back perpetuates the very issue at hand. Anti-Semitism has a much more complex history than the Holocaust and persecution thousands of years ago.
Not all racism comes in the shape of blatant claims that one group is superior to another, although Jewish people are no exception to this practice either. Oppression can also mean “jokes” about big noses and money that feed into damaging and false stereotypes.
It can also mean the systemic abuse of Jewish people as a political talking point. Apart from hot topics such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and neo-Nazi rallies or candidates, many politicians use language that alienate the Jewish community.
President Donald Trump told reporters in August, “I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
Targeting Jewish people this way, in reference to the support of Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib “over” Israel, implies that any Jewish person that does not fully support the state of Israel is disloyal to Judaism and the United States.
This is an alarming and dangerous claim that furthers the issue faced by many Jewish people that have been seen as traitors for their criticism of Israel. It is also another example of subtle ways anti-Semitism has not only made its way into the mouths of ignorant civilians, but also ignorant politicians and public figures.
Political discussion should never target a minority group in a way that is not aimed at lessening their struggles. Eliminating oppression means more than speaking out against physical violence or blatant discrimination in employment, housing and more.
As Jewish people across the world celebrate the new year, let us all commit to bringing real change to the discourse around anti-Semitism to include comments and actions that isolate Jewish people in everyday life.
