Combat antisemitism with real time actions and replace hateful messages with love

Echo letter published in the Evanston, Illinois Round Table:

My Evanston Illinois neighborhood was blanketed in March 2024, with antisemitic flyers. All indications seem to be that they are from someone out of town. Someone came to my neighborhood to spread hate and make our Jewish neighbors feel unsafe. The thing that was so insidious about these vile actions is that they took place in broad daylight – several of the placards were placed on cars around noon.

As citizens of Evanston, we have to raise our voices against this. We cannot accept such abhorrent actions happening right under our nose. We must make sure that our Jewish friends and neighbors, as well as members of any religious minority, feel safe in our town. Anything less is a travesty and betrays the high ideals that we aspire to.

Outbursts of hate often make us feel powerless, but this is meant to be an empowering letter. Not content to let hate speech have the last word, we organized in our neighborhood to place signs with messages of love and acceptance – like “hate has no home here” and “love defeats hate every time” – as well as messages that condemn antisemitism: “We reject antisemitism in this neighborhood.” About 16 signs went up on the block that was targeted by antisemitic flyers.

This is a small act of resistance, but it is meaningful. We could not stop the original flyers from being placed, but we can spread our messages of a pluralistic society where everyone can be themselves. Most of all, it allowed us to feel like we did something; we were not powerless. Sometimes it can feel easy to lose hope in our world, where suffering seems to be increasing at an exponential rate, but these small acts of kindness do matter. They give us agency and a way to fight for our ideals.

To the hate-filled person placarding our neighborhood: you are wasting your time. Your hate won’t win in this neighborhood. To our Jewish friends and neighbors: you are an integral part of our community. For everyone else who may face something similar: I hope you use all of your skills, cleverness and resources to fight back, because our neighbors are worth fighting for.

Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf, is Senior Minister, Lake Street Church of Evanston:  The Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf holds a Doctor of Theology (ThD) degree from Harvard Divinity School. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee - Knoxville with a BA in Religious Studies in 2011, and completed his Master of Divinity degree at Harvard Divinity School in 2014. Michael is also an ordained American Baptist Churches USA and Alliance of Baptists pastor currently serving as the Senior Minister at Lake Street Church of Evanston in Evanston, IL, a progressive congregation with a commitment to social justice and interfaith dialogue.