Sympathy to the Jewish communities everywhere - Jersey City New Jersey mourning

Jersey City shooting is just outside of New York City, the massacre of innocents is another ugly moment of anti-Semitism that needs to stop | Opinion echo published in NorthNewJersey.com

The casket of Moshe Hirsch Deutsch is carried to a hearse as thousands of Orthodox Jewish men crowded Rodney Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn Wednesday night for the funeral Deutch, one of the victims of the fatal shooting in Jersey City. (Photo: Seth Harrison/lohud.com)

Anti-Semitism  (the evil harboring of hostility to or prejudice against Jews) has been a torment that Jews have been forced to reckon with for centuries. Unfortunately, anti-semitism's manifestations both in the United States and abroad are alarming for a new reason: the degree to which the mainstream of civil society — politicians, media, academics, public intellectuals — has seemingly tolerated, without loud and sustained outcry, the most blatant acts of intolerance.

Not a day goes by without the report of anti-Semitic incidents in communities throughout America:
Swastikas have been painted on, and in, school buildings and playgrounds.   In multiple Brooklyn neighborhoods, acts of anti-Semitic violence against Orthodox Jews have become commonplace — synagogue windows are smashed, and pedestrians are violently assaulted;

Hate-filled messages are spewed across multiple social media channels.

Jews — like the members of every religious group — are entitled to practice their religion without fear. We should feel safe walking to synagogue, sending our children to school or shopping at the local kosher supermarket without fear of being attacked. Civil society has, by its actions or its failures to act, enabled anti-Semitic conduct to slowly work its way beyond the fringes of our society, both left and right, and infiltrate the mainstream of our social fabric.

Pittsburgh and Poway, and now Jersey City, are perhaps the most terrifying and repugnant examples of a manifesting anti-Semitism that is engulfing our country.

According to a recent survey conducted by the American Jewish Committee, nearly nine out of 10 American Jews (88-percent) say anti-Semitism is a problem in the U.S. today — almost 40-percent call it a very serious problem. Nearly a third of the Jews polled have avoided publicly wearing, carrying or displaying things that might identify them as Jews; a quarter have avoided places or events out of concern for their safety; a third reported that Jewish institutions with which they are affiliated have been targeted by anti-Semitic attacks, graffiti or threats.

But what of the rest of America? Do Americans see anti-Semitism as a blight on our cultural and societal ideals and values?

Our American democratic tradition, rooted in First Amendment values, has seemingly placed the right to speak freely above all other societal norms. But one must question whether such a hierarchy of principles in fact fosters the democratic and pluralistic ideals that we aspire to, or whether it simply legitimizes conduct that carries with it the seeds of the ultimate demise of democracy itself.

Have we made way for a new form of anti-Semitism, one that is much more subtle and allows for seemingly reasonable political debate to blend easily into anti-Semitic tropes, providing cover to those who peddle vilification and animus in the guise of wholesome and legitimate discourse.

Unregulated and easily accessible social media has fueled the fires of hatred and bigotry. We laud the efforts of the Anti-Defamation League which is working closely with major social media platforms, like Facebook and YouTube, to mitigate the organization and recruiting capacity that they offer to extremists of all stripes. Precisely because social media platforms are unregulated, they serve as accelerants for hatred, and allow for free and the immediate dissemination of anti-Semitic and racist ideology to the mainstream public. The threats from open access to social media are real; truth is far less of an antiseptic than we care to imagine. We need to recognize these dangers and learn to balance our concern for free and open speech with an equivalent recognition of the clear and present threat of vile and racist falsehoods.

The only way that anti-Semitism, and all forms of hatred, can be eliminated is when we all, collectively, refuse to allow it.

We need everyone, inlcuding our politicians, journalists, academics and public intellectuals — and decent citizens everywhere — to call anti-Semitism by its proper name wherever and whenever it rears its evil and ugly head.

Jews echo opinion of Trump and the Holocaust

Trum's voices of hatred:

An echo opinion published in the Houston newspaper, The Houston Chronicle by Richard Cherwitz*

As a Jew and proud American I am horrified and deeply offended by the increasing number of stories about the rise of anti-Semitism and racism both at home and abroad. 

Too often, we get embroiled in unproductive debates about whether Donald Trump is anti-Semitic and racist. Moreover, to suggest that he is directly the cause of this hatred and violent activity misses the point and obscures a legitimate worry.

What is clear is that Donald Trump's hateful rhetoric and actions have, at minimum, emboldened and empowered those such as the neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacists. The best examples of this are Trump’s repeated unwillingness explicitly to condemn and disassociate from racist behaviors since he came down the escalator and announced his candidacy for president, as well as his suggestion that there were good people on both sides of the Charlottesville protest — all of which was taken as a wink and a nod to extremist groups. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that following his election these groups literally have come out of the shadows and are now a daily part of current events. The same is true in Europe as well, where the growing influence of nationalist leaders seems to be correlated with an increase in hateful discourse and behavior.

What especially troubles me is the context in which all of this is happening. First, political polarization, which may be at an all-time high and level of intensity, appears to feed on, as well as take advantage of and exacerbate, such hatred.

Second, we live at a point in history when the “Browning of America” unfortunately is regarded as threatening to some who for the first time will become the minority. Many of these people even blame their own problems on increasing numbers of the non-white population.

Third, and even more worrisome, is the fact that younger Americans, who as a professor I teach, as well as younger citizens of the world, do not have a memory or knowledge of the Holocaust that their parents and grandparents had. 

Several of my students told me last semester that, while they “believe” the Holocaust took place, they feel ill-equipped and unprepared to respond to those who suggest otherwise. 

Sadly, there are fewer individuals capable of making cogent arguments supported by more than opinion to rebut Holocaust deniers.

Fourth, and as has been repeated over and over in the last two years, too many people no longer have an understanding or appreciation of “facts” and truth.” 

All of these — and many additional factors — make anti-Semitism, racism and hatred more possible and tolerable.

The only antidote to this is awareness and resistance. The media has a professional obligation to expose this problem. Republicans, most of whom are good and decent people, must do what they haven’t, namely, speak out forcefully against the president’s racist discourse, telling him there will be no more business as usual. Put simply they must stop normalizing, protecting and enabling Trump simply because they fear political repercussions. Cowardice is no excuse for permitting unethical behavior; not reprimanding Trump is tantamount to agreeing with him.

Teachers must do a better job of educating students about the history of the Holocaust; but we must make sure the next generation understands the clear demarcation between “facts” and “opinion” and that statements like “the truth is not the truth” are unacceptable. 

They must have the wherewithal to argue effectively, always employing critical thinking skills.

And the rest of us, many of whom don’t follow or engage in politics, must avoid the complacency that existed in pre-Nazi Germany—a complacency that arguably allowed the rise of Adolph Hitler. Like many Germans then, we must stop saying this can’t or won’t happen in the United States. It is imperative that we have the courage to protest often and loudly, making clear “never again.”

Put simply, rather than merely debating whether President Trump is the cause of the problem or whether he himself is a racist and anti-Semitic, let’s move beyond partisanship, calling him out and vigorously resisting. While it may be trite to say, years from now all of us will be asked: What did you say or do to prevent this?

*Richard Cherwitz, Ph.D., is Ernest S. Sharpe Centennial Professor in the Moody College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin.