Struggling with the Hatred

Every morning, I sit at my desk and the first email I open is from the Secure Community Network. It’s the daily update of all antisemetic incidents from the day before in this country and other countries. As of late, it’s getting harder and harder to read them as the incidents feel closer to home and more frequent. A congregation in Portland Oregon had a fire set in front of their building and an antisemeitc message was painted on an exterior wall. This is days after Yom HaShoah where they celebrated six local survivors of the Holocaust. I emailed their Executive Director and expressed our outrage and offered support. He said while there is nothing we can do from Vermont, he was thankful to know we are thinking about them.

I am struggling with all the hatred. I know I am not alone in this struggle, so please know we are all here to lean on each other.

When I opened my email this morning, there was an email from Andy Orringer with an Op Ed his niece, Natalie L. Kahn wrote for the Harvard Crimson, I Am a Crimson Editor and I Stand with Israel. She writes about being a writer for the Crimson and having their Editorial Board say they support BDS. She talks about being a Zionist and standing with Israel.

Natalie writes:

“But this editorial is part of a larger trend of singling out Jews, conveniently neglecting our half of the story — and by extension our right to self-determination — while claiming to “oppose antisemitism.””

“Judaism is not just a religion; the Holocaust is only one of many examples of Jews targeted as a people. Exiled after centuries in the Land of Israel, the Jewish people have always been outsiders — they have been pushed out of Europe and the Middle East, and 2019 FBI data indicate American Jews were 2.6 times more likely than Black people and 2.2 times more likely than Muslims to be victims of hate crimes.”

After reading her Op Ed, I feel less alone. I stand with Natalie. I stand with Israel.