Only a Hanukkah miracle can counter surge in unrestrained antisemitism

 

This column on the unprecedented levels of antisemitism, published in the Dec. 6, 2023, edition of The Sun Chronicle, throws no punches, but it's something that needs to be said.
Antisemitism has not only spiraled out of control in this country and the world, as I say in the column, but it’s the worst that I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.
With Hanukkah starting tonight (Thursday, Dec. 7) with the lighting of the first of eight candles, I’m posting the column today.
The link to the column, as it appears on the newspaper’s website, follows: https://www.thesunchronicle.com/opinion/columns/larry-kessler-hate-at-hanukkah/article_e2d653d2-12fd-5958-b634-8675fdf1cc59.html
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“I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? … If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?"
--- Shylock in William Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” Act 3, Scene 1

Shylock, the antagonist in Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” is portrayed as the bad guy  --- a Jew with money who in this play published in 1596 is pitted against Christians.
He’s one of many characters, both in Shakespeare’s works more than 400 years ago, and in Charles Dickens’ novels (Fagin in 1838’s “Oliver Twist” comes quickly to mind) that not only portrayed Jews in a bad light, but also perpetuated centuries-old stereotypes.
I mention those fictional characters to illustrate that Hitler was hardly the first person to make Jews out to be scapegoats, thereby promoting antisemitism ---  something that many Jews have experienced, either overtly or in a subtle form, which today is called “micro-aggressions.”
I’ve often endured the latter kind from people who’ve told me “you’re not like the other Jews” or “you don’t look Jewish.”
That especially happened in my 20s and early 30s. At that time, while working in Canada, Vermont and Florida, both my beard and hair had red highlights, and with my thick Boston accent, I often hid my Jewishness. Only when quizzed on my “ethnicity” did I acknowledge being Jewish, and it was then that people would utter the aforementioned responses, to which I’d inevitably retort: “Sorry, but I left my horns at home today.”
Those incidents occurred close to 50 years ago, and many others have followed over the years. For instance, I’ve been around people at social gatherings who made blatantly antisemitic remarks in my presence, but out of respect for the friends hosting the parties, I said nothing.
That was likely a mistake, and I can no longer keep quiet about antisemitism, especially now. That’s because, in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel --- and Israel’s declaration of war on the terror group, which has led to thousands of civilian deaths and widespread destruction in Gaza --- antisemitism in the United States has spiraled out of control.
According to the ADL Center on Extremism, between Oct. 7 and Oct. 23, there were 313 antisemitic incidents, harassment, vandalism and assault --- an increase of 388 percent over the same period last year.
The Attleboro area hasn’t been immune. A bomb threat Oct. 14 at Attleboro’s synagogue, Congregation Agudas Achim, disrupted that day’s Sabbath service, including a bat-mitzvah ceremony; racist and antisemitic graffiti was found at the city’s Balfour Riverwalk Park; and racist and antisemitic leaflets from the extremist group NSC-131 were distributed in Attleboro and Plainville.
Islamophobia also has been on the rise since the Mideast War began --- the Council on American-Islamic Relations said it received nearly 1,300 discrimination complaints in the month following Oct. 7. That compares to 63 reported incidents in August.
Those incidents of hate point to the sad conclusion that extreme views are dominating the conversation. With some exceptions, people are being forced to choose sides and then are demonizing the other one. Most rallies are either pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian; few people are advocating for the only way to have a genuine chance at peace: a two-state solution that guarantees the sovereignty of both the Israelis and the Palestinians.
The skyrocketing antisemitism is not only disturbing, but it’s also emboldened far too many non-Jews to lump all Jews together and blame every last one of us for the far-right excesses of the Israeli government. Far too many antisemites were caught whooping it up after Hamas’ Oct. 7 bloodbath that included the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians that evoked images of the Holocaust. That’s why it’s not surprising that many Jews are now fearful for their safety and their very lives.
All of this hatred doesn’t bode well for Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights, which will start Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, with the first of eight candles lit tonight (Thursday evening Dec. 7, 2023). The last candle will be lit on Thursday, Dec. 14 in advance of the last day on Friday, Dec. 15.
As a result of the war, and the ensuing ugliness toward American Jews in particular, I wasn’t sure whether to offer my annual Chanukah Charlie column, but I ultimately decided that education remains the only hope to counter antisemitism, so here’s this year’s quiz, which I offer in an attempt to shine a glimmer of light on what will be an extremely dark winter.
NOTE: The quiz will be posted on my blog over the weekend.
Larry Kessler is a retired Sun Chronicle local news editor and can be reached at larrythek65@gmail.com. He blogs at larrytheklineup.blogspot.com