Breathe
By Adina Chelminsky
Last week I was dialed by my son who is studying outside of Mexico.
It was weird for me because he's pretty independent but he chatted me "can I dial you, it's an important and quick question".
I dialed him.
Ma, do you think I should hide my tzion (the Star of David around my neck)?
I could not answer.
I have always taught my children not to hide who they are, but their fear got to me.
When we hung up, I cried.
It is not an isolated problem. What's more, their sentiment is minimal compared to what Jews are experiencing today around the world.
Violent attacks and destruction of synagogues.
Beatings in the street.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations that turn anti-Jewish (the line is a fine one).
Shouts of strangers in the street.
Paintings and tarpaulins on the streets around the world.
Ridiculous fake news.
Paid hordes of trolls inciting the virtual masses.
Elastic.
Killer Jews.
Hitler was right.
We are going to make soap.
Kill the Jews.
Gas the Jews.
Rape their daughters.
This is not a wall of lamentations, it is the daily reality of what we Jews live today, in some countries more, in others less, throughout the world.
Many people think that the red card of "ANTI-SEMITISM" at this time is to divert attention from Israeli management mistakes or responsibilities in the Palestinian issue. Gaslighting, they call it.
It doesn't go that way. Not at all. Criticism of Israel (as long as it is informed, truthful and as objective as possible) is valid, necessary and we Jews ourselves do it every day.
But the documented reality is that we are experiencing the strongest wave of global anti-Semitism in the last 80 years.
Coincidence? We know it is not
Whenever there is a conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors, anti-Semitic events multiply by the hundreds. Beyond social networks, they begin to appear in the "real" world.
This does not happen in any other conflict in the world.
I have never seen that the problems in Syria incite "kill the Muslims" (Asaad is a Muslim, isn't he?), that Iranians are besieged in the street because of the ayatollahs' management, that nobody demonstrates in front of the war in Ukraine shouting "Death to the Russians" or that a Hindu temple is burned when there are problems between India and Pakistan.
What is it about the issues in Israel that incites this level of viscerality among Jews around the world? Jews who may or may not feel a connection to the State of Israel and who undoubtedly have very different positions on the conflict.
Sadly the answer is anti-Semitism. I would love to find another reason. The line between hating the Jewish State and hating the Jew is very thin.
Saying the word anti-Semitism has become politically incorrect but it has not disappeared, in some groups it is still valid, in others it has become much more subtle and that subtlety becomes terrible in times of conflict.
Let me explain: The problem is not the express and confessed anti-Semite. That is what we are used to: those who openly or in their private circles hate Jews. They will not be the first nor the last.
The problem today, are those (even with Jewish friends) who have preconceived notions about what Jews are or are not AND THAT is what makes her come to automatic and biased conclusions about all conflicts involving Jews and the Jewish state.
And those preconceived ideas make them fall into media manipulation and minimize the problem or make them keep quiet when Jews are attacked.
All Jews are rich...so they demonstrate their greed for land.
The Jews feel they are the chosen people... That is why they are the colonizers of the Palestinians.
The Jews want to conquer the world... that's why I don't bother to read the most basic world history to learn about the conflict.
The Jews control the media...that's why they manipulate the news from Gaza.
There is a Jewish brotherhood... That is why world leaders support them.
The Jews killed christ (believe it or not this is the biggest argument I get in private attacks)... so who are they not going to kill?
Having preconceived notions about any person or group of people is not only false and idiotic, it IS ALSO A FORM OF HATE because it generates the indifference and silence that are complicit elements of the worst tragedies in history.
And yes, I speak of anti-Semitism because it is what hurts me and what I have to live with today, but it is not only a Jewish issue.
The same logic of preconceived notions as a prelude to hatred/silence hits Muslim moms who want to protect their children from Islamophobia, African-American moms who want to defend their children from police violence, moms of LGBTQ+ youth who witness the hatred their children receive for being who they are.
The Jewish question is a universal question about understanding the other, about tolerance of the different, about respect, about preconceived notions that generate violence, about people who say nothing.
And this is a question that EVERYONE should care about.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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