"If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." – Lilla Watson
As we approach the end of the week, Jews the world over are once again preparing for Shabbat, which celebrates the seventh day of Creation when God looked at what had come to be and said: this is good, and I have earned a break. It is a sacred day, one of peace and of rest.
This week is different for many of us. We are thinking about the 11 Jews gunned down while gathering for morning worship at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. And we are asking ourselves what this act of profound, premeditated violence means for the safety of our communities, our sacred spaces, our friends and ourselves.
Delegitimize anti-Semitism, white supremacy, and bigotry when you hear it and when you see it.
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With the holidays approaching, we have the opportunity — and the responsibility — to challenge those in our lives who may make offhanded racist and bigoted comments instead of just letting their comments slide. When you hear things like "Jews control the media" or "she got that job because she's black," call it out.
When people say these things, even in jest, they reinforce the stereotypes in our head that make someone else "other" than we are. It's hurtful to your Jewish and black friends to hear these things, sure, (in fact, it's increasing their cortisol levels and lowering their working memory) but it's also changing your brain chemistry. As you allow someone to become an "other," you lessen our brain's capacity for empathy toward that person or group. Your unconscious mind makes them, literally, less human.
Did you know that the synagogue attacked on October 27 is a Conservative synagogue—one of the three mainstream denominations of Judaism in North America? Did you know that the diversity within Judaism is often more dramatic and more divisive than the differences between Judaism and other faiths? Can you even imagine how many times I have been asked if I speak "Jewish"? (FYI: you can't speak Jewish. It's a religion, not a language. Israelis speak Hebrew).
Do what you can to support immigrants and refugees.
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The gunman who attacked Tree of Life Synagogue was not motivated solely by a hatred of Jews. He believes in the absurd and paranoid conspiracy theory that Jews are plotting to bring immigrants and refugees into this country to eventually perpetrate a mass genocide against white people. This is anti-Semitism, to be sure, and it is also a manifestation of the type of violent, hate-filled, fear-mongering rhetoric that is fraying this country at every edge. And it's coming from the top. (The Trump administration recently announced that the US will accept a record low number of refugees in 2019.)
Meet this darkness with light. Support organisations that support immigrants and refugees (like HIAS), either with your time or with your money, and for the love of everything good—vote for candidates who will advance compassionate and comprehensive immigration reform.
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Demand every elected official in the known universe support gun violence prevention legislation.
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The gunman who killed 11 Jews on Sunday had an AR-15 style assault rifle. Why? Because they are easy to get and cause a ton of damage very quickly. I don't expect Congress to suddenly pass a law banning all firearms, nor am I asking them to. I am urging them to start with little things that will make a big impact on the number of lives lost to senseless violence, like banning the purchase and sale of assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines, establishing universal background checks, and restoring funding to the CDC for research on gun violence. You can urge them to, too.
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Get to know someone of a different/no faith.
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Interfaith dialogue is important because it teaches us how to look at the world through a different lens, expanding our capacity for empathy. November 7 is the Hindu celebration of Diwali. December 2 is the first night of Hanukkah for Jews and the beginning of Advent in Christianity. These are all great opportunities to meet new people, ask them questions and build bridges.
And this Shabbat, many Jews will look for comfort and solidarity by going to our synagogues for Friday night services. Many of us will be scared. But you can come with us, showing up not just for your Jewish friends or neighbours, but to prove that hatred and violence cannot win. Show up with an open mind and an open heart. I promise you will be welcomed.
The Jewish community is not nearly the first to be targeted by hateful, bigoted violence but let me be clear — this violence is not inevitable. Our actions determine our future. And so, may it be the last.
