Responding to haters and pleading with bystanders to find their voices
J’accuse.
Anyone who utters “intfda nw,” “globalize the intfda,” or “g-s the Jews”—among other offense slogans—or hears them and nods in acknowledgment or agreement has rot at their core.
But what of those of you who do nothing—not a murmur of discomfort, not words of disagreement for anyone (even the self) to hear?
What of those who shrug when told of the cancellation of events including or featuring Jewish or Israeli authors, singers, artists, speakers?
And those who learn of the non-inclusion of Jews and Israelis from jobs and positions and honors and boards and committees and decision-making bodies?
And those who downplay or claim that they’re “making a mountain out of a molehill”?
What of their commitment to anyone but themselves?
And what of those who see Iranians hanged by their government and shot on the streets asking to be free who look away because it’s not the story that they connect with? (“No Jews, no news” is far too real.)
Silence encompasses acceptance. Silence does not lead to peace, but accommodation and appeasement, which—as millions of people in the past century alone can attest to—can slippery-slope lead to handing over the keys of the kingdom to those who will destroy it and each of us.
What kind of a world do you want to live in? This is not just about Jews and Iranians and the “them’s” of the world: this leads to each of us, and the lives we live now and how we hope to continue living in the future.
Can not knowing be an excuse these days?
Can not caring be care-free?
I used to teach this quote by Martin Niemöller, a Lutheran pastor in Germany and an outspoken critic of Hitler’s, who spent years in Nazi prisons and concentration camps.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Is this what people need to hear to stir them from the doldrums and isolation of their leave-me-aloneitis, it’s-not-about-me-itis, bystanderitis?
Silence erodes one’s image of being a good, caring person. Some things are black and white. No nuance is needed. No context is applicable. Calling to kill people because of who they are deserves condemnation, period.
None of this nonsense about blaming Jews for the tsunamis of hate and vitriol dulls the vileness. Enough of this projection onto Jews of your dark inside, your shame, your seething sense of superiority—your conviction that one voice doesn’t matter. There is no moral high ground or claim to morality when you allow hate to fester, erupt, spread.
A person who encourages the murder of another person for their identity has not entered this century. We haven’t reached the 21st century simply to enjoy the air conditioning, medical advances, and ease at ordering food to your door. At this point in history, one would think/hope/expect that “live and let live” and “you do you and I’ll do me” would be the norm, with basic caring for our neighbors to protect us all. We really do need to keep repeating the original:
וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם׃
And God created humankind in the divine image, creating it in the image of God—creating them male and female.
No one is better than another. None of this “my way or the highway.” Opt for a way of being that inspires inner peace and compassion, rather than aggressive judging, which then positively seeps into your interactions, your responses.
So many centuries of war and conflict behind us. Are we destined to keep repeating the mistakes of the past? What wisdom have we gained? We are each created in God’s image. (Believe in God or not, this is still a fundamentally good way to interact.) In the beginning we were given such a basic instruction to follow. So many embellishments have come after, but isn’t this, truly, words to live by?
Each of us, every Jewish person and each person not implicated in the hate, needs to think about how we respond to what is happening beyond disgust and fear.
You can start by listening to Boy George’s new song, “We Will Dance Again.”
