Superheroes in our midst

Realizing I now spend up to an hour each day forwarding on letters on antisemitic and anti-Israel events that I get in a WhatsApp chat, I wanted to know more about the people behind one particular chat. The letters are written to officials in response to antisemitic and anti-Israel events in cities large and small, schools and universities, and of course media. This particular chat provides links to pre-written letters that I open, read – admittedly cursorily as they are long with detail and references – sign and send on. I am in awe of the effort involved so I decided to reach out to the administrator to learn more.

Due to potential issues should the wrong person getting access to such a chat, the administrator  for this chat wants to remain under the radar and will not be named here nor will the name of the chat. Access to the chat is by invitation only to ensure a safe environment for all participants. One can join only by being invited by a “trusted friend or family.”

The trigger to “do something” was seeing the hostages’ posters being torn down. The callousness was hard to accept. It was so pervasive. Volunteers involved in an effort to encourage Jewish day school students to become advocates for Jews expanded to respond to antisemitism and to anti-Israel sentiment wherever it occurred. Unfortunately, the need was great and growing. More volunteers joined. All involved including writers, editors, technologists and admin support are volunteers. They recognized that we are in a digital war and responded in kind. These volunteers scour the digital news and connections to identify areas of concern, particularly small US cities that seem to want to pass resolutions on the BDS or a cease fire.

The chat grew. Currently, there are over 1,000 people in my group which I am told is one of 14 chats of similar size. There are other WhatsApp groups advocating for Jews which are more open in order to promote events. The one that is the subject of this report focuses on letters that are so prolific it is difficult to believe that just 15 people do the writing. It is a monumental effort. The facts in the letters are presented in almost legalese language with extensive references. The resulting letters are quite lengthy. Each letter is pre-addressed to  multiple people in the target organization. The goal is to reach a decision maker who will read the information in the letter in order to understand the fairness and implications of what he/she is being asked to vote on or to respond to be it for a cease-fire resolution, support for BDS or hosting an event that incites increased antisemitism.

The day’s postings typically start with a picture and story dedicated to one hostage reminding us how precious each one is. There may be over 20 postings a day including a happy one if there is a “win” which may be a city council rejecting a request for a cease fire resolution or a retraction of an antisemitic statement.

The coverage of the United States is extensive. If something is on Instagram or Facebook, they learn about it. They also hear from people in communities throughout the United States. Curiously, there is a greater and growing number of smaller cities and towns that are voting on ceasefire resolution and the like so I can find myself sending a letter to a city I never heard of.

This grass-roots effort exemplifies what ordinary people can do when they organize together to deal smartly with an intractable overwhelming situation. This chat is having an impact. The number of “wins” is multiplying. The people behind this chat are our new superheroes. We are lucky to have them.