The Silence Is Deafening

In the face of outright antisemitism personified by Kanye West’s hateful rhetoric the silence is deafening. In the face of a more insidious form of antisemitism where Israel alone is blamed for the conflict with the Palestinians the silence is just as deafening. The progressive activists, who claim to champion human rights, barely acknowledged the deaths of 250,000 Yemeni children just seven years ago or the killing of 500,000 Syrians in a true ethnic cleansing during the Syrian civil war that displaced 13 million people. They did not shut down tunnels or protest at Universities for those deaths but find their voices only when it comes to condemning Israel and Jewish people. Their selective outrage is impossible to ignore. It is not merely silence; it is hypocrisy.

The unwillingness of non-Jewish people to speak up at the very least, for a balanced response to current events is unacceptable. Not because they are Jewish, and not because they are not Jewish, but because they should be decent people. The realization that so many choose to stay silent in the face of rising antisemitism is, for many Jewish people, is deeply painful. It confirms a harsh truth: the Jewish people, time and again, have been left to stand alone. It was believed by many that as a society we were past that, but recent events are proving that we are in fact not.

Even more incomprehensible are figures like the Pope, who frequently criticizes Israel’s morality while leading a Church that has struggled with its own deep moral failings. This is the same institution that largely turned its back on the Jewish people during the Holocaust, yet it now positions itself as an arbiter of Israel’s ethical standing. The lack of nuance, the lack of historical awareness, the sheer lack of balance is all truly reprehensible. We should not simply pick on the church because the list of those guilty of the above moral bankruptcy is very long.

And then there are the Jewish people who should know better. Their silence is just as deafening. Fear of repercussions, fear of being ostracized, fear of saying the wrong thing none of it should outweigh the greater fear of saying nothing at all.  These excuses do not hold water, especially among those that are secure in their positions financially and otherwise. “Friends” actor David Schwimmer who attended the ADL conference  said “I wish you would stand up. I wish you would speak out because your voice would be so meaningful to your fans who love you, to your community members who need you, to folks who can use just a little solidarity right now.”

Pastor Martin Niemoller, a German theologian who opposed the Nazis, had a famous warning about staying silent in the face of rising oppression:

“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.”

This quote has resonance today with the current lack of voices in our national conversation condemning straight forward antisemitism.

It should not be difficult to condemn someone like Kanye West. Kim Kardashian – why have you not unequivocally spoken out? There should be an overwhelming chorus of voices rejecting his rhetoric. And yet, the silence persists.

This is a call to action. A call to reject that silence. A call for Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist and all people to speak up not just for Jewish people, not just for Israel, but for balance, for nuance, for truth.

The cynics say history will repeat itself. Prove them wrong. Speak up.