(Jewish Group) The anti-Semitism targeting us Jews isn't 'back' -- it never left
When news broke of the thwarted attack on a synagogue in Germany yesterday, I was reminded of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere ... Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." Similarly, anti-Semitism anywhere is a threat to religious freedoms everywhere. But its startling resurgence has largely fallen on deaf ears worldwide.
Jews who do not walk around with a kippah or a Star of David may not realize the full extent of the problem, either. Recently Jewish children have been bullied in schools and a rabbi was attacked on a street — and 12 Jews were murdered in two synagogue shootings in my home country, the US, in the last year. Still, like many others, I have been tempted to dismiss them as terrible but isolated incidents. Because I, a Jewish person not immediately recognizable as one, have felt safe in my everyday life.
But after Halle, I realize: I was wrong.
Ignorance begets prejudice
In 2017, 78% of Jews in Germany felt under increasing threat, and the number of attacks against Jews in Germany rose 10% to 1,646 incidents from 2017 and 2018. But attacks on synagogues have occurred numerous times since the Holocaust, and anti-Semitic attitudes persist widely.
more...
