Dear WJC Family,
Our country, this week especially, has seen an amplification of voices that seek to blot out those that are different than White, Christian, and American. Anti-Semitism is not new to the Jewish people. Indeed, for most of Jewish history it was the norm. From time to time, there were decades of respite - at least from the most overt and dangerous forms of hatred. Yet these periods did not last long.
Perhaps the longest and most meaningful stretch of relative peace has been in the United States. Founded on principles of freedom and liberty, our people found a true home. This is not to say that anti-semitism disappeared. However, it was contained by the ideals of our nation and the collective dream of peace of American citizens.
Yet the single most important difference between periods of violence and years of respite throughout our history was the political leadership of the host nation. It was never our capacity to blend in. Neither was it an enlightened "love" of the Jews that kept anti-semitism in check. It was the respect for the leader and the leadership of the government.
This is why the recent positon of President Trump should be of vital concern to the American Jewish community. The President's misguided moral equivalency has empowered armed Neo-Nazis in Charlottesville and, we can be quite sure, throughout the country.
And this is not only about the Jews. The President's lack of moral leadership has brought fear to every group that stands outside of the white supremacist idea of free citizenship. Throughout American history, the Jewish people have stood side by side with these people seeking a peaceful and meaningful life in the United States.
And we must continue to do so. What makes this current situation radically different from most others in Jewish history is the political and economic power that the American Jewish community holds. The power was born in our dedication to the founding principles of America and the countless contributions that we have made to American society.
But with power comes responsibility. We must view the fight for freedom - freedom for every American - as falling squarely on our shoulders. The very values which the President has endangered are values which were born in our tradition. We may disagree with each other with regard to social policy. However, it is time to put those differences aside when the opportunity to debate those differences in a peaceful and respectful manner is threatened.
The Westchester Jewish Center will stand with all people and groups which seek to assure a safe and meaningful life in America without regard to religion, sexual orientation or ethnic background. Even as a dark cloud descends upon America, WJC recognizes its responsibility to be a light that will dispel that darkness.
Jewish history and Jewish tradition informs us that this is not a time for fear. Fear is the only weapon that hatred successfully employs. Rather this is a time to find courage, strength, and love in the pride we share as Jewish Americans and move forward fearlessly.
We pray for the victims. We hold in our hearts the family of Heather Heyer, the holy soul that was killed in Charlottesville while fighting injustice. At her funeral this week, her mother shared the following powerful thought,
"They tried to kill my child to shut her up, but guess what, you just magnified her."
In her continued legacy, we must magnify our own voices and actions. As our tradition demands, we will band together with all those other disenfranchised groups. We must not blend in. Let those things that make us uniquely who we are give us strength in our unity to stand against hatred and bigotry and to wholeheartedly live out "never again!"
Rabbi Segelman
Rabbi Yolkut
