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What's On Our Mind ...
On Tuesday we marked the 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht. It was a turning point in the autocratic takeover of Germany by the Nazis. No longer did the Third Reich engage in antisemitic rhetoric. Now it was condoning and fomenting violence. That horrific night set in motion the mass extermination of Jewish communities across Europe.
Each year we stop and remember this date to honor the victims and be sure we do not forget where hateful speech and policy can lead. Today we see antisemitism and hate in every part of our life. All these years later, it has not ended.
The Proud Boys, a far-right, neo-fascist hate group, showed up to “stand watch” at a recent school board meeting in North Carolina. Dressed in their black and yellow uniforms, the Proud Boys conjured up images of Hitler’s violent, paramilitary Brownshirts.
At local Michigan and Ohio school board meetings, parents gave the Nazi salute, which Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) defended during a Senate hearing. These school board meetings are now a hotbed of antisemitism as debate has raged over COVID policies. That hate will only spread throughout those communities and beyond.
The GOP is allowing and even fanning the hate. We know what to expect during this campaign season with their bigoted, hateful campaign themes. They can’t win on policies, so they will embrace a culture war laced with antisemitism, hatred, and bigotry.
They receive help with this from their members on the Hill. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) tweeted out this week - while we were reflecting on and commemorating Kristallnacht - that she has much in common with the Nation of Islam and its leader Louis Farrakhan. Her vile behavior continues to get no condemnation from her party.
Remembering our painful past will not prevent us from a painful today or tomorrow - but it can be a lesson. This must inspire us to speak out and work to defeat all forms of hatred.
Call your Senators and urge them to confirm nomination of Deborah Lipstadt as U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. This is a critical position in our fight to end the hate.
Do more than just remember. Act.
Share this information. Work with JAC to elect candidates who will #EndTheHate.
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