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A MESSAGE FROM THE RABBI
(LINKS ARE IN RED)
Please read to the end of this message for something that you need to do to help the Jewish people.
The first historical record of antisemitism is what we have been reading for the last few weeks. The narrative of the Book of Exodus is explicit, and we see in it the same rhetoric and despicable action that will haunt the Jewish people, throughout history, to this very day.
Look at verses 8-14 of Chapter 1 below:
8) A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.
9) And he said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are much too numerous for us.
10) Let us deal shrewdly with them, so that they may not increase; otherwise in the event of war they may join our enemies in fighting against us and rise from the ground.”
11) So they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor….
12) But the more they were oppressed, the more they increased and spread out, so that the [Egyptians] came to dread the Israelites.
13) The Egyptians ruthlessly imposed upon the Israelites
14) the various labors that they made them perform. Ruthlessly they made life bitter for them with harsh labor at mortar and bricks and with all sorts of tasks in the field.
In it, the Jews are described as the “other”, which gives Pharaoh, and the Egyptian people license to completely subjugate them. This scene has played itself out myriad times since. (A non-exhaustive list: Assyria, The Babylonians (Nebuchadnezzar), the Persians (Haman) the Greeks (Antiochus), the Romans, the Alexandrians, the Christians, the Byzantines, Muslims, Spain, Italy, France, Turks, the Crusaders (also Christians), England, Yemen, Germany, Constantinople. And the list goes on, and on, and on. All the way through the Nazi onslaught, and to what is occurring on college campuses today)
God redeemed the Israelites from Egypt but, it seems, with each subsequent chastisement, the Jewish people, and/or fate were, mostly, left to address the issue.
Why am I raising this issue here? One way to combat antisemitism is to identify it when it occurs. While this sounds easy, or at least it should sound easy, abusers often say that we Jews are overly sensitive. We are told that what is clearly antisemitic is simply a misunderstanding. We cannot accept this any longer
This is a good time to stop and remind you, dear reader, that antisemitism is rampant in this country and in the world. By some accounts it increased by 344% from 2022-2024. (See this Times of Israel article: https://www.timesofisrael.com/global-antisemitism-surged-340-in-two-years-report-finds/). For reference, it was very high in 2022.
I am raising the issue here because there is a definition of antisemitism that has been adopted by some 45 countries, including the United States. (See the list here: https://www.ajc.org/adoption-of-the-working-definition). The definition was written by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2016.
Therein antisemitism is defined as follows:
Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
Perhaps more importantly, because so many abusers claim that they have been misinterpreted, or misunderstood, the IHRA prepared a list of examples of antisemitism:
Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic. Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for “why things go wrong.” It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.
Contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere could, taking into account the overall context, include, but are not limited to:
1. Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion.
2. Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.
3. Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.
4. Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).
5. Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
6. Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
7. Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
8. Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
9. Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
10. Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
11. Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.
Looking at the examples, there is no doubt that what has been occurring on college campuses and in local schools and towns, is antisemitism. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
Why am I writing about this now? JCC congregant Jill Grunewald has alerted us to an important issue. Many states have adopted the IHRA definition. Somehow New Jersey, with 581,200 Jews (6.6% of the population), has not adopted it. We need to change this. Apparently, the New Jersey legislature is looking at this issue in the current legislative session. For the text of the Bill, click here:
https://legiscan.com/NJ/text/S1292/id/3010589
We need to advocate for ourselves.
If you do not think it is important, please understand that antisemites are calling in to stop the definition’s adoption by falsely claiming that it violates free speech by stopping Americans from critiquing Israeli policies! This claim is inaccurate and an abuse of the first amendment rights that we cherish.
What can we do? No matter where you live in the state, we need you to call these legislators and express your support for the definition.
Look for the state representatives for your district, or call:
NJ Senate President Nicholas P. Scutari (732) 827-7480
AND
NJ Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin (732) 855-7441
Leave a message. You can Say the following:
“Legislators need to combat the 103% increase of antisemitism in New Jersey. I support New Jersey’s IHRA bill as a vital tool to define and combat antisemitism. Please be a part of the solution to this growing problem in our state and the world.
Thank you in advance for doing your part of strengthen our community and the Jewish people everywhere.
Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Michael S. Jay
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