Wandering Jew

Numerous threats have been made against Jewish institutions in the US in past weeks. It appears they have come from outside the country. It appears they are threats without, so far, substance. The effect and intent of these threats is obviously to instill fear in the Jewish community, and deter attendance and participation in Jewish communal life. It appears to be working.

Hanukkah, a holiday (albeit minor in religious experience) that is joyful, and perhaps the most widely celebrated by Jews in the US, had a dark shadow over it. People expressed concern about open celebration. Hannukiot were lit, and then quickly extinguished and dismantled.

I have pointed out before that if you are reluctant to be a Jew openly now, just wait. It won’t get easier. This is the slippery slope that begins with hiding one’s identity. Sure. There is rationalization — it is not hiding, just not openly giving opportunities to angry crazy people. But in the end, there is an acknowledgment that there is something wrong with being openly Jewish, and, more significantly, the acknowledgment that one lives in a society where this is dangerous.

I could give parallels to Nazi Germany. They are numerous. Especially notable is the “adjustment” one makes to get by

There is a lot of research on the concept of a “bystander” in genocide studies. There is the “victim” and the “perpetrator”. Sometimes those two roles are clear. Sometimes the line is muddied. “Bystander”. Scholarship is evolving to question whether “bystanders” are really innocent. [1]

The role of bystander is characterized by passivity. Acquiescence. But the very existence of such people lends legitimacy to the acts stood by, and grants power to the perpetrators.

I am not trying to “blame the victim”. However, where the intended “victims” still have a significant amount of power and agency, and choose not to act (obviously self-interest is inherent in bystander thinking); are they bystanders to their own undoing?

I am using all this fancy rhetoric to suggest that we not hide. We not divest ourselves of our Jewish characteristics and activities. We invite our allies to join us in the celebration of what it means to be Jewish. And not be passive.

[1] For example, see https://dc.law.utah.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1069&context=ulr