There is solace in forgetting, or rather, ignoring, that I am part of a minority. Without a particular attunement to my dark curls and the size of my nose, or the Hebrew jewelry that I quite honestly don't know how to read, nothing about me draws attention to the fact that I am part of something that most aren't: Judaism. However, the peace of mind I experience going relatively unnoticed for this fundamental difference from most of my peers comes to a halt at least once a day, when streaming across the internet comes news of a shooting, a bomb threat, a stabbing, aggravated arson, a cemetery defacement, or a swastika on the bathroom wall in _______High School for the fifth time this year. The list goes on and on, and I would be naive to believe that just because I have so fortunately never fallen victim to any acts of antisemitism as horrendous as these, I never will.
There is absolutely no doubt that there exist individuals and organizations that have fostered and continue to harbor dislike for the Jewish religion, its practices, and its affiliates since the start of recorded history. As my pretty extensive internet digging has indicated, thus far, it is the only form of religious discrimination so prevalent and long-withstanding that has gained its own word. And laced within that all too common word, antisemitism, rings out a far more grave one: hatred.
In my understanding, hate, such as that so frequently directed towards Jews, can be set off by a number of factors ranging from fundamental disagreement, minute distinctions in opinion, just plain ignorance, the necessity for unity against some "other," all the way through fear or intimidation of said "other." You've probably been told at some point that "hate" is a strong word, but understandably so- the extreme dislike driven by hate is rooted far deeper than simply qualitative characteristics. However, no matter its origin or magnitude, there is one commonality across all hate: it is acquired. I firmly believe that no human is born hating something or someone. So, when a child is born into an environment or organization in which the main associations with Jews are descriptions of power-wielding, wealthy-yet-stingy, taking-over-planet-earth individuals, it is no surprise that they would grow up with an inclination to express their hatred in a harmful or offensive manner. By this logic, it could take hundreds of thousands of years to reduce the impact of environmentally inherent biases that foster hate.
Of course, I am no expert, and it is pretty impossible for me or anyone to nail down exactly what has led to the abundance of scapegoating, violence, and despicable demonstrations of detestation towards Jews. But that does not mean we cannot try. And most certainly, we cannot continue to attribute incidents to simply following in the shadow of the horrifying events that comprise the Jewish past. This is not the past.
I do recognize and appreciate that the vast majority of people are in support of Judaism, despite its minimal presence throughout the United States and my local community. When these tragic instances of antisemitism do occur, there are no shortage of messages of solidarity and support via Instagram, and outraged commentators on Facebook. But are those 30-second clips or blue and white, Jewish star-adorned "thoughts and prayers" and "I stand with Israel" graphics really enough to combat 5,775 years worth of hatred?
