Do's and don'ts
“Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased.
The ADL reports that there have been “at least 18 physical attacks have been committed at synagogues in the United States in the past decade, with over 50 total incidents recorded worldwide. [1] Many of us have seen the videos of two Jewish men being attacked outside a restaurant in San Jose, California, on Sunday after they were heard speaking Hebrew.
In the FBI’s report on 2024, there were 1,702 recorded antisemitic incidents targeting Jewish institutions in the United States, including synagogues, schools, and community centers. Synagogues were the primary targets, receiving 558 bomb threats. Jews account for about 2% of the U.S. population, were the second-most targeted group (after Anti-Black or African American bias) remains the largest single-bias category., with 18% of all reported hate crimes being committed against the Jewish community in 2024. Yesterday we saw an attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan.
A few do’s and don’ts when we make public statements after such attacks
It's become fairly common for Episcopal clergy to say something in sermons and for dioceses and parishes in the region of such attacks to release public statements. Here's my short list of things to do and things not to do. Maybe. a bit of “things done and left undone.”
Don’t jump past official information.
Do wait for statements from Jewish institutional leaders or law enforcement to confirm what happened. You don’t want to call it a hate crime when it isn’t and at the same time you don’t want to avoid acknowledging it as a act of antisemitism when it is. In some cases that may mean an immediate statement of sympathy and support. That might later be followed by a statement acknowledging the anti-semitic nature of the attack and stating specific ways in which we can support the Jewish community as it struggles against antisemitism.
Do stay with the particular nature of the event if it is an act of antisemitism and acknowledge how it is part of a larger pattern of growing antisemitism. Acknowledging the particularity of an event is essential in its respect for human dignity. We want to validate their specific and unique experience. We want those under attack to feel seen and understood.
Do not diminish the truth of the antisemitism by using it as an opportunity to make political points by connecting that particular attack to the current war or events in Gaza over the last two years. Don't turn it into a generalized statement against hate and hate crimes. Avoid treating it as a generic and formulaic loss. If it involves vandalism and violence do not call it free speech.
Do weigh in with support for Jewish leaders and institutions when mobs intimidate and threaten them.
Don't rationalize away the hostility in verbal abuse. Shouting, cursing, chanting is often a form of bullying intended to create fear, humiliation, and anxiety among the Jewish targets. Such activities may be legally protected speech while also being morally unacceptable. Mobs of masked people surrounding a synagogue is comparable to the KKK surrounding a black church
Understanding antisemitism
One of the difficulties some Episcopalians experience is understanding the nature of antisemitism as expressed from right-wing and left-wing perspectives. As the Episcopal Church clearly leans to the more liberal side of the American political spectrum, we have a special moral responsibility to understand how antisemitism is expressed from that position. Sister Michelle and I have done some writing on that — Antisemitism - yes, again, The menorah and the swastika: The light shines in the darkness, Antisemitism is like crabgrass
For he shall give his angels charge over you, *
to keep you in all your ways.
They shall bear you in their hands, *
lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the lion and adder; *
you shall trample the young lion and the serpent under your feet.
Because he is bound to me in love,
therefore will I deliver him; *
I will protect him, because he knows my Name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; *
I am with him in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him to honor.
With long life will I satisfy him, *
and show him my salvation.
Psalm 91 Qui habitat, Evening Prayer tonight
This abides,
Brother Robert, OA
The Feast of James Theodore Holly, Bishop, 1911