This article originally appeared in The Clarion’s October issue
The month of October has become a time of mourning for Jewish communities around the world. As a result of sentiments related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, it has also been marked by a rise in anti-Jewish hate in the U.S. For a religious community that has often looked to America as a place of refuge, the unthinkable is happening: History is repeating itself.
Rabbi Judy Chessin of Temple Beth Or in Dayton, sees her community’s ongoing experience as a black mark on their long history in the U.S. Their ongoing struggle has become another sign of the divisive times we live in.
“Right now, we live in a time where passion is being whipped up by both sides and it has been overwhelming. You see a lot of Jews being beaten on the street in the larger urban centers,” she said.
For generations dating back millennia, Jews have experienced frequent bouts of persecution. The list of massacres, riots and pogroms is as long as it is tragic.
“It’s been easy for people to turn on the Jews. As a small and successful minority, many targeted them because they represented an ancient ‘other’. In the pre-modern world, antisemitism was often driven by religious differences. But it is after the industrial revolution that we see it used more frequently as a political tool,” she said.
Historically, she explained, Jews have been a sort of canary in the coal mine for nations.
“I sometimes wonder if we have a trauma gene. Frankly, I imagine Muslims have the same thing as do Christians in some communities as well. In our experience, when a society turns on its Jews they quickly turn on others soon after. That is typically the case when one group considers another to be the source of all their problems,” she said.
The cause of the current surge in antisemitism is linked to a flare-up in the Israel-Hamas war. On Oct. 7 2023, a coordinated series of attacks killed over 1,500 Jews. It was the largest Jewish massacre since the Holocaust according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Israel’s response and the reaction of her neighbors has divided people around the world.
Chessin told The Clarion, “Unfortunately, the political differences people may have with Israel’s response to Oct. 7 can very easily bleed over into anti-Judaism. Suddenly every Jew is seen as being responsible for every death in the Middle East. It’s kind of a blurry line, between anti-Zionism and anti-Judaism, one that has been crossed. We see it on campuses particularly where people who are protesting what is going on in the war is suddenly blocking doors to prevent Jewish students from getting into classes.”
It isn’t the first time Jews in the U.S. have lived in fear. Attacks on synagogues in 2018 and 2019 put Jewish communities around America on high alert.
“In Dayton we have been cautious for several years after a spate of synagogue shootings in the country. We’ve had to be vigilant, up our guard, keep doors closed, and have professional security teams to keep us safe. While we’ve been relatively lucky, we have faced difficulties in Ohio. We get a lot of emailed threats and things of that nature but we hope it’s just a lot of hot air,” she said.
The rabbi sees parallels between the ongoing wave of antisemitism and the Islamophobia Muslims experienced after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“I think in these decades, while it’s often started with Jews, what we saw happen to Muslims after 9/11 is the same dynamic. The stereotypes go crazy and suddenly it’s good versus evil and whatever group people want to hate that week becomes the root of all evil,” she said.
Recent statistics from the FBI bear out the reality that both tend to rise at the same time as they are now. In a statement to Congress in July, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that since the Oct. 7 terror attack, threats against Jews and Muslims across America have increased.
“Our top concern stems from lone offenders inspired by- or reacting to-the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, as they pose the most likely threat to Americans, especially Jewish, Muslim, and Arab-American communities in the United States,” Wray told the House Judiciary Committee.
History has shown that the kind of othering we see in America and other societies today has typically been used to camouflage the political aims of bad actors. It’s often the first step toward the precipice, one that typically ends in disaster for all.
“Since Oct. 7 all our holidays have been tinged with a sense of mourning and fear. In America, we thought this nation was always above this kind of behavior. Then we saw it happen for a decade to Islam and still thought we were safe, but of course none of us are safe,” Chessin stated.
Living in fear
It can be hard for some to imagine a life on the edge, one where every religious observance comes with reminders of pain. Even worse, however, is to have a target put on your back for something you have no part in. For Jewish communities across America, that is their lived reality. Boycotts, threats of violence and slurs have become common.
“It’s just this new awareness of the vicariousness of our position in any society, even in the wonderful, golden land of America,” Chessin said.
People, Chessin is quicky to emphasize, all want the same things. They just want to be happy and live in peace. It’s those that bring terror, no matter who they are or where they come from, that is the common enemy of humanity.
“Who we all hate are the murderers and the people who bring terror, not a whole religion or group or race. But it’s hard for people to get those nuances when they get their information off TikTok and quick bites on X,” Chessin said.
Hope for better tomorrows
The rabbi like many members of her community is hopeful for the future. This difficult time, as other eras of persecution in Jewish history, will pass.
Chessin said, “We are living in a divided time where it is in the best interests of politicians and the media to divide us. We as citizens have to fight that and overcome it. I don’t mean censorship or anything like that. I mean we have to find platforms and avenues to bring people together to see that the people they are prejudiced against are just like them; to realize the humanity of our neighbors.”
The majority of people are well-intentioned and educatable, the rabbi believes. In her eyes the challenge is getting them together to recognize the humanity they share with others.
“Its hard but I think we have to make it happen. Together we have the ability to get people passed their polarized views, their segregation of the ‘other’, and get them to realize that their children play together at school and everything is fine.”
The first step is getting through this challenging time. In an era rife with disinformation designed to confuse electorates that can be difficult. Still, Chessin remains optimistic.
“If we can just keep our cool while this particular moment in history passes, whatever it passes to be, it will bring about something new and different,” she said.
Her hope extends to the Middle East, which is currently embroiled in another round of war. Cycles of violence, after all, can and have been broken.
Until then, the Jewish community’s long struggle for acceptance continues. Whatever happens, as their past and the experiences of other marginalized groups shows, they have the strength to endure it.
Ismael David Mujahid, Executive Editor