Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on January 28, 2020

Editors note: On International Holocaust Remembrance Day we take an in-depth look at the rising incidents of anti-Semitism.

Hate crimes against Jews are on the rise everywhere.

In Germany, a heavily armed assailant unable to force his way into a synagogue on Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day, shot a woman in the street and then entered a nearby kebab shop and killed another person.

In New York, a man walked into the home of a rabbi celebrating Hanukkah and stabbed five celebrants.

Even in Macomb County, three middle school students in Warren drew swastikas using chalk on the sidewalk at their elementary school.

Singing a Hebrew chant is Meyer Keslacy, director ofCongregation Beth Tephilath Moses synagogue, which has taken steps to ensure the safety of its members. Anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise around the world.

GINA JOSEPH - THE MACOMB DAILY

What's more concerning is these incidents last year followed a rash of attacks on the Jewish community the previous year including shooting rampages, at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, and at a synagogue in Poway, California, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Tracker of Anti-Semitic attacks. The tracker features recent cases of anti-Jewish vandalism, harassment, assault and murders reported to or detected by the group.

"It is baseless hatred for no reason," said Meyer Keslacy, director of the Congregation Beth Tephilath Moses synagogue in Mount Clemens.

States with large Jewish populations such as California, New York and New Jersey are experiencing the most incidents. But even in Macomb County, where the Jewish population is 3,400 and small in comparison to Oakland County, which has more than 50,000, Jews are concerned about what's happening.

"The synagogue took steps to ensure the safety of our members but personally, I have not changed my behavior regarding Judaism," Keslacy said.

He remains proud, determined to celebrate his Jewish culture and religion.

As for why Jewish people are under attack, he remains perplexed.

"People always ask me this. I can't explain it. I don't know what to say," said Keslacy, who is the youngest of nine children born and raised in Marocco, and whose knowledge and passion for his Jewish culture stems from his parents and his schooling in Israel.

Jewish shawls hang in the foyer of the synagogue.

"Unfortunately, I have been aware of anti-Semitism since I was a child and with the internet I am made aware of the attacks throughout the world in real time -- it boggles the mind why people have this hatred against Jews, but it holds us back not to speak out against it."

The mission of the ADL since 1913 has been to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to work to secure justice and fair treatment for everyone.

"Regrettably, our work and our expertise on anti-Semitism and hate is more current and urgent than ever in the U.S. and around the globe," said Sharon Mazarian, ADL senior vice-president for international affairs during her testimony in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's global event countering anti-Semitism.

In its audit of incidents in 2018, the ADL recorded a total of 1,879 incidents of anti-Semitism across the country, the third-highest year on record since the ADL started tracking such data in the 1970s.

"In a year marked by the white supremacist shooting spree at a Pittsburgh synagogue, which claimed 11 lives, and punctuated by a dramatic surge in white supremacist propaganda activity nationwide, ADL's Audit identified 59 people in the United States who were victims of anti-Semitic assaults in 2018, up from 21 in 2017," said the ADL report.

The overall number of reported incidents show a 5% decline from 1,986 incidents reported in 2017 but remain at near-historic levels and 48% higher than the totals for 2016 and 99% higher than 2015, according to the audit report.

"We've worked hard to push back against anti-Semitism, and succeeded in improving hate crime laws, and yet we continue to experience an alarmingly high number of anti-Semitic acts," said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and national director. "We unfortunately saw this trend continue into 2019 with the tragic shooting at the Chabad synagogue in Poway. It's clear we must remain vigilant in working to counter the threat of violent anti-Semitism and denounce all forms, whatever the source and regardless of the political affiliation of its proponents."

No state seems to be immune to the rash of anti-Semitic incidents.

In Michigan, there were 114 reports of anti-Semitic acts toward Jews in 2018-2019 that happened at a variety of locations: businesses, public parks, nonprofit organizations, schools and homes, including communities with little or no Jewish population.

Thirteen of those were committed in Macomb County. A majority were related to white supremacist propaganda but also included an incident at an elementary school.

"One of my dearest friends in college was Jewish," said Romeo native John Paul Rea, Macomb County deputy county executive, who attended Grand Valley State University.

His friend taught him about the Jewish culture and faith, but even without the firsthand experience, Rea finds it difficult to process what has been happening in New York.

"It's absolutely awful, the fact that an individual could have that kind of hatred for their fellow man," Rea said.

In 2012, when data showed that Macomb County was experiencing profound demographic shifts, the county took a proactive approach and created One Macomb.

Since then, the initiative has worked to promote the area's diverse ethnic and religious population. Now, with new data coming from the 2020 Census, county leaders will once again look at the data gleaned by the census count to further identify its population and whatever needs they might have.

Few, if any, incidents of anti-Semitism have been reported in recent years in areas patrolled by the Macomb County Sheriffs Office.

Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said professional law enforcement associations, such as groups representing police chiefs, and organizations that track hate crimes, usually share information to keep police updated about incidents and trends.

When incidents that do happen, once the dust settles and information becomes available, its shared either for learning or being prepared, he said.

Among the people harassing and vandalizing members of the Jewish community are schoolchildren.

The ADL reported there were 344 incidents of anti-Semitism in schools last year, almost identical to the 342 in 2017 but still higher than previous years.

In Warren, children drew swastikas on the sidewalk of their elementary school.

In Birmingham, middle school students used a group chat to share anti-Semitic and racist messages and in Bloomfield Hills a Jewish high school student was taunted by peers with an anti-Semitic song.

In West Bloomfield, a Jewish child was told by peers that he should have a concentration camp number on his arm.

Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, CEO of the the Holocaust Memorial Center, stands in front of a boxcar that was used to transport Jews to concentration camps in Germany. Recent data shows anti-Semitic incidents around the world are on the rise.

GINA JOSEPH - THE MACOMB DAILY

"We get calls from schools in Macomb and Oakland all the time," said Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, CEO of the HolocaustMemorial Center in Farmington Hills.

Sometimes it is to ask for help in handling an incident, other times it's inquiries about how to approach the topic of anti-Semitism.

Children ask questions and teachers share answers provided by HMC's Echoes and Reflections Curriculum. Examples of questions might include:

What is a swastika?

Why were Jewish people given a tattoo?

What was the Holocaust all about?

Michigan law requires schools to ensure their social studies curriculum for grades 8 to 12 includes age- and grade-appropriate lessons about genocide, including the Holocaust, totaling six hours of instruction a year.

Since HMC began its program, more than 850 teachers from around Michigan including the Upper Peninsula have participated in the robust program. They have learned not only about the Holocaust, but best pedagogic practices and lessons to share with their students.

Kristen Avey, who teaches global history and current world issues at Dakota High School, said one of the things she liked about the program is they use the lessons from the past to create life lessons for the kids today. They talk a lot about not being a bystander and how even the smallest act can make a difference, she said.

"This is preventative work," said Mayerfeld, who is serving his fourth year as CEO of the museum, which has played an important role in teaching the public about the dangers of hatred and bigotry through tours of its collection and lectures.

"We teach that hateful and biased attitudes can develop into acts of violence," Mayerfeld said.

Many of those who help in educating the public are survivors of the Holocaust mustering the courage to talk about the horrors they experienced under Hitler's regime. These are the people that come to mind when Mayerfeld sees a swastika or anti-Semitic slur directed at a Jew.

"I wonder whether the person saying these things or using those symbols understands how they were put to use to murder 6 million human beings including a 1.5 million children," Mayerfeld said. "Local survivors have shared that they are frightened by the uptick in anti-Semitism. They worry that the world has not learned anything from their suffering."

However, he believes these behaviors only grow if they are silently condoned by others around them.

"It is up to each individual to speak out against hateful remarks and attitudes they hear from those around them," he said.

Keslacy concurs.

When people do not object or condemn, their silence, in effect, is promoting it, he said.

RELATED STORIES

Warren teachers, students get eye-opening lessons at Holocaust Memorial Center

Tenacious researcher IDs records of Nazi thefts from Jews in Holocaust

Here is the original post:

Recent events stoking concerns of incidents of anti-Semitism - The Macomb Daily

Category: Synagogue
Tags: