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Behind the Aegis

(53,823 posts)
Thu Jul 30, 2020, 05:57 AM Jul 2020

(Jewish Group) Erasing left wing anti-Semitism is the height of privilege

(THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP! RESPECT!!)

Wednesday night marks the start of one of the most profound days of mourning on the Jewish calendar: Tisha B’av. This is the day on which both the First and Second Temples were destroyed. It’s also the date of many other Jewish tragedies, including the British expulsion of Jews in 1290, the Spanish expulsion of Jews in 1490, and the opening of the Treblinka death camp in 1942.

For modern Jews, especially us 21st-century American Jews who have largely been spared mass destruction and tragedy, Tisha B’av is mostly treated as a day for mourning what was done long ago and for recalling the pain of what our ancestors suffered through — emphasis on the past tense.

This is deeply problematic. This Tisha B’av should challenge American Jews not only to recall our past horrors but to grapple with and denounce the hatred that we have either willfully ignored or have been too afraid to criticize.

I am deeply proud to see the Jewish mandate of Tikkun Olam in action right now as the United States is having a long-overdue reckoning with racial inequality and lethal injustices towards people of color. There is no doubt in my mind that Jews cannot be on the sidelines of this battle and that we must always be striving to do better. But as we learn and explore new ways to be strong and sensitive allies and advocates, we must also learn how to navigate combating anti-Semitism in a time and place where it can feel uncomfortable and selfish to draw attention to ourselves.

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