'When was it too late?' Some U.S. Jews wonder about their place in America. [View all]

[Behind the Aegis]

Joe Py had been chipping away at a project he dreaded. In the past few years, he sold his valuable paperweight collection, got certified copies of his birth and marriage documents, and researched what it would be like to be Jewish in other countries. Where there weren’t Confederate flags down the street, articles about armed Christian militant groups in the local paper, and megawatt celebrities spouting explicit antisemitism. As the midterms approached, bringing more instances of terrifying anti-Jewish rhetoric, he and his wife had their house staged to sell.

“Our question was, in the 1930s, when did people know it was time? When was it too late?” said the 66-year-old Maine doctor.

While their Jewish friends and people at their synagogue weren’t considering moving the way they were, no one dismissed their preparations as ridiculous, he said. Their real estate agent said they weren’t the only Jewish family exploring moving. She offered to hide them if that were ever needed. The defeat of several prominent election deniers and Christian nationalists in the November midterms calmed Py and his wife enough to put a potential move on hold, but the questions about Jews’ place in America didn’t go away.

“This is totally new psychological-emotional territory,” he said.

The year 2022 began and is ending with some of the highest-recorded modern levels of antisemitic actions and Jewish worry. An atmosphere that experts say began as a shock with the 2016 election of Donald Trump and his comments against religious and racial minorities has matured, taken root and for some led to serious consideration or action toward emigrating. Warm pride in Jewish parts of the national zeitgeist such as “Seinfeld” has given way to cold calculations about what if.

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