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Rabbi's Week In Review- July 7, 2020

07/07/2020 05:57:09 PM

Jul7

 

I have often said that rather than focus on what I or we are against, I would rather focus on actions supporting who we are for — our friends in the Black community, Muslims, Latinx, the LGBTQ community, Immigrants and others. However, we cannot ignore those who threaten people we care about and love. This absolutely includes those who are a threat to us as Jews.

This week, a troubling, clearly anti-Semitic editorial cartoon ran in the Anderson County Review — the newspaper for Anderson County, Kansas. It uses the Holocaust, the worst moment in Jewish history, as some sort of analogy to wearing a mask. Nevermind the issue of masks; an easy thing to do for anyone who cares about someone other than themselves should not in any way be a politicized issue. To save a life is a paramount Jewish value.  

The intent of the cartoon is clear as you can see below.

The owner of the newspaper, Dane Hicks, is chairman of the Anderson County Republican Party. He has stated that he made the cartoon.  

While Hicks has issued a public apology, it is somewhat beside the point. I don’t think his apology rectifies the two problems his cartoon represents: (1) the proliferation of anti-Semitic attacks, and (2) the politicizing of a health crisis and the need for all of us to wear masks. The concern I wish to address is the ongoing silence and thereby complicity in these hateful acts.

What I think we have a right to expect is a repudiation of this heinous representation by officials in the Republican Party, both in the state of Kansas and nationally. Hicks should be removed from his position with the Republican Party immediately. 

This should not be a hard thing to do. If we have to guess whether someone has the intent to demonize and harm Jews, then we can rightfully assume they have that intent. The proliferation of anti-Semitic attacks over the last three years has been well-documented by the Anti-Defamation League. The chant in Charlottesville that “Jews will not replace us” is just the most obvious example of acts of anti-Semitism perpetrated by white supremacists and emboldened by people holding the reins of power. This brazen form of anti-Semitism would have been unthinkable even a few years ago.

As we act to protect other communities from physical harm and from fear, we should do no less for our own community. As is the case with all the communities for whom we show care and support, harm and hateful acts inflicted upon Jews are harmful to everyone. May we continue to work for the kind of diverse community and country that we can all be proud of, a place where we can live free from fear and harm.

Fri, March 29 2024 19 Adar II 5784