PARDON ME FOR RAISING ALARM. EXCUSE ME IF I HARP ON ANTI-SEMITISM. PLEASE TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHY.
As anyone who reads my post knows, I am often standing up for Jews. You might think I am obsessed. I am certainly very sensitive about the threats Jews face. I feel it is my duty to speak up.
I would not expect most folks to appreciate what Jews face. Even members of my family under appreciate the issues. After all, Jews overall have been very successful in America. No other country besides Israel has been as good for Jews.
Living in the USA, in NY State and in particular in such close proximity to NYC it is hard for many in the Poughkeepsie area to understand how few Jews there are in the world and the risks that lay so close to, and often break the surface in society.
Israel and the United States account for 83% of the world's Jewish population, while a total of 98 countries host the other 17%. Excluding Israel, nearly a third (27%) of the world's population of Jews lives in New York state alone! And, approximately 55% of NY State's Jewish population live in just NYC's five boroughs.
Even though such a large percentage of the world's Jews live in NY State, we still only represent ~8% of NY State's population. In 42 of the States, Jew's represent 2% or less of the population. In 33 of the States the Jewish population is 1% or less. Most public schools across America are lucky to have 2 Jews in them, and many have none!
Jews in New York can stand up for ourselves, with assistance of law enforcement. Do you realize that almost all Jewish temples have to hire armed guards for protection during the holidays! Imagine if there needed to be armed guards at your Church's doors on Easter and Christmas. Almost all temples in the world, including all the ones in Poughkeepsie, have had to lock their doors and install a buzzer and video cameras to protect occupants, including the Rabbi.
In other parts of the world, our numbers are so few that when anti-Semitism erupts Jews must hide or leave.
Throughout history "leaving" has been the way it's been for the Jews. To begin with the Jewish population around the world is a diaspora, a dispersion from Jews original homeland. It goes all the way back to the Assyrian expulsion of Jews from Israel/Samaria in 733 BCE, and the Babylonian expulsions of Jews from the Kingdom of Judah in 597 and 586 BCE and finally the Roman conquests and sieges from about 66 BCE through 70 BC.
Wherever Jews ended up, Jews faced the risk of being forced from their country because of hatred. Two times ALL the Jews were expelled from an ENTIRE COUNTRY --- England in 1290 and Spain in 1492. And of course less than one full century ago, in our grandparent's day, nearly 50% of the Jews throughout Europe were murdered. MANY of the Jews living TODAY in the world had family murdered in the Holocaust.
Even today in America which has been so good to the Jews, and where Jews make up less than 2% of the population, ~60% of all hate crimes are committed against Jews.
I hope these few facts help one to appreciate why Israel is so precious. It is the only country in the world, compared to over 20 Muslim countries, that is truly and fully dedicated to providing a safe and secure homeland for Jews. We have to cherish it -- it is the only place we know we can go where we are welcome. Even America turned away Jews trying to flee Hitler and the Nazi's!
For nearly 3,000 years Jews have been the scapegoat and suffered whenever society breaks down. An atmosphere of blame and hate has already re-emerged across Europe! Attacks and desecration happen nearly daily in Europe.
Politicians in Europe who could truly give less than a hoot about Palestinians and have no good reason to care about Israel find an enthusiastic audience of supporters when they hurl anti-Semitic and anti-Israel remarks around.
This is why the anti-Semitic tropes of Ilham Omar are so threatening. It is tropes like those she espouses that ultimately lead to creating an atmosphere where Jews are not safe. It is those same tropes that spread the virus of the mind that is anti-Semitism. That is what allowed Hitler to cast his spell on Germany --- to convince an intelligent and cultured society that it's Jews were the problem -- and that Hitler had the final solution.
So when Congress fails to even call Ilhan Omar out by name in last week's House Resolution, while it may not seem like much to many people, it is huge, disgraceful and frightening for Jews. And when Speaker Pelosi and Ocasio-cortez, the so called future of the Democratic party come to Omar's defense it is despicable and unacceptable.
Allowing Omar to remain in good standing and serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee is a giant injustice.
If the world woke up in the 1930's to the virus of anti-Semitism and crushed it early, Hitler would not have risen like he did.
EUROPE AND AMERICA NEED TO WAKE UP BEFORE THE VIRUS OF ANTI-SEMITISM OVERTAKES US AGAIN.
