By Amy Zewe
Fall is the season for the high holy days of the Jewish calendar. It is a busy time of celebration and reflection for the Jewish people. Many Christians cheer on the celebration, even participating, including the recent Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. I was lucky enough to be in Israel in 2008 during The Feast of Tabernacles and it was a thrilling and spirit-filled week.
As usual, when Jews are observing and celebrating their God-given holy days, the spirit of the enemy is angered, and antisemitic activities seem to uptick. To me it is like watching a spoiled child bully and pester another child who is joyfully experiencing something that is authentic and truly his (or hers). That spoiled, jealous child must lash out at the joyful child who is minding his own business and doing his own thing. The spoiled child must swat the toy out of the joyful child’s hand, or push him over, or otherwise disrupt the activity. Hearing about the bullying, especially on college campuses where supposedly these enlightened and woke intellectuals are making the world better but instead concentrate hate, jealousy and violence is beyond maddening to me.
Here are a few examples of what happened during Sukkot last week in our so-called civilized and tolerant cities and universities: (You can see a consolidation of these news stories on Combat Antisemitism’s website.)
- In New York City a Sukkah was vandalized.
- In Brooklyn a Jewish man was punched in the chest and the assailant yelled “F—you Jew.”
- Jewish newspaper stands in NYC were also peppered with swastikas.
- In Oregon a Jewish deli was also peppered with swastikas.
- In Ontario Canada, a synagogue was vandalized with antisemitic stickers.
- A Jewish cemetery in Germany was riddled with swastikas
- At George Washington University, students protested outside the Hillel Jewish student center on the second night of Sukkot, with signs reading “War Criminals GTFO,” and calling for an intifada. Days earlier, signs appeared on campus reading “ZIONISTS F*** OFF.”
- At Indiana University, a Jewish student’s mezuzah was ripped off the door and set on fire.
- Students associated with the College Republicans at the University of Wisconsin-La Cross chalked “Kanye is Right,” and “Defcon III” on campus.
- Incidents were also reported at Tufts University, Georgia State, and Ithaca College.
According to last Friday’s Global Antisemitism report posted to CAM (Combat Antisemitism Movement), the global antisemitism report highlighted 45 new media reports of antisemitic incidents. The total includes 28 (62.2%) from the far-right, 8 (17.8%) from the far-left, 4 (8.9%) with Islamist motivations, and 5 (11.1%) unidentifiable in nature.
It is vital that we identify and condemn them all and do what we can to prevent more. We must disavow hateful comments, tweets, signage, stickers, graffiti, vandalism, and hostility in all forms and from whatever “side” it comes from.
We have a population of people who collectively make up less than 2% of the Western population and somehow experience more than its share of hate crimes and hostility. A community who collectively has brought more benefit per capita to modern civilization than any other ethnic, religious, or identifiable group. Maybe that is why the spoiled child syndrome seems to manifest itself when Jews simply want to celebrate the inspired divine holidays painstakingly preserved for millennia by generations who outran all forms of Jew hate not only in their homeland of Israel, but throughout the world in their diaspora.
Most of our audience is keenly aware of the spirit behind the vitriol against the Jews. Annihilate the Jews and annihilate God’s mechanism and people through which He communicated and redeems us all.
Be in prayer for Jews worldwide and the continued safety of Israel as well as asking God to reveal what you can do to help: be informed, educated, and activated.
Shavua Tov. Have a great week.