Today, in a shooting spree at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Jewish people suffered a collective trauma. No matter where we were born, no matter where we reside, no matter what denomination represents our faith, we are horrified, terrified, and shattered.
We mourn the tragic loss of our Jewish brothers and sisters, and those who were there to protect them, who were murdered in cold blood as they prayed together on a Shabbat morning and celebrated the Brit Milah of a newborn Jewish boy.
In America in 2018, while uniting in a house of prayer, these innocent victims were targeted as Jews.
The shooter announced on Twitter that he blamed Jewish people for our work to provide refuge to those seeking shelter from persecution.
In the most perverse paradox, while we are made unwelcome in social justice spaces unless we abandon Zionism—our own self-determination movement—we are murderously targeted by those condemning our commitment to the advancement of human rights and self-determination for all.
This event is shocking, but at Zioness, where we witness and combat this age-old bigotry every single day, it is not surprising. Anti-Semitism has been rising across the spectrum, in the United States and across the globe, at unprecedented rates and with devastating consequences.
Today, anti-Semites demonize Jews by slandering “globalists” and “Zionists.”
The poisonous discourse from the highest levels of the political and social establishment––from Trump obsessively demonizing a Jewish philanthropist to Sarsour demanding the dehumanization of those who support a safe and secure Jewish state––leads directly to this tragedy.
Today, hateful ideologies have been brought from the darkest corners of the internet into the national spotlight. Ideas have been put into words, which are now being put into action.
All who care about social justice must call out anti-Semitism wherever and whenever you see it, hear it or observe it. When this type of bigotry is unleashed, it is impossible to contain.
We have a civic obligation, to stand up NOW to resist the normalization of bigotry––against Jews, Democrats, African-Americans and all people of color, immigrants and refugees, our trans brothers and sisters, and the LGBTQ community. Our lives literally depend on it.
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