I had an unsettling experience recently that I wanted to share. Having dinner with family and friends, a conversation ensued about whether, as Jews, we feel safe in America.
Would we be safer in Israel? True, they are under attack from without, but from within we would be more secure, not so much concerned about being attacked by fellow Israelis. That is not necessarily the case in America.
I must confess this is not the first time I have been involved in this type of conversation, mostly in the past year, but this time was different. Maybe because the conversation occurred during a Rosh Hashana dinner, and the Jewish New Year is the most sacred time for Jews, but I suddenly became angry.
My irritation occurred because I realized that no one else I know has these conversations. Why should an American, who also happens to be Jewish, be afraid in their own county?
What other group feels this way? I know that there was a time when Black Americans certainly and rightfully, lived in fear, but those days are long gone.
I haven’t heard of any lynchings or cross burnings in my lifetime. Here we are, with a United Nations (that are not always so united) and American laws to protect women, and gender transition individuals, race and age discrimination laws, yet Jews in America sit around a holiday table and discuss where they can be safe. I was infuriated.
I specifically asked more than one gentile friend about this. Have they ever thought they were unsafe because of their religion, their crucifix around their neck or when they attend religious services?
Did they ever wonder if they should not visit a certain city because they may not be welcomed or stand out as a gentile? They looked at me as if I had lost my mind. They never contemplated such a thing.
But here we are, Jews that must wonder if they should stay in the country of their birth because it has become unsafe. Here we go again!
This is not Yemen or Iran, countries that have not hidden their disdain for Jews and Israel. This is America, the leader of the free world. Maybe not so free if you are a Jew?
I am angry and saddened that this is the America I leave my children. This is the America about which my maternal grandfather said coming here was the best thing he ever did in his life.
Sadly, in just 2 generations we have gone from welcoming the tired and poor, the refugees of concentration camps, to being afraid to fly an Israeli flag or walk in the streets of New York City, afraid to send our children to universities and attending religious services surrounded by armed guards.
Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are a time to repent, so I am trying with all my might to suppress my anger at these circumstances and the plight of the hostages still in captivity after more than a year, so I pray for forgiveness, for my disappointment and frustration with America.
