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Homegrown Advocate

editorial

Europe’s Anti-Semitism Is Our Concern

A

gainst the backdrop of the most-
observed holiday on the Jewish
calendar, namely Passover, the
question arises: Can European Judaism
survive the anti-Jewish fervor sweeping
the continent, a centuries-old bastion of
Jewish life before Adolf Hitler’s assump-
tion of power in Germany during the
1930s?
Jews everywhere must take heed.
“People understand there is no future
for Jews in Europe,” said Avraham Gigi,
the chief rabbi of Brussels, last November
— setting the stage for thoughtful con-
sideration of this wrenching issue.
The rabbi expressed his fear in the
aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks in
November, when French synagogues shut
down for the first time since World War
II. He only could have reaffirmed that
fear last month after Islamist terrorists
again struck — at an airport and a sub-
way station in Brussels.
To its credit, the European Jewish
Association (EJA) quickly countered
Gigi’s lament. It vowed to help ensure
“that the 3 million Jews who live on our
continent” could continue “to command
a safe home” and “freely and proudly
identify themselves as Jews.”

TRYING TO COPE
Amid rising anti-Semitism and brew-
ing terror across Europe, European Jews
have stepped up aliyah to Israel as well as
emigration to places like Canada and the
U.S. But in the spirit of Jews digging in
their heels when the going gets tougher,
Jewish communities throughout Europe
have dedicated new synagogues, Jewish
schools and other Jewish institutions.
“We urge all European rabbis and com-

munity leaders to stand up in defense
of the right of European Jews to remain
in their historic homelands should they
choose to, to support and encourage
their pride in their European heritage
and to similarly fight for their safety and
security as, God forbid, we should instill
yet more fear in already very worrying
times,” EJA’s director, Rabbi Menachem
Margolin, said in a stirring plea reported
by JTA.
He’s absolutely right.
Even as Jews choose to make aliyah out
of love for their Jewish ancestral home-
land, Jews in the diaspora shouldn’t auto-
matically reject their modern homelands
out of fear for their wellbeing.
Still, it’s natural for people fearful for
their lives to question their government’s
ability to adequately guard against orga-
nized terror — which is now the scenario
for Jews and others not only in France
and Belgium, but also in places like
England and Germany.

STAYING FOCUSED
On Passover, which begins Friday night,
celebrate the religious freedom we have
in America; it’s special. But don’t forget
the religious turmoil confronting Jews
and others elsewhere, wherever seeds of
hatred have been sown.
At the seder table, where families
gather to reflect as well as enjoy a meal
together, Jews recount the story of
liberation from slavery in Egypt about
3,300 years ago. Religious and civil
freedom, so limited around the world,
is at the core of who Jews are. It drives
us to defend our faith against vitriol
aimed at Jews and the Jewish state —
as well as to battle on behalf of the

Religious and civil
freedom, so limited
around the world,
is at the core of
who Jews are.

downtrodden anywhere.
The Jerusalem Post predicts 2016
will show an increase in anti-Semitic
violence in Europe, based upon find-
ings of the European Union Agency for
Fundamental Rights. It’s not far-fetched
to predict a worldwide increase in such
terror.
For sure, neo-Nazis, fascists and
revisionist-leaning Christians belong on
our watch list. But radicalized immigrant
Muslims present the greatest danger in
Europe, argues Hebrew University’s Vidal
Sassoon International Center for the
Study of Anti-Semitism.
As Europe works to improve how
it forecasts anti-Semitic activities and
trends, it can’t overlook addressing the
hundreds of thousands of Muslim immi-
grants — and the budding terrorists and
jihadists lurking among the vast majority
of peaceful people.
Combating anti-Semitism to the
extent possible in Europe is essential to
European Jews believing they don’t have
to consider uprooting for safer, more
secure surroundings.
Jews comprise a unique people; we’re
not just individuals. This Passover
season, it behooves American Jews —
blessed with relative wealth and security
— to remember not only our ancestors’
deliverance from Egypt, but also today’s
plight of European Jewry amid a caul-
dron of anti-Jewish enmity.

*

letters

New LGBT Laws
Are Discriminatory

Not in my 92 years of living on this
Earth have I been so outraged, enraged,
upset or unhappy with my life in the
United States.
The newly passed LGBT laws smack
of the days when black people in the
South had to sit in the back of the bus
and use their own designated toilet
facilities; when Jews in Germany had
to wear the yellow star on their cloth-
ing during the Hitler regime. Now we
have legislators in North Carolina,
Mississippi and even in Michigan trying

8 April 21 • 2016

to pass or passing laws telling human
beings what toilet facilities they may
use.
What is becoming of the U.S. being
“the land of the free and the home of
the brave”?

Ruth Vosko
Farmington

CLARIFICATION
• “Palestinian Watchdog” (April
14) should have stated that Bassam
Eid’s talk at Hadassah House in West
Bloomfield on March 23 was sponsored
by StandWithUs-Michigan and co-

hosted by the Greater Detroit Chapter of
Hadassah.

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The day moved on with speeches by
countless journalists and politicians, all
articulating the two major threats facing
the Jewish people.
The first threat is the overall label-
ing and boycotting of products made
in Israel. The boycott is hurting the
Israeli economy and is also hurting the
livelihood and security of the people
the boycott is claiming to be helping. It
does that by taking away economic and
financial resources for Israelis as well as
Palestinians. It was made clear during
the conference that peace cannot be
achieved until both sides can work out a
plan and trust the other.
The second threat facing the Jewish
people is the growing anti-Israel and
anti-Semitic rhetoric on American and
international college campuses. Many
calls to action were set before the audi-
ence, and one strong statement was
made clear: There is a need for Israeli
and diaspora Jews to become more edu-
cated about the problems Israel faces.
It is time for the Jewish people to take a
strong stand against hate.
The conference emphasized the
importance of young Jews on campuses
being proud of who they are and being
given the opportunity to learn how to
defend Israel and fight against anti-
Semitism.
The keynote speaker, longtime vocal
Israel advocate and Hollywood actor/
director Roseanne Barr, stated in her
speech that Jews should no longer put
our heads down. It is time for us, Jewish
people all over the world, to speak out
and fight for the rights of Israel and the
Jewish people, and against the Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) move-
ment.
After returning from this conference,
I am inspired to continue working on
behalf of Israel. As a strong Jewish com-
munity, it is our responsibility to fight
for Israel in the face of hate. It is up to
us to help educate others while educat-
ing ourselves on the facts — not just
personal stories. Israel needs our help
to survive. It is our call to action to par-
ticipate in making peace and upholding
our right to have a homeland — Israel.
I was proud to be a participant in this
conference and to continue the tradition
of our family in supporting Israel. I am
proud of my mother, brother and grand-
parents, Annette and Russell Meskin,
who were honored this year with the
StandWithUs Michigan Beacon of Light
Award.

*

Deena Martin of Sylvan Lake currently lives in
Ben Shemen Youth Village in Israel.

See a related story on page 22.

