6 March 28 • 2019
jn
N
early 20 years ago, I was work-
ing at Wilshire Boulevard
Temple in Los Angeles when a
madman walked into
our local JCC and start-
ed shooting people.
This occurred in the
wake of Columbine, so
people were on edge.
Our Jewish summer
camps, located just
outside the city, boast
a huge silver meno-
rah sitting on a bluff overlooking the
Pacific Coast Highway. It is clearly
visible to anyone driving along the
beautiful coast.
There was a serious conversation
about covering the menorah or even
removing it because its visibility might
make us a target. And although we had
a sacred duty to protect our commu-
nity, my position then was that if we
removed our public symbols, we had
already lost.
White supremacy is not a new prob-
lem. Long before the tragedy in New
Zealand, long before the outrage in
Charlottesville, LA JCC shooter Buford
O. Furrow Jr. was an avowed white
supremacist. He explained that he “was
concerned about the decline of the
white race and wanted to send a mes-
sage to America by killing Jews.”
It should be no surprise that wherev-
er hatred emerges, Jews are among the
first targets. Anti-Semitism has a long
and insidious history, and one of the
clear lessons of our own past is that we
are better off when we have strong con-
nections with our neighbors. It doesn’
t
always work (see
Nazi Germany), but
the overall pattern is that the people we
live amongst have a lot to do with our
degree of security.
So, when I learned of the terrible
attack in Squirrel Hill, it was both
reassuring and uplifting that the very
first phone call I received was from
my friend Imam Almasmari of the
Muslim Unity Center. We have built a
powerful relationship over the past five
years, along with spiritual leaders from
institutions like Kirk in the Hills, Christ
Church Cranbrook and St. Hugo’
s. We
learn from each other, we share meals
and occasions together … and, sadly,
we are there for each other in our dark-
est hours.
The massacre in New Zealand was
not an accident. Like Buford Furrow,
the perpetrator designed his attack with
the specific intention of driving people
apart and sparking more violence. But
we know better.
Standing together at the Muslim
Unity Center for a vigil just two days
later was more than an act of conso-
lation and more than an expression of
grief. It was a direct response to those
who would do any of us harm. We can-
not give in, and we must not hide. May
each of us, under God’
s watchful eye,
continue to do the one thing that white
supremacists and their ilk abhor the
most … celebrate life in our houses of
worship. ■
Rabbi Mark Miller is the spiritual leader of Temple
Beth El in Bloomfield Township.
guest column
Standing Together Against Hate
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views
Rabbi Mark
Miller
Guns in Shul?
S
everal people commented digitally
about the JN’
s March 14 cover story
“In God’
s House?” about people
being armed at shul.
Michael Davidson: People with con-
cealed carry permits should be packing
heat at shul. God forbid there’
s a terrorist
attack there; many lives could be saved.
Marvin Adell: If you have the right
to protect yourself you should have the
right to carry a weapon. Amen.
Jonathan Schwartz: Detroit Jewish
News, kudos for tackling this controver-
sial issue.
Alex Kovnat: Th
e most important
reason to allow at least those ladies and
gentlemen who are not themselves men-
tal cases to carry concealed handguns to
shul, is as follows:
Sure, you could put up signs all over
churches and synagogues proclaiming:
“Please respect our sensibilities and leave
your guns at home. Please don’
t argue
with us about this. Th
is is a house of
God, not your home.
”
Sounds great. Th
e problem is, do you
really expect the likes of the Sandy Hook
or Pittsburgh shul shooters to respect the
above?
Th
e only people who will respect such
signs are people who pose no threat
anyway. If you allow sane, law-abiding
ladies and gentlemen to carry handguns,
and this is publicly known, there is hope
— not certainty, but hope — that anti-
Semitic or other potential troublemakers
will have more respect for the shul (or
church or school) and not initiate gun
violence in the fi
rst place. ■
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