6 | APRIL 2 • 2020 W e are living in unprecedented times. A global pan- demic with a colorful graphic attached to it has caused the president to declare a national emergency, and reports are the reach of COVID- 19 will surpass the concern and financial implications of anything we have imagined in modern times. But while our community struggles to respond to the novel coronavirus, we are facing another outbreak: fin- ger-pointing and scapegoating. Unfortunately, the two viruses appear inexorably linked — as coronavirus fears rise, our leaders and communities are displaying increasingly severe symptoms of bigotry. As out- breaks of the virus cluster into geographic areas or within religious groups as a result of close quarters, it becomes clear we are fighting a virus on two fronts: with concerns of grave and potentially fatal physical ill- ness and group-blaming, which serves to destroy our communal sense of human connections though vile commentary and scape- goating. And, like with the biologi- cal disease, the social disease threatens to spiral out of control if we do not act quickly. COVID-19 is not a foreign virus — it is a human virus. Coronavirus does not dis- criminate based on ethnic background or race, nor does it select its victims based on celeb- rity or anonymity. Anyone can contract and contribute to the spread of this disease. But the thing spreading faster than the actual virus is fear. The truth is, none of us has ever really dealt with a situation quite like this. To be sure, in the past few decades, there have been other pandemics — such as HIV/AIDS and ebola — but those diseases, which spread quickly and indiscriminately in terms of “victims, ” were limited in scope to a subset of the gen- eral public or particular conti- nents. It was easier for people to compartmentalize their fears. Over the past few weeks, confusing and mixed messages, combined with a lack of under- standing, have caused several missteps. Well-known people — without facts or understanding — have made fun of the situa- tion or have unknowingly given visual miscues. As humans, our urge to find someone to blame is not new. In the Middle Ages, Jews were accused of causing the Bubonic Plague. In the early 19th century, Irish immigrants were blamed for cholera. The LGBTQ community was vilified Carolyn Normandin guest column Coronavirus Surfaces a Familiar Disease: Fear And Scapegoating I think I’ m getting a bit loopy as I shelter in place. This week I realized that the prophet Elijah is the GOAT social dis- tancer. (Here’ s a bit of youth slang for you to annoy your homeschooled kids with today: “GOAT” is an acronym meaning “Greatest Of All Time.” Not an actual goat. Although the real Elijah probably knew some great goats in his time, too.) Anyway, think about it. Every year at Passover, we invite Elijah into our homes. And every year he stays safely away. Instead of potential- ly serving as a vector for a contaminant that could have spread across the entire global Jewish community, he shelters in place and sends his bless- ings to us virtually instead. This year, sadly, we are all Elijahs. When the government issues its guidelines for the kinds of social gatherings we should be avoiding to curb the spread of COVID-19, it might as well be flying a giant banner that reads, “NO PASSOVER SEDERS.” The timing is terrible — cases are exploding just as we gear up for what’ s supposed to be a festive holiday, a time when we can sit around a table with family and friends and enjoy a nice, leisurely, lovingly cooked meal. But for our own health and safety, we can’ t share our seders this year. So now, instead of com- memorating the Jews’ exodus from slavery, we must pray for an eventual exodus from our own homes. Clearly, this night is indeed different from all other nights. We must try, as much as we can, to keep our hopes up during these uncertain times. Check out this issue and our website, TheJewishNews.com, for information on local “vir- tual seders.” And you should consider hosting one yourself with your own loved ones. Rituals still matter in dark times; they can still bring us comfort and purpose. Our work at the JN is anoth- er kind of ritual, one that we hope can survive the current crisis. For the moment, you may see our print issues shrink as we face reduced advertiser support during the economic downturn. But we are still here. And we’ re also committed to serving as a community resource, which is why we’ re taking initiatives like making our e-edition free and available to all for the next several weeks. As always, let me know how else we can help during this time: alapin@thejewishnews. com. This Passover, be like Elijah — be safe and stay home. And I promise: If you invite me to your virtual seder, I will bring the tastiest virtual matz ah balls you’ ve (n)ever eaten. Andrew Lapin editor’ s note An All-Elijah Pesach Views continued on page 10 05_DJN040220_POV Opinion Pages.indd 6 05_DJN040220_POV Opinion Pages.indd 6 3/30/20 11:47 AM 3/30/20 11:47 AM