6 | AUGUST 6 • 2020 Views essay Beating Each Other Up I think it’ s safe to say that we Jews are, well, maybe just a tad bit opinionat- ed. We’ re quick to speak our minds and certainly not shy to offer our criticism — of just about everything. But there is one area where our criticisms have been especially harsh: ourselves. We are brutal on ourselves. We debate, judge and criti- cize everything about fellow Jews — are they too pious, or not pious enough, too vocal, or not vocal enough, or too pro-Isra- el or not pro-Israel, etc. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the ensu- ing national discussion about racial injustice, Jews are tak- ing a closer look in the mirror. Once again, we are beating each other up. Fellow Jews, it has been suggested, are either oblivious or insensitive to racial injustice or, worse, are outright racists. The far left, pro-BDS Jewish group, Jewish Voice for Peace, and others advanced the position that American police receive training from the Israeli police and, hence, Israel is partially to blame here (a claim that was debunked and yet the PLO and Palestinian Authority quickly jumped on it). So, the narrative that Israel (Jews) lurks behind this whole issue, not surprisingly, has surfaced. Excuse me, but I’ m not jumping on any part of this bandwagon. Of course, there are some Jews who are racial- ly insensitive, and of course white Jews enjoy a certain degree of privilege because of their whiteness. I accept that Jews cannot fully grasp what it is to be Black in America, just as no ethnic group can fully grasp what it means to walk in the shoes of another ethnic group. We each have our own visceral and exclusive connection to our ancestors. But let’ s not lose perspec- tive. There are 6 million Jews in America. Some of them are insensitive or worse. When it comes to the issue of racial justice, however, I believe the vast number of Jews are extraordinarily empathetic and supportive. That’ s been the case for years, as there is a long history of Jewish sup- port for civil rights and racial equality. We know all too well the pain of injustice, and our commitment to justice is, I would argue, a fundamental Jewish principle. Following the George Floyd killing, the Jewish response was swift and unequivocal. Major Jewish organizations immediately issued state- ments of condemnation. This spanned the full spectrum from liberal to conservative groups, and included all forms of Judaism, from Humanist to Orthodox. Diverse groups like the Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, the JCRC/AJC, the ADL, the Zionist Organization of America, Hadassah, Stand With Us, AIPAC, Zioness and many others were — and con- tinue to be — vociferous on the issue of racial injustice. Our rabbis give sermons on racial justice and write, teach and attend protest marches. There’ s a torrent of Jewish- sponsored webinars, classes, op-ed pieces. The Jewish News, our community’ s central news source, has been all over this issue, many times practically devoting entire issues to racial healing and education. So, I have no doubt that our com- munity is deeply moved and committed to racial justice and demonstrating it with words and deeds. A local group I’ m with, the Coalition for Black and Jewish Unity, has been relentless in organizing virtual events, writing articles, presenting seminars, pushing for anti- hate legislation, voter registra- tion, criminal justice reform, and a host of other activities — and each time Jews gain more cultural knowledge and empathy toward the black community. Our commitment preceded the George Floyd case, just as with other Jewish groups. Yes, there’ s more work to be done. There is always more work to be done. There are ignorant Jews that need to be educated, and I have no doubt fellow Jews will contin- ue to do so. We are far from perfect, but when it comes to our community’ s support and actions for racial justice, we can hold our heads high. That struggle is deep within our Jewish DNA. No need to beat ourselves up over this one. But as to other issues … Mark Jacobs is the AIPAC Michigan chair for African American Outreach, a co-director of the Coalition for Black and Jewish Unity, a board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council-AJC and the direc- tor of Jewish Family Service’ s Legal Referral Committee. Mark Jacobs running in separate directions. When experts studied the data as measured by the legislation actually passed, they found that both parties are moving to the right, but one on a slow drift and the other at breakneck speed. Grossbard says he’ s a policy guy. If so, he’ s in the wrong party. Republicans campaigned on “repeal and replace” for the ACA, but after seven years, they have been unable to propose any plan of their own other than defaulting back to the corporate feudalism of employer-provided insurance and only unaffordable options. After making replacement one of his key platform issues, an empty-handed Trump lamented, “Who knew it was so com- plicated?” Every Democrat knew. A few Republicans tried and failed after defecating on their best ideas, and they hid in shame and fear of the unac- countable king they anointed. Frankly, I can’ t fathom why anyone would vote for someone who can’ t give a definitive answer regarding voting against their party if they went against the interests of his constituents. The job is to represent his district, not surrender their proxy to the national party. And with reference to my charge above of the media’ s aversion to taking sides in even the obvious issues, the Jewish News gave us an interview with marshmallow, not even softball, ques- tions. I’ m left with no idea what he defines as the political center, just his feelings about his position, and I thought being ruled by feelings was the liberal’ s thing. The party of Trump is all or nothing with no survivable center. I’ m sure many voters would like to know where this policy guy stands on separating families at the border, green cards or citizenship for the so-called Dreamers or immigration in general, a national response to COVID-19, taxes and progressive taxes, American leadership in the world and the various treaties Trump has abandoned, support of the WHO, women’ s rights and many more critical issues of our time. — Dennis L. Green Farmington Hills LETTERS from page 5