4 | MARCH 21 • 2024
J
N
guest column
The Masks Are Of
: To Battle Antisemitism,
We Need Action and Organization
I
n the first couple months
after Oct. 7, many pro-
Palestinian/anti-Israel
protesters wore masks.
Perhaps they feared the
repercussions of
their actions if
their friends or
employers were
to discover
their ideology.
Perhaps the
masks allowed
individuals
with no connection to the
universities at which they
were protesting to present
themselves as students,
duping the media and
vulnerable student body
into thinking that anti-
Israel sentiments were more
widespread than they are and
thereby spreading such hate
beyond the far-left adherents
of “progressive” politics.
By wearing masks, the
protesters felt empowered
to share their honest
feelings, uninhibited by the
social norms muting their
hatred. However, some five
months after Oct. 7, many
antisemites and haters
of Zionism do not need
to bother wearing masks
anymore. Their hatred and
discrimination are once
again tolerated beliefs in
American life.
With the holiday of
Purim nearly upon us, we
remember that, until the
last 80 years, it was the Jews
and not the Jew-haters who
needed masks. At Purim, the
costumes we wear help us
to remember how Mordecai
and Esther hid their full
identities from King
Ahasuerus, fearful for their
lives. Our Purim costumes
also remind us of the masks
many of us continue to wear.
By choosing to keep
our Jewishness private, by
withdrawing from Jewish
communal life and by
adopting aspects of the
secular culture, we blend
better into the gentile
communities we inhabit. In
fact, this Purim, celebrated
in a world of rising
antisemitism, one might
wonder: Once we put our
masks on, will we ever again
be able to take them off?
However, Hamas’ attack on
Oct. 7 and the subsequent
spike in antisemitism are
causing Jews to remove
the masks of assimilation
and fear. We are pinning
blue squares and ribbons
of return to our shirts or
jackets. We are wearing
shirts with Israeli flags
emblazoned on them or dog
tags declaring, “Bring them
home.” We are allowing the
Jewish stars of our necklaces
to rest outside our shirts
rather than inside.
Like Queen Esther and
Mordecai who revealed
themselves when Jewish
lives were in danger, the
Jewish community today
has become vocal about our
support for Israel’s right to
defend itself, and we are
public about Jews’ right to
be free from discriminatory
language and threatening
behavior. The masks are off.
Our efforts to protect
Jews and Judaism must
include strengthening Jewish
institutions. To the extent
possible, we should increase
our gifts to the Jewish
Federation of Detroit and
donate even more generously
to our synagogue families.
Especially in Detroit,
synagogues, temples and the
Jewish Federation are the
lifeblood of our people.
Moreover, perhaps now
more than ever, Jewish day
schools should become a
key focus of our community.
Rather than subject children
and especially teenagers to
the cruelty of anti-Zionist
rhetoric and antisemitic
behavior so prevalent now
in public and secular private
schools, parents might
want to consider enrolling
their children and teens at
Hillel Day School and the
Frankel Jewish Academy.
Sure, parents will appreciate
the schools’ college-prep
curriculum. Even more,
children will appreciate the
freedom to be themselves,
and the community will
benefit from a greater
number of educated Jews.
Grandparents might want to
consider helping their adult
children to foot the bill.
Speaking of how we
educate our children,
religious schools and
day schools are already
exploring how to better
educate their students on the
contemporary challenges,
and synagogues and JLearn
are creating opportunities
for adults to process today’s
crisis. As a community, we
would do well to invest in
and solicit the guidance of
Jewish think tanks like the
Shalom Hartman Institute
to help children and adults
alike understand how we
might understand our new
reality and move forward in
this new world.
Likewise, and at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek,
we have seen success, we will
want to set aside time in our
busy schedules to learn the
art of persuasive argument
as well as self-defense skills,
should either be necessary to
defend Israel, to defend Jews
and Judaism, and to defend
ourselves. This is especially
true for our college students.
Along with supporting
PURELY COMMENTARY
Rabbi Aaron
Starr
continued on page 7