By Ron Klein and Halie Sofer
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Our country has a serious problem. The rising tide of white supremacy and increasingly accessible semi-automatic weapons is a lethal combination that has led repeatedly to tragedy, including this past week at the Chabad Synagogue of Poway.
Six months after the horrific massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, another white nationalist stormed a shul, intentionally targeting Jews. As we mourn the tragic loss of Lori Gilbert Kaye, z”l, and pray for the injured, we also consider what has led to our rising insecurity.
Anti-Semitism takes many forms, and the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) unequivocally opposes all of them. But, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), right-wing extremists were responsible for all of the anti-Semitic incidents with a known perpetrator in 2018. There were 249 anti-Semitic incidents that could be traced back to an individual or group in 2018, and right-wing extremists were responsible for every single one.
This past week, there was consternation directed at The New York Times for its egregious mistake in publishing anti-Semitic images. The New York Times has acknowledged on its error on three occasions, taken swift action to address it, and unequivocally denounced anti-Semitism.
While we wish this incident had not occurred, we also caution against conflating it with the incident in Poway. Just like the murderer of 11 Jewish worshipers in Pittsburgh, the perpetrator of the Poway attack was a white nationalist armed with an AR-15. President Trump and Republicans in Congress have done nothing to combat either element of this lethal equation. This is a real national emergency, and a real and present danger to the Jewish community.
There must be change on both sides of this equation before more people lose their lives at the hands of bigotry and hatred. That means demanding our leaders take meaningful action to fight white supremacy, combat all forms of intolerance, and enact common-sense gun safety legislation.
*
Klein is the chair and Sofer the executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America
Anti-Semitism was around long before there were guns. Jews were murdered and raped by the hundreds of thousands in pogroms throughout Europe before the 20th century, and guns weren’t used. Fists, clubs, jack-booted feet, and knives do the same job,and today, so do bombs.
Anti-Semitism has nothing to do with guns or even other forms of hatred. It is unique to the Jews and until people understand it(even Jews)and confront it in all its forms, nothing will change.