Delaware Suit Exposes "Soft" Antisemitism in America
The NY Times reports,
After her family moved to this small town 30 years ago, Mona Dobrich grew up as the only Jew in school. Mrs. Dobrich, 39, married a local man, bought the house behind her parents’ home and brought up her two children as Jews.
For years, she and her daughter, Samantha, listened to Christian prayers at public school potlucks, award dinners and parent-teacher group meetings, she said. But at Samantha’s high school graduation in June 2004, a minister’s prayer proclaiming Jesus as the only way to the truth nudged Mrs. Dobrich to act.
“It was as if no matter how much hard work, no matter how good a person you are, the only way you’ll ever be anything is through Jesus Christ,” Mrs. Dobrich said. “He said those words, and I saw Sam’s head snap and her start looking around, like, ‘Where’s my mom? Where’s my mom?’ And all I wanted to do was run up and take her in my arms.”
[…] “Because Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, I will speak out for him,” said the Rev. Jerry Fike of Mount Olivet Brethren Church, who gave the prayer at Samantha’s graduation. “The Bible encourages that.” Mr. Fike continued: “Ultimately, he is the one I have to please. If doing that places me at odds with the law of the land, I still have to follow him.”
Mrs. Dobrich, who is Orthodox, said that when she was a girl, Christians here had treated her faith with respectful interest. Now, she said, her son was ridiculed in school for wearing his yarmulke. She described a classmate of his drawing a picture of a pathway to heaven for everyone except “Alex the Jew.”
Full story.
I sued my high school for similar reasons in 1997 and won.
Sad, that so many so-called ‘Christians’ can be so insensative and fanatic.
This points up the problem of identity and being an outsider. For the record, I never believed the ‘Christians’ when they said that Buddists, Jews, Indians, Muslims would go to a ‘bad place’ when they die.
I respect that strong secular traditions and culture enspoused by many, many decent Jewish people the world over–however much I disagree with the zionism and fanaticism that I see on the part of Isrealis.
You can take pride in your heritage without demeaning others–if you remain humble enough to recognize that we, as groups, as humans, etc. don’t really know shit about All That Is (God, Dog, Yaweh, etc.). Respecting other people and striving to engage our relations with others in a decent fasion with justice is basic.
This example, of a Jewish family in a ‘Christian’ culture–the prayers, the snide disrespectful acts, etc.–points up to me the necessity of keeping the public sphere non-religious. For me this is basic.
If the ‘Chrisitans’ saw my shrine to Dog they would kill me, furthermore.
Well, let us hope that they win a very large settlement. Maybe financial loss will help reign in the loud-mouth fascists who call themselves Christians.
But I’m not sure which is worse:
1) the fact that if Dobrich wins, the facts will only be half-reported, and religious rightistas will shake their heads and then redoule their efforts to “reclaim this Christian nation” (you know, the one founded by deists and the guy who edited the gospels to remove the miracles and stuff)
or 2) the way they get to have their cake and eat it too… to listen to FOX news, I would think that even talking about Christianity was illegal within 500 feet of a public school. But then again, I guess that’s what happens when you’re both a persecuted minority and the ruling majority at the same time…
There are far too many persons who used religion as a sorce of force over others. People throughout the world have been prosecuted throughout all of history because their religious beliefs were not the same as other persons religious beliefs.
Being a Messianic Nazarene, I catch it from all sides about how terribly wrong I am, and most persons standing against my religious beliefs see me as a threat to themselves and their beliefs. I just take it in stride, smile, and ask that they prove me wrong. None have done so, and they never shall. Actually, their attacks have strengthened me and my belief in G_d, the Scriptures and the Torah. For those who hate you, simply ask that they may be blessed.