guestpost by Jennifer Yael Green Leaked recordings of a private conversation between three LA city council members that revealed racist, antisemitic, and homophobic comments have
A D’Var Torah and reflection on Isaiah from Mishkan Chicago’s Yom Kippur services: “Because casting off the yoke of antisemitism means building deep partnerships with our neighbors and other marginalized communities, rather than ceding to the existing power structure… It’s not going to be easy, but we’re asking people to show up. To engage in this messy, constantly evolving work of transformation. To love ourselves and our people. To hold ourselves with compassion, and push ourselves outside of our comfort zones. And we need to hold in our minds a dream of what true safety could feel like. we’re asking people to show up. To engage in this messy, constantly evolving work of transformation. To love ourselves and our people. To hold ourselves with compassion, and push ourselves outside of our comfort zones. And we need to hold in our minds a dream of what true safety could feel like.”
While I appreciate the Senate’s gesture and statement, I am also distrustful. Throughout history, the main way anti-Semitism has functioned has been for people in true positions of power to pick off the Jews to use as their scapegoats, fig leaves and shields to protect them from opposition from the main targets of their exploitation and oppression. They want to divide us Jews from other, oppressed, minority communities, making us unsympathetic of their correct claims of abuse by the power structures, until such a point that minority communities direct their rage at the more accessible Jews, rather than at the true, deep sources of their oppression. This has happened for centuries, and it’s happening right now. We Jews have to resist being played as pawns in this way and maintain our solidarity with all oppressed communities, even as we take responsible measures to protect ourselves.
