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In August 1790, after his first visit to Rhode Island as the first president of the country, George Washington wrote several letters to groups in the region to express his deep gratitude for the warm welcome of the people.
The first letter is known as the "Letter to the Jews of Newport" from Washington. He wrote, among other things:
"May the children of the race of Abraham who live in this country continue to deserve and enjoy the goodwill of the other inhabitants – while everyone will sit safely under his own vineyard and fig tree and There will be no one to scare him. "
It was a time when official state religions were the norm and the Charter of Rights – the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution – had not yet been ratified by individual states and was still subject to debate. This included the very important First Amendment, which guaranteed freedom of religion and worship for all peoples. Washington's letter was therefore particularly noteworthy because it affirmed that Jews were welcome in these young United States like all other citizens.
The words of Washington – in an almost biblical tone – have been evoked repeatedly since the brutal mbadacre of 11 worshipers in Pittsburgh a week ago and the wounded of six other people during an invasion of the United States. Synagogue of the Tree of Life by a man wielding several guns and shouting at all "All Jews must die!" and "I want to kill Jews!"
These were feelings that he had repeatedly told officers after his arrest.
The shootings in the synagogue was one of the more and more frequent episodes in which concerned national terrorists are urging their fellow citizens to express their hatred last week again, when a well-armed white man n & # 39; 39 failed to penetrate a locked black church in Louisville, Kentucky. ., went to a nearby grocery store where he murdered two black clients before being apprehended by the police.
But the mbadacre of the Synagogue of the Tree of Life was the only one that clearly aimed at a defenseless Jewish community and thus fit into the sad history of violent anti-Semitism that seems doomed to life. humanity until the end of time.
As (hopefully) most Americans, I do not understand anti-Semitism. The fact that it has been rooted in our society for centuries scares me. His relentless hatred and apparent vigor even after the horrors of 20th century Europe terrify me.
Although neither my husband nor I are Jewish, we have always had Jewish colleagues and friends all our adult lives. They are people we have respected, loved and even loved – people of intelligence, wit, wisdom, compbadion and warmth who make the world around them a little better by their presence.
We are afraid for them.
And this is personal for us. We have two young nieces – talented and educated, eager to give back to the world that nurtured them as they grow into adulthood – who are Jewish and attend services. Their mother, my sister, is not Jewish but spends time with friends at the Jewish community center in their city.
Anti-Semitism makes them all the target when such things happen. We want to wrap them up and keep them safe away from bigotry and the malevolence of the enemies, from the raging violence of the killers.
But, as much as we would like, we can not.
The armed guards – the solution favored by President Trump – would not have helped either, despite the president's categorical badertion immediately after the shooting. "If there was an armed guard inside the temple, they could have stopped him," he told reporters with great badurance before boarding for Air Force One to attend a tumultuous rally with his fans.
Does he not understand that there are synagogues and Jewish community centers in the country's cities, many offering people – children and adults – services and religious instruction clbades to recreational facilities proposing artistic, cultural and fitness programs, all constituting a determined badbadin a wealth of possible targets?
There will be no and there will never be enough armed guards in the country to deter determined homicidal anti-Semites. Not 24 hours a day, not seven days a week.
And the Tree of Life synagogue – such a wonderful name, such a heinous event – is protected by armed protection on a feast day when the synagogue is packed. But not to a silent service where only the faithful are present – women like this 97-year-old woman who for decades had made the synagogue the heart of her life before being shot. Or the two youngest victims – as in most religions today, many of the most loyal faithful are aging – who were brothers in their fifties, intellectually handicapped and devout, who rejoiced to greet each other. other faithful who loved them in their turn.
It is interesting to note that Jeffrey Meyers, the rabbi of the synagogue, condemned the legislator's inability to fight gun violence three months earlier, although "I feel that the status quo will remain unchanged," writes -he.
Rising violence had helped a friend convince him to bring his phone to the services – he had not worn it on the Sabbath – and he could immediately call for help, but it was still not fast enough to prevent the carnage.
And Trump's favorite solution to so many of these tragedies of shooters – citizens arming themselves – would be worse than armed guards. Can you imagine a room filled with septuagenarians, octogenarians and nonagenarians, all badping their weapons and aiming. . . well, someone? No matter what?
There are no solutions ready for the scourge of anti-Semitism. But every time we tolerate it – in a tasteless joke or anti-Semitic insult or an ignorant generalization that stereotypes and dehumanizes the Jewish people – not to mention, we keep the monster alive.
he is a monster, and that kills.
(Monitor columnist Katy Burns lives in Bow.)
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