Articles by Alan Ronkin

This week, Jews around the world will gather as we have done for thousands of years to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. We will hear the sound of the shofar which invites us to reflect on the year behind us and consider our responsibilities in the year ahead. 

Antisemitism is not a Jewish problem. It’s a societal problem. And just like we wouldn’t ask the AAPI community, for example, to solve anti-Asian hate on its own, we can’t expect the Jewish community to tackle antisemitism by itself. However, according to AJC, 47% of American Jews feel that antisemitism is taken less seriously than other forms of bigotry. 

Most American Jewish millennials (ages 25 to 40) express support for Israel, consider it an important part of their Jewish identities and remain emotionally attached to the Jewish state, according to a recent American Jewish Committee survey. But this support is costing them socially and professionally. Young Jews are feeling isolated, erased and “othered” by their peers, employers and some parts of the public.

Last Saturday, during Judaism’s Sabbath, an armed intruder at a Colleyville, Texas, synagogue held hostage the rabbi and three of his congregants for nearly 12 hours. This is not the first attack on a synagogue in the United States. Memories of the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018 and the shooting at the Chabad House in Poway, California, in 2019 are still fresh.

To ensure a thriving, effective, Jewish community and a strong, resilient America, we must work to bring one another closer through paying close attention to nuance, civility and respect.

When I was a kid, I had no idea how to stand up to the bullies and fight antisemitism head on. A few pennies on their own might not seem like a big deal. But the damage inflicted was. It must stop. What do we do? What is our role as Jews and American citizens? We must stand up and call out attacks, physical and otherwise, and demand to be seen and heard. Perpetrators must be held accountable.

In this time of social unrest and great unpredictability, fighting hate and racism jointly sends an important message to all Americans that, especially now, it is time to pay close attention to what unifies us rather than obsessively focus on what could divide us.

Anti-BDS laws neither prohibit expressing criticism of Israel nor infringe on the right to engage in political boycotts.

The bloody confrontation in Charlottesville tragically showed again that hate groups are still very active and cannot simply be dismissed as marginal or insignificant elements in our society.

With Israelis suffering from Palestinian attacks, Jackson Diehl joined those who fault Israel while ignoring a reality that Israel cannot.