Local Antisemitism Can Hurt Even More; Our Campaign is a Solution
Today, I want to talk about what we can do on the local level to fight antisemitism. I'm thinking about this now because the editor of my local newspaper asked me to write an op-ed about how Jews feel during this time of heightened tension. I live in a small community in Northern Michigan with just a handful of Jews. Here's what I told the editor:
"Back in 2017, after the Charlottesville "Unite The Right" rally (Tiki-torch guys chanting "Jews will not replace us"), Betsy Coffia (a local politician) invited me to speak at an anti-Nazi vigil near the courthouse. Back then, I felt like things were going to get bad, but also that my fellow progressives had my back. Today, many Jews of all political stripes are feeling very isolated and alone. There was just a tiny scattering of people at a Traverse City vigil after the October 7 massacre in Israel. Then this anti-Israel discussion came to the Traverse Area District Library, and it was so crowded that I wasn't able to get in. The invited speakers there have a track record of rhetoric that crosses the line from anti-Israel to antisemitic. I'd write about how many Jews feel right now, when that line is crossed, and urge everybody to check in on their Jewish neighbors. We're not doing okay, and sometimes the silence hurts even more."
I'll write that op-ed in the next few days and link to it here when it runs. I'm mentioning this because while we all follow international news, much of what we experience is local. When there is silence coming from our friends, when a neighbor is shockingly indifferent to our pain, when your local city government passes resolutions that fail to even acknowledge the Jewish experience, we feel it more personally than when we are "doomscrolling" through our social media. Part of what I hope to accomplish in our book is to gather information and advice on what we can do on the local level to fight perhaps the most hurtful form of antisemitism—the one that comes from ignorance. Together, we can help educate our local communities.
Also, I have an update on what I'm doing to promote this campaign. Next week, I'm going to the studio of my local NPR station to discuss the our book, From Outrage to Action: A Practical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism. I say "our" book because many of my backers chose the webinar and "beta reader" tiers, so I'll be consulting with them as I do the research and writing. I'll post a link to my interview when that goes live. In addition, I've booked myself on two podcasts, and a third in the wings, to discuss this campaign.
And, of course, it is also up to all of you to please spread the Kickstarter link to your own local and online communities and urge them to participate. Together, we really can make a difference.