Let's suppose you were given a magic wand that could eliminate anti-Semitism. You could use it to rid your town of this hatred, as well as every other town in the United States. For that matter, you could use it to rid our country of every form of hatred based on religion, nationality or ethnic origin.
What lesson would you teach people so they would end the hostilities? What idea would you illuminate in their brains so they realized hating people is the wrong choice?
It seems to me that three possibilities are available. Which one truly represents an opportunity to reduce anti-Semitism?
1. You could wave your wand and instill an attitude of "we should love one another."
This idea has a strong emotional appeal, because we would like to be able to get along with everybody. The day could be filled with warm greetings from everyone we meet and warm relations with all.
Of course, many people would not be comfortable with this approach; too "touchy- feely". More than that, many communities would find it too risky. Jews, especially, would discourage their children from fraternizing too deeply with non-Jewish neighbors because intermarriage would inevitably increase.
However, many Jews would take full advantage of this opportunity to love their (non-Jewish) neighbor - and that would give rise to the worst form of anti-Semitism of them all: Jewish anti-Semitism. The Jews that assimilate would reject their brethren and betray their heritage, and the Jews that refuse to join in would retaliate. And so, we would have a repeat the of the Jew-against-Jew war of Hellenistic times.
2. On the other extreme, you could wave your wand and instill an attitude of "I'll leave you alone and you leave me alone."
This idea has the clear practical advantage of removing any opportunity for trouble to brew because we would simply have nothing to do with one another. Our days would not be filled with friendly interaction, but at least they would not be filled with hostility either.
Every community would be left to its own devices to survive and prosper. Private families, neighborhoods and entire towns would keep to themselves and make do with what they have.
Of course, some communities would do better than others, due to their beliefs and practices and standards - and that would be where the trouble would start. What would happen if one community - say, of Jewish people - prospers based on its own devices, while its neighbors across the river don't do nearly as well? Not only would anti-Semitism return with a vengeance amidst such resentment, but other forms of racial animosity would be fully enraged as well.
3. You could also wave your wand and instill an attitude of "I need you and you need me."
This approach represents an interesting possibility because it conveys the idea that we are all "sailing in the same boat." If either one of us does something to damage the boat, we would all sink.
How could you bring people to realize our co-dependency on one another? In our open and mobile society, our neighbors are typically not our family, fellow congregants, customers or vendors. Some are, but for the most part, the people with whom we worship, play and work are often across town, across the country - and in many cases, across the globe.
For what, then, do we need our neighbors? The field of Homeland Security provides a clear answer: to help keep our homes, schools, houses of worship and workplaces more safe and secure. We all face common threats: natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods; accidents such as fires and blackouts; criminal acts against people and property; and also terrorist planners and perpetrators in the War on Terror.
We all know what could happen if a person saw a fire burning in his neighbor's yard but failed to report it. The entire neighborhood could burn to the ground. A similar tragedy could take place if someone failed to report a prowler, or a person dropping a suspicious package near a school. We would all suffer. It could be our kid in that school.
The person that hates his neighbor is not likely to report a fire or suspicious person in his neighbor's back yard. Nor is his neighbor - as the target of such hostility - likely to report such a threat in his neighbor's yard - or school, or workplace. And so fires, crime and also terrorism could cause immeasurable, horrible - and completely unnecessary - harm; all because people couldn't or wouldn't pick up the phone to call for help, out of spite.
However, if we all understood that we need one another to be alert, vigilant and proactive - on guard to detect and report threats of all kinds to the authorities - then our collective safety and security would be preserved.
Therefore, if I had the wand to eliminate anti-Semitism, I would wave it over people so they realized that hatred prevents us from looking out for one another - and that it works both ways. As a Jew, I would feel more safe and secure if my neighbor understood that he does not have to love me - and may not even like me - but he needs me to report a fire if he does not want his house to burn down. So he should at least stay on my good side, just in case.
Just as I need him.
What lesson would you teach people so they would end the hostilities? What idea would you illuminate in their brains so they realized hating people is the wrong choice?
It seems to me that three possibilities are available. Which one truly represents an opportunity to reduce anti-Semitism?
1. You could wave your wand and instill an attitude of "we should love one another."
This idea has a strong emotional appeal, because we would like to be able to get along with everybody. The day could be filled with warm greetings from everyone we meet and warm relations with all.
Of course, many people would not be comfortable with this approach; too "touchy- feely". More than that, many communities would find it too risky. Jews, especially, would discourage their children from fraternizing too deeply with non-Jewish neighbors because intermarriage would inevitably increase.
However, many Jews would take full advantage of this opportunity to love their (non-Jewish) neighbor - and that would give rise to the worst form of anti-Semitism of them all: Jewish anti-Semitism. The Jews that assimilate would reject their brethren and betray their heritage, and the Jews that refuse to join in would retaliate. And so, we would have a repeat the of the Jew-against-Jew war of Hellenistic times.
2. On the other extreme, you could wave your wand and instill an attitude of "I'll leave you alone and you leave me alone."
This idea has the clear practical advantage of removing any opportunity for trouble to brew because we would simply have nothing to do with one another. Our days would not be filled with friendly interaction, but at least they would not be filled with hostility either.
Every community would be left to its own devices to survive and prosper. Private families, neighborhoods and entire towns would keep to themselves and make do with what they have.
Of course, some communities would do better than others, due to their beliefs and practices and standards - and that would be where the trouble would start. What would happen if one community - say, of Jewish people - prospers based on its own devices, while its neighbors across the river don't do nearly as well? Not only would anti-Semitism return with a vengeance amidst such resentment, but other forms of racial animosity would be fully enraged as well.
3. You could also wave your wand and instill an attitude of "I need you and you need me."
This approach represents an interesting possibility because it conveys the idea that we are all "sailing in the same boat." If either one of us does something to damage the boat, we would all sink.
How could you bring people to realize our co-dependency on one another? In our open and mobile society, our neighbors are typically not our family, fellow congregants, customers or vendors. Some are, but for the most part, the people with whom we worship, play and work are often across town, across the country - and in many cases, across the globe.
For what, then, do we need our neighbors? The field of Homeland Security provides a clear answer: to help keep our homes, schools, houses of worship and workplaces more safe and secure. We all face common threats: natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods; accidents such as fires and blackouts; criminal acts against people and property; and also terrorist planners and perpetrators in the War on Terror.
We all know what could happen if a person saw a fire burning in his neighbor's yard but failed to report it. The entire neighborhood could burn to the ground. A similar tragedy could take place if someone failed to report a prowler, or a person dropping a suspicious package near a school. We would all suffer. It could be our kid in that school.
The person that hates his neighbor is not likely to report a fire or suspicious person in his neighbor's back yard. Nor is his neighbor - as the target of such hostility - likely to report such a threat in his neighbor's yard - or school, or workplace. And so fires, crime and also terrorism could cause immeasurable, horrible - and completely unnecessary - harm; all because people couldn't or wouldn't pick up the phone to call for help, out of spite.
However, if we all understood that we need one another to be alert, vigilant and proactive - on guard to detect and report threats of all kinds to the authorities - then our collective safety and security would be preserved.
Therefore, if I had the wand to eliminate anti-Semitism, I would wave it over people so they realized that hatred prevents us from looking out for one another - and that it works both ways. As a Jew, I would feel more safe and secure if my neighbor understood that he does not have to love me - and may not even like me - but he needs me to report a fire if he does not want his house to burn down. So he should at least stay on my good side, just in case.
Just as I need him.