Delco rabbis condemn the new wave of hate crimes
Local rabbis are not only guiding community members the principles of Judaism — now they’re offering pastoral council to their congregants who have a fear of being attacked for being who they are.
“What I’m hearing is from my congregants is what this means to us as Jews, what this means in terms of our safety,” said Rabbi Peter Rigler of Temple Shalom in Broomall. “Is this something we should be worried about? That’s really new for me.”
Attacks on Jews have notably been on the rise recently with vandalism occurring in Jewish cemeteries, and bomb threats being phoned into day schools and community centers.
One of the latest anti-Semitic acts to occur happened over the weekend in Philadelphia where 100 headstones were toppled at Mount Carmel Cemetery.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, 31 bomb threats were called into Jewish community centers and day schools on Feb. 27 alone, and 100 in total since Jan. 4. Bombs, they report, have not been found in any of those situations. They also report 917 hate groups operating in the country, including four neo-Nazi groups in Pennsylvania (two that are statewide and one each in Pittsburg and Philadelphia).
“It’s a time of worry and we have a lot of people who I’ve spoken to who are scared, who don’t really know what to make of what’s happening in the world,” said Rigler. “We think it’s part of something bigger that’s been happening in the country.”
Rabbi Jeremy Gerber of Ohev Shalom in Wallingford said people are feeling emboldened following the most recent presidential election and that the administration of President Donald Trump hasn’t made bold enough statements to denounce such hateful acts.
“It’s not the result of direct support of government, but perhaps not responding quickly enough has kind of giving move oxygen to what they believe,” Gerber said.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer read a statement on Trump’s behalf earlier this week condemning such attacks at Jewish cemeteries, day schools and community centers. Trump later speculated that the Jewish community itself could be the source of the hate crimes.
Rigler believes that the hatred has been there all along, but that the political rhetoric has “brought it to the surface.”
“When it’s reported and talked about, I think there are copycats who are running around and recreating the same hysteria,” Rigler said, believing that the attacks will continue.
While federal support and action may not be what they expected, rabbis are offering the best council they can in a situation that Gerber called “unique and uncomfortable”.
“I work with people here who have not felt the way they feel right now,” Gerber said. “We talk about leaning on one another and drawing strength from the community. We want them to express their fears and concerns because processing that out loud gives us strength.”
RIgler added that he’s been telling his community members that they are no less safe than they were a week or two ago, and that they are expanding volunteer programs and services to continue to build unity and work against hate.
Local religious leaders and groups of other denominations and faiths have been showing an outpouring of support for area Jews, rabbis said.
“I have received emails and calls from colleagues and from strangers who wish to stand with the Jewish community at this time,” said Potemken.
“Hate crimes,” she added, “are on the rise in our beloved country and it is natural to feel sadness, fear and anger in the face of these incidents. Times like these call for ongoing acts of kindness and generosity.”
Rigler said his colleagues in the Marple Newtown Clergy Association have given an outpouring of support with love and partnership.
Gerber, who helped published a statement from the InterFaith Council of Southern Delaware County, said there’s a united sense of mutual support among all religions at this time.
“If one group gets attacked, we’re gonna stand up for all of them. Violence against one is violence against all. We want to show the same support … solidarity and say that we are our brothers and sisters keepers,” he said.
Unity, love and compassion were the three most common themes rabbis expressed are needed at a time when increased acts of hatred have been targeted at Jews, Muslims, blacks, Hispanic immigrants and other religious, ethnic or minority populations.
Ultimately, Gerber says the world just needs more compassion.
“I think when we have hierarchical thinking … that is worse for all of us. What the bible, what all religions teach, is you receive more when you give, when you’re generous, welcoming, but when we batten down the hatches ... it has a very negative effect on the spirit of the individual. It makes us small-minded and makes fear prevalent and not generous a spirit that is open, kind and compassionate.”