Dec 5, 2023·edited Dec 5, 2023Liked by Santa Barbara Current
I was 5 years old and in Schul for Yom Kippur when the rabbi announced that Israel was under attack and it wasn’t looking good. The usual Yom Kippur services were even more solemn than usual that day.
Over 50 years has passed since that day and every year there has been something. It never ends this crap. I have tried over the years to escape it but there is no escape, not in sport, not in art, not in academia, not even here in Sunny Happy Santa Babylon...
I remember backpacking and camping with some Jewish friends from temple in the 1970's in the Midwest and West. We were told by locals not to mention our names (if they sounded Jewish) and definitely don't wear Star of David or Yamakas in public. I thought it was weird but didn't want any trouble...
Grandparents escaped it from Russia and Europe, Parents escaped it on the East Coast, I escaped it, temporarily, moving here...Married with children now, to explain it to my young daughter at holidays I use this simple refrain:
“They tried to kill us. They failed. Let’s eat!” 😃
Thank you for writing this. Despite being well aware of the ever enduring specter of anti-Semitism, I was still shocked to see how anti-Semitism has become globalized and, basically, legitimized.
I was 5 years old and in Schul for Yom Kippur when the rabbi announced that Israel was under attack and it wasn’t looking good. The usual Yom Kippur services were even more solemn than usual that day.
Over 50 years has passed since that day and every year there has been something. It never ends this crap. I have tried over the years to escape it but there is no escape, not in sport, not in art, not in academia, not even here in Sunny Happy Santa Babylon...
I remember backpacking and camping with some Jewish friends from temple in the 1970's in the Midwest and West. We were told by locals not to mention our names (if they sounded Jewish) and definitely don't wear Star of David or Yamakas in public. I thought it was weird but didn't want any trouble...
Grandparents escaped it from Russia and Europe, Parents escaped it on the East Coast, I escaped it, temporarily, moving here...Married with children now, to explain it to my young daughter at holidays I use this simple refrain:
“They tried to kill us. They failed. Let’s eat!” 😃
Thank you for writing this. Despite being well aware of the ever enduring specter of anti-Semitism, I was still shocked to see how anti-Semitism has become globalized and, basically, legitimized.
Great encouragement Celeste! Thank you for the reminder of what used to be. I hope we can get back to that.