| Vol. 3 No. 10 May 15, 2008 |
| On May 15, 2008, Communities United issued the following statement concerning vandalism that was done to the Beth Israel Center: “Hate, once again, has come to our community. Three swastikas and the words “Die Jew” were written on the entry door and exterior wall of Beth Israel Center, one of Madison’s synagogues. That swastikas would be drawn on the doors to a synagogue just days before the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day is as cowardly as it is despicable. Seventy-five years ago on January 30, 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany and the world stood silent. It was on that January day that the symbol of the Nazi party, the swastika, became for all time a symbol of hatred for and planned destruction of the Jewish people, its institutions, and its community. Seventy years ago on November 9 and 10, 1938 Kristallnacht – The Night of Broken Glass took place throughout Germany and Austria and, once again, there was silence. Sixty-five years ago, the silence continued as the number of Jews killed by SS Einsatzgruppen passed one million and the Nazis, on March 22, opened the newly built gas chamber and crematory IV at Auschwitz and two weeks later the fifth gas chamber and crematory. With five crematories operating at Auschwitz, the Nazis proudly recorded their daily capacity of 4,756 bodies. By the time it ended, six million Jews – including one-and-one-half million children – were murdered in the death factories of the Third Reich. The Holocaust, the planned destruction of the Jews and their institutions and communities, began with words and symbols – the same words and symbols that have now, once again, come to Madison. The world stood silent then. Communities United will not stand silent today. We, who come from many different communities, condemn and reject these messages of hate. This time, the hatred was directed at our community’s Jews and its institution. Over the years, hate has been directed at gay and lesbian individuals, Native Americans, Hmong, Latinos, Muslims, African-American, immigrants, the disabled, and others who are part of the beautiful and valued mosaic which is our community. We invite all to join with us and loudly proclaim “not in our town” today or ever. We will never be silent when hate, in any form, comes to our community.” As much as we want to believe in the forces of human evolution that humankind will evolve and we will leave hate behind, we must always understand that the forces of hate are always with us, much like a virus in the human body. It may appear that we have rid ourselves of the virus and we are feeling fine, but the virus is always present, waiting to take advantage of conditions that will allow it to spread its infection throughout the body once again. The forces of ignorance and hate displayed by the incident at Beth Israel Center and in Jenna, La. when nooses were hung in a schoolyard tree are always with us in our society, waiting to take hold when the opportunity seems ripe. It is no surprise to me that this incident occurred during a period of economic uncertainty, when people grasp for stereotypes and images to create scapegoats that will put into simplified, erroneous terms the complex economic and sociological forces that are negatively affecting their lives. That is why our community must always be alert to the possible spread of racism, ignorance and hate. It is up to this community to “immunize” itself against these hateful actions by promoting understanding of each other and accepting and ensuring each other’s right to participate in the economic and social dynamics of our society. And when the “virus” of ignorance and racism does begin to show itself and attempt to spread, it is up to organizations like Communities United and all of us to attack the ignorance and make sure that it can’t spread and infect the unthinking and easily led members of our community. As a community, we must condemn this action at Beth Israel Center and all recent actions that have occurred against members of the African American and Hmong communities during the past year. Ignorance and racism cannot be dismissed as the actions of the few and therefore nothing is done about it. Over time, it can fester and spread. We must never let that happen. |
| Reflections/Jonathan Gramling Hate acts of future past |
