Two days ago I became the face of Jewish refugee flight from Canada to the US. The Canadian Jewish Press used a photo of me after the arson attack against Schara Tzedeck two years ago to be the face of the article headlined, “Calls emerge for U.S. refugee status as group helps Jewish families flee Canada.” First, I must clarify that I am not planning to move and I don’t seek refugee status. I am a US citizen.
Ironically, the article appeared on the same day that Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic primary for senate in Michigan. Dr. El-Sayed’s role in the current situation is best understood in light of a violent attack earlier this year in his state. In March, Ayman Muhammad Ghazali armed with an AR-style gun and 300 rounds of ammunition opened fire on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, MI. He engaged in a firefight adjacent to children attending classes, injuring one of the temple’s security guards. Ghazali released a video shortly before the attack in which he said, “I will forcefully enter and start shooting at them. [Gd] willing, I will kill as many of them as I possibly can.” El-Sayed held a press conference after the attack standing next to influencer Hassan Piker, who openly supports Hezbollah, Hamas, and all forms of so-called armed resistance. El-Sayed said, “I also think it’s just critical for us to understand that hurt people do hurt people, and the circumstances happening 6,000 miles away can affect the lives that we live here, and if we stand against violence, we’ve got to stand against violence, all violence.”
Michigan may elect a man who justifies violence against a synagogue full of children, because of his interpretations of Middle East conflicts. I am not sure the USA is a safer haven than Canada for the Jews.
One might wonder why no one is expressing outrage against Russian attacks on Ukraine to make political hay. One might ask why Turkey and Pakistan get a pass on their respective treatments of Kurds and Afghan refugees. I believe the answer is rather simple; Jews are a small enough minority that they hardly make a dent in the electorate and Jews are perceived as wealthy and powerful. Sam Altman, Michael Bloomberg, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Alex Karp, Sheldon Adelson, Leslie Wexner, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bob Kraft could be poster children of this issue. Thus, in the powerful-is-evil-powerless-is-good matrix it becomes acceptable – maybe socially obligatory in some circles- to hate Jews.
The remedy is not for Jews to stop trying to succeed. We should not renounce education and entrepreneurship, nor artistic, scientific, or literary achievement. Kudos to the Tulsa folks for trying to attract Canadians to Tulsa. However, from my perspective, creating zones of Jewish success outside the historic homeland of the Jewish people is a little like the early counter proposals to Zionism when we were offered Uganda or Tanzania. These were not acknowledgements of Jewish self-determination; they were convenient, colonialist perceived solutions to the “Jewish problem.” Theodore Herzl took on the Zionist project because he could see no other way to solve the problem of antisemitism than to establish a modern Jewish state in Israel.
El-Sayed and fellow Democratic Socialists espouse their respect for Jews and their disdain for Zionism. They conveniently ignore the fact that Jews have been persecuted in Christian and Muslim lands for centuries. Jews were persecuted even if they converted to the faith of the land that allowed them to stay in exchange for their conversion. Both the Spanish Inquisition and the Nazis persecuted Jews who had converted because of their ancestry. The solution is not finding a new country that will write a new playbook for vilifying the Jews.
The advantage of the State of Israel is that it leaves Jews in control of Jewish lives. Parshat Re’eh emphasizes repeatedly that there is an obligation to bring oneself to the centre – in the language of the Parsha it is מקום אשר יבחר the place that will be chosen [for the permanent Temple]. Under King David that palace became Jerusalem. Under Solomon the First Temple was built.
There is a fundamental difference between Judaism and the other Abrahamic religions. Judaism has no imperialistic or colonial aims. After the Catholic Church was merged with the Roman empire, the Church tried to missionize the world. From the Americas to the Far East Catholics went out to convert the heathens. The Muslims have a different concept – Jihad – which is the spread of Islam by extending the Khalifate. At its peak, the Khalifate extended its domination eastward to India and as far west as Spain.
In neither of those religions is one considered to be allowed into Heaven without total submission and conversion. In the Christendom of the Crusades, and still today in some parts of the world, one is eternally condemned if one has not accepted Jesus. In Islamic theocracies only true believers are granted anything remotely approaching tolerable rights. As Jews in such societies, we are condemned to suffer.
Judaism – the oldest monotheistic religion – famously pushes converts away. As a consequence, Judaism is the smallest ‘major’ religion by population. Thus, Judaism needs a concentrated mass. It needs reinforcement by pulling Jews together culturally and geographically. Perhaps this is why the original concept of the Passover celebration or the Sukkot celebration involved millions of Jews making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for a huge multi-day festival. Josephus tells us that over two million Jews attended the last Passover before the fall of the Second Temple. This mitzvah of pilgrimage reflects the need for reinforcement at the centre. Judaism can succeed without an imperialistic drive, but it must stay strong at the centre.
No disrespect to Tulsa, but the only place there is a secure religious future for the Jews is in Israel. This is true both on the cultural assimilation level and in the personal security level. In North America the dangers of antisemitism might be talked about more often than the dangers of assimilation, but both are existential threats. We have had the gift of a Jewish state for nearly 80 years. We should all be thinking about how our families – in this and in the coming generations – will make it to Israel.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rosenblatt
