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Happy Hanukkah everybody. This is one of those years when Christmas and Hanukkah are at the same time and it couldn’t be better timing. We are living through a scary resurgence of antisemitism in America and I think we all need to think about how that can happen in 2022.
I guess we shouldn’t be too shocked, considering history. But I truly thought that the horrors of WW2 had finally shaken the mass consciousness of the world on this one and human kind had more or less moved past it. It certainly had not been prevalent in my lifetime but here we are again, dealing with crude antisemitism every day. Of course, this is just the latest horror in the right’s open re-embrace of crude xenophobia,racism and homophobia.
The events of the past few years in this regard have truly been shocking, especially when combined with our fetish for guns and a resurgent violent right wing. As some of us predicted, this is what Trump meant when he said he wanted to make America great again.
I wish I could say that I thought this was a passing paroxysm simply caused by the stresses of the pandemic and Trump’s chaotic reign. Sadly, I don’t. This is a global movement and it’s been gaining steam. We must pay attention.
We were on to this development pretty early, posting frequently about the radicalization of the right wing and the danger it presents to the country and the world. I wish I could say it’s gotten better over the two decades I’ve been covering it but I can’t. It’s maturing and I’m very worried that if it isn’t driven back now, we may find ourselves in a very bad place before long.
Having said all that, I’m encouraged that the center and the left have not been asleep at the wheel and seem to be more engaged than I’ve seen them in many moons. Just today we are seeing the January 6th Committee presenting its final report, pushing hard to hold Trump and his cronies accountable, something I would not have bet would happen a few years back. (I used to call them the “don’t make trouble” caucus after a classic old Yiddish joke.) Instead they have embraced the “good trouble” creed of the late John Lewis lately. That is what’s needed now, more than ever.
Anyway, this should be a happy time for all of us, secular and religious alike. I hope you will all have the opportunity to take a breath and rest for a bit even as the political world remains in turmoil and flux. We will be here following the story as usual because that’s what we do, day in and day out.
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Happy Hollandaise everyone!