Governor Shapiro, Antisemitism, Islamophopia

I must admit that both Governor Neuman and Governor Shapiro have turned me off in their quest for the Presidency. In the recent Oscar Awards a particular actor who expected to win the best actor award failed to do so because of his “campaign for the award” that turned members of the Academy off to bypass him in favor of Michael Jordan. I feel the same way about these two governors. It is obvious that they are on a campaign for the presidency. Why not consider people such as Governor Whitmer of Michigan or Governor Beshear of Kentucky? I hope that the Democrats will be open to all possibilities.

But I changed my mind about Shapiro when I read some of his ideas about religion and faith that jive with my own. He recently addressed an International Conference for thousands of Jewish students and quoted “it is our responsibility to repair the world to do His work, and I feel optimistic to get this done.” He has also been celebrated for speaking out to include a wide range of faiths that should be honored. The comment from him that struck a chord with me was “his closeness to his own religion has allowed him to better understand others.”

I put it another way when celebrating the religious diversity of EA. I said, “That I can embrace diversity by being clear about my own faith. As the spiritual leader of the school, I indicated that my faith is deepened by experiencing the faith of others and vice versa. That is what held the whole thing together. If you try to be all things to all people, you will be nothing to anyone. The key word is respect or, in religious language, reverence for others. I believe that Jesus was about inclusion, not exclusion.

It might surprise you that I never knew the faith perspective of people in our community unless they made it known to me for various reasons. I taught diversity courses, attended workshops on the Holocaust and know the history of antisemitism.  It is very sad to see that antisemitism still exists after the enlightenment. It is latent in our culture. I have had many interfaith weddings. My goal is for everyone in the congregation to see themselves in the service. When I suggested to one of our graduates that a rabbi be present for his wedding to accompany me, he commented, “You are my rabbi. I don’t need anyone else.”

I had a wedding where the bride was raised Presbyterian, but her family had strong Jewish roots. She was marrying a Quaker from a long line of Quakers. I created the service with the former students. The opening was Christian as were some of the biblical readings and prayers. We included a time of silence for the Quakers but prefaced that by a statement of why silence is so important in Quakerism. The concluding prayers were from the Jewish marriage service as well as an explanation of why the glass is broken at the end. The congregation could see themselves in the service and gained awareness of the heart of the faiths that did not belong to them. When The New York Times came to write about the couple, they wound up writing more about the service.

Since the beginning of Trump’s War, there has been a rise in antisemitism. That is a reality in the same way that people react to what Israel is doing reaches into our population here. Jewish people in our country become one thing with Israel, one identity during the war.

This is not the first time that a people’s actions get translated to innocent bystanders. Islamophobia and Islam have suffered the same fate. After 9/11 Muslims in America became a hated group for a heinous act caused by others in the destruction of the twin towers. It was terrible because people didn’t separate actions of terrorists from ordinary Muslim Americans. Too many Americans proclaimed all Muslims are bad.

The ignorance regarding what Islam is about was uninformed. For example, the term Jihad was seen as a battle cry for war. It really means a struggle or finding the way with God. I decided that EA should host a National Conference on Understanding Islam the following Spring after 9/11. I gathered world famous speakers from the University of Chicago and Penn thanks to contacts I had at Penn including two Muslim women scholars. The conference brought people from all over the nation.

An article announcing the conference appeared in the Inquirer. Then the response came. I was called various names that I can’t repeat. My email blew up with hate mail. I will never forget a call I got from a person organizing a similar event at Rutgers University. He had received multiple death threats and asked how I was weathering the storm. I felt strongly that nothing should prevent the conference from happening. I had security in place during the conference.

The speakers at the two-day conference broke down stereotypes of Muslim people. It was an exciting and inspiring conference. People took new learning back to their schools. But there is one thing that I forgot! There was a contingent of Black Muslims who attended the entire conference and added spice to the conversations.

When the conference concluded, I publicly thanked the speakers and those who attended.

Obviously, the conference was at the Merion Campus in the theater which had a center aisle. After most people left, one of the Black Muslims who looked like a professional football player slowly walked down the center aisle like a man with a purpose. We locked eyes. He gave me a huge hug. When he released me, he said, “Thank you for telling the truth about Islam when so many people hate us because they don’t understand what we really believe.” It made all the threats worthwhile. My core belief about controversy and angry attacks is that once you get to know a person, all the labels drop by the wayside. That is my hope that people will truly understand what Judaism is really about today.