Antisemitism

by Judy Babb

This post contains strong language including racial slurs suffered by the author.

​“I’d like to see the world for once all standing hand in hand and hear it echo through the hills for peace throughout the land.”
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Dirty jew! Kike! Jewish big nose! Jew ‘em down! Kike ‘em down!  All horrible words...scarring words...shaming words.  I heard them all.  I was called some of these.  In fact, one day, when I was in 5th grade, my mom went chasing after a boy, another 5th grader from my class, who called me a dirty jew, in the grocery store.  At the time, I was a bit embarrassed by my mom.  But now I think that was a very cool, brave move on her part.  I learned to be ashamed of being jewish...all the way up through my adulthood.  There is still an underlying scar and shame of being jewish.  As much as we were on the receiving end of this hatred, my mom, especially, was very open to me exploring other religions.  I was a Sunday fixture, along with my best friend, Pat, at the Mercer Island Covenant Church. I loved Layman’s viewpoint, where the congregants shared things that they were struggling with and asked for prayers from the other members. I also attended my share of Sunday Mass services with my friends at St. Monica’s, the Catholic Church, on the island.
The security guards that Donald Trump spoke about?  We have those at our synagogue.  “Security” is actually a line item on our yearly dues bill.  It is too bad that our money that goes for that can’t be used for other things.  Every year when I attend the high holiday services with my parents, my son asks if I will be all right.  Will I get shot?  I try to reassure him that I will be fine.  But it definitely crosses my mind, too.  A while back, I don’t recall how many years ago, there was a pipe bomb found at the local jewish community center across the street from our Synagogue.  When I go to our High Holiday services, I size up the security guards every year.  Although they are there to “harden the target”, if someone came armed with an assault rifle or a bomb, it probably wouldn’t be too hard to overpower those guards.
Antisemitism is unfortunately alive and well in Issaquah, too.  We have had swastikas sprayed on Snake Hill, in Klahanie and various places around the community, in years past. Even one day, recently, my daughter and I went to get our toenails polished and on the other side of me was a man with a swastika tattoo.  I should have spoken about it with him but I was there with my daughter and we were there to relax.  I wish that I could have engaged him in a conversation about what that swastika meant to him.  I regret not being able to do that. There is a Hebrew saying: (Eem ain ani, me le? Eem ain auchshav, matai?), If I am not for me, who will be for me?  If not now, when? We need to speak up when we see acts of hatred and intolerance. It is time to practice and advocate for kindness, love and acceptance for everyone.
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“Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”