Planned ‘Day of Hate’ a fizzer
Day passes by with packed synagogues and no violence.
A “National Day of Hate” against Jews in the United States planned by white supremacists that triggered sweeping warnings from law enforcement and Jewish security officials came and went without significant incident last Saturday.
Synagogues and Jewish institutions across the United States had spent the preceding days shoring up their security procedures, reassuring their congregants and requesting extra patrols from local police.
But the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which monitors hate, wrote on Twitter that a meaningful escalation of antisemitic activity did not come to pass, despite some white supremacist actions and propaganda drops around the country. “Despite concerns over increased antisemitic activity, [today has] been a pretty typical Saturday in America,” the organisation tweeted.
Some Jews had said they were staying home or taking other precautions against the threats of synagogue vandalism issued earlier in the week by a small extremist group in Iowa. But law enforcement officials in New York and Chicago said ahead of Saturday that they saw no indications of concrete threats. That assessment was echoed by the Secure Community Network, a group that coordinates security for Jewish institutions nationwide.
“This is yet another example of how social media is contributing to the rise in antisemitism, this time by spreading and amplifying the activities of what is surely a very small group of people,” Julie Platt, chair of the Jewish Federations of North America, wrote in an email on Friday.
Reports from synagogues suggested they were crowded on Shabbat with Jews who said they would not be deterred by hate. In some cases, they were joined by non-Jewish allies.
“It was packed,” said Rabbi Eric Woodward of Beth El-Keser Israel in New Haven, Connecticut, where a pre-planned Silly Hat Shabbat was transformed at the last moment into an act of defiance.
Communities demonstrated defiance in other ways, too. Temple Emanu-El in New York City held its Shabbat morning services on Fifth Avenue, rather than inside its sanctuary on the block. Among those attending were non-Jews who wanted to show their support.
“For me, today was a symbol of resistance, of being in solidarity with the Jewish people. With all of the threats and bad things, it’s a symbol of strength and solidarity,” Jose del Rosairo told the New York Post.
The ADL had encouraged Jews to turn Saturday into “Shabbat of Peace, Not Hate.” Meanwhile, social media influencers exhorted their followers to demonstrate support for Jews under threat.
One of the most prominent non-Jews to join a synagogue service on Saturday was New York governor Kathy Hochul, who was at New York City’s Congregation Beth Simchat Torah.
“When there are people out there who think that by their words alone, by declaring a day of hate, that the rest of us, particularly those in the Jewish community, would cower and say we’re afraid of them, we’re going to stay home,” Hochul said in brief remarks to the congregation. “They certainly misjudged the situation.”
The ADL said there had in fact been protests by antisemitic groups in Ohio and Georgia on Saturday and antisemitic materials distributed in at least four other states, even as feared violence did not materialise.
“We know that the threat does not magically disappear as the sun sets on this so-called ‘day of hate’,” the organisation tweeted. “We know that vigilance is part of being Jewish in America in 2023. And we take great comfort in knowing we do not face this darkness alone.”
JTA
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