Was the reaction to the mass murders of Jews in Pittsburgh serious enough to alert others to growing anti-Semitism in our country?

No. The reaction to this event and growing anti-Semitism is far from serious enough to unlearn the hate in many people, to awaken the truth for those not paying attention, and to inspire courage and give voice to those who are already awakened.   

No one is born anti-Semitic, racist, xenophobic or hate-filled.  That is learned behavior.  

For young unsuspecting minds and ears, anti-Semitism and all forms of hate are modeled and validated, intentionally or not, with stinging comments spoken at dinner tables, under one’s breath in some innocuous setting or on travels through venues outside of one’s bubble of sameness.

For many, targeted hate is taught with outright intention and indoctrination displayed overtly and uttered from rally podiums and social media more openly now than ever.

Noticing differences is natural. Respecting differences is normal. Hate based on differences is neither. Anti-Semitism is learned, and reactions to it have been complacent, slow or silent for centuries. Should we expect the reaction to Pittsburgh be any different?

In response to this tragedy and weekly anti-Semitic, racist and hateful actions, too many still refuse to name and confront it.  Too many take cover with “thoughts and prayers.” Today, the events and “no reaction” have become normalized and even perpetuated. The acts themselves and the numbness to such acts have become enculturated.

Pittsburgh is history. When the shooting occurred, it competed with headlines about “that bomb thing,” the Mexican “invasion” and outlandish election rhetoric. Locally, fortunately, the St. Louis American, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the St. Louis Jewish Light featured strong opinion pieces and covered the interfaith vigils and moving, inspirational Shabbat services with “crowds like the High Holidays.”

Still, for those responding to the masses and audiences across the country,opportune moments to denounce hate speech, to teach, and to lead were missed or omitted intentionally. Was empathy displayed? Were hate and its anti-Semitic core named? No. America was told there was not enough security. Flags were lowered to half-mast, again.  

It was another day exemplifying the new normal of numbness with predictable preaching (only) to the choir and for everyone else, rationalizing — even justifying — disgusting indifference.  

Those murdered and injured in Pittsburgh (may their memory be a blessing) should not just be another marker on the centuries-old timeline of the cancer of anti-Semitism. This episode is lost in a string of one-news-cycle mass shootings, conspicuously diminished by elected officials’ refusal to name it, as reported in this publication, and even used by hate groups as validation for their existence and recruiting. 

We need ultraserious reactions to mass shootings and to hate-baiting events – and to those refusing to declare the events for what they are. We need to respond to the demise of the humanities, the rise of revisionist history and omissions in curriculum. We must live and breathe and teach the counternarrative in classrooms and communities, all houses of worship, the arts and publications of all varieties routinely, not just when a tragic event occurs. 

We recall former first lady Michelle Obama’s convention speech in which she said“when they go low, we go high.” 

Whether we rise above or rise up, for certain, we cannot go silent.   

Those who go low spewing anti-Semitic rhetoric, perpetuating myths and conspiracies, and those who refuse to denounce the offenders should be called out. And, when those in positions to “check and balance” these rationalizers go silent, they, too, should be called out. 

Perhaps, then, the narrative necessary to counter the learning of hate and reactions to events such as those witnessed in Pittsburgh will be serious enough.  

Jere Hochman is an educator in St. Louis who has worked in public schools for over 40 years.  He is a member of Central Reform Congregation.