The Jewish Transcript, Seattle
October 8, 1999
Letters
Parallels
Robert Stern’s angry letter (Sept 24 Transcript) attacking the idea that there is any parallel to be drawn between the systematic murder of millions of Jews during World War II and violent hate attacks against Jews and other minority group members here in America in recent years, can serve a useful purpose.
For one, it raises the question of whether a Holocaust (against Jews, blacks, non-white immigrants or any other targeted group) can happen in America here – bringing the debate out of the halls of academia and into a public forum, which is important.
If the Anti-Defamation League’s annual reports on anti-Semitic hate and violence are too much for Mr. Stern because of the “prejudiced” nature of that organization, I suggest he go to the public library and bring up the Internet website of Klanwatch and the Southern Poverty Law Center in Mobile, Alabama. They’re not a Jewish organization and they monitor hate groups around the country: www.splcenter.org
While it is true that there are not tens of millions of Americans involved tacitly through silence or enthusiastically at massive rallies denouncing Jews and saluting a dictator as was the case in Germany and Austria in the 1930’s and WWII years, it is dangerous for us to ignore the huge increase in hate groups on the Internet, heavily armed hate and militia groups throughout the U.S., and attacks on Jews by Christian fundamentalists who seek our conversion.
Three local ministers with whom I have done Holocaust education work to their Christian congregations have told me that they worry that continued “resistance” of Jews to accept Jesus as Messiah will certainly lead to more physical attacks on Jews in America. Therefore, it would be negligent for us to ignore campaigns against Jews, whether they are by extremist groups that many of us wish to simply “write-off” as nutcases or if they’re concerted multi-million dollar conversion campaigns targeting Jews.
We don’t have to go far to find virulent anti-Semitic groups either. The American Front Skinheads is in Everett. There are white racist groups throughout Washington state. There is a big organizing drive by white racist skinheads targeting white teens in Lane County, Oregon, ironically enough in the same area where the University of Oregon at Eugene is located.
Yours,
Akiva Segan
Seattle