A Drumbeat of Antisemitism in San Diego, Across the U.S.

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO – Near the San Diego State University campus, in San Diego’s daily newspaper, in speeches by members of Congress, and in an apology forced upon a children’s book executive for speaking out against antisemitism, the drumbeat of hatred against our fellow Jews grows increasingly persistent.

Security camera footage shows that the large menorah at Chabad of SDSU that was partially destroyed last week was pulled and twisted by one young woman until a lower branch  of the menorah snapped off.  At the same time a banner promoting Chabad activities was partially ripped down by another woman. The university’s administration promptly condemned the action in a news release issued over the weekend.  SDSU students and Chabad Rabbi Chalom Boudjnah set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for the menorah’s replacement.

The San Diego Union-Tribune ran on Tuesday without any balancing commentary a screed by a trans-sexual Palestinian who accuses Israel of “pinkwashing” in order to distract the world’s attention from its actions in Gaza. That members of the LGBTQ community receive a warmer welcome in Israel than anywhere else in the Middle East is airily dismissed by writer Yazan Zahzah, who fails to acknowledge that, in contrast, being gay or transsexual in the Palestinian territories or in many Arab states often will lead to beatings and even murder.

The American Jewish Congress on Tuesday criticized Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona for attending a fundraising event organized by Nick Fuentes, whom it identified as a “renowned antisemite, Holocaust denier and white supremacist.”  After the American Jewish Congress declined to accept Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s apology for comparing a mandate to wear anti-Covid masks to the Nazis’ order to Jews to wear yellow stars, Gosar said the lesson to Greene ought to be ‘never apologize to the left.”  The AJCongress said Greene’s apology seemed insincere as she continues to use the Holocaust as a political prop.

Elsewhere, the 22,000-member Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators forced an apology and the resignation of its Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer April Powers after she posted a statement on the organization’s website that said, “It saddens us that for the fourth time this year we are compelled too invite you to join us in not looking away and in speaking out against all forms of hate, including antisemitism. “

On Sunday, Lin Oliver, the group’s executive director, issued an apology “to everyone in the Palestinian community who felt unrepresented, silenced or marginalized.  SCBW acknowledges the pain our actions have caused to our Muslim and Palestinian members and hope we can heal from this moment.”

In her apology, Powers said, “I neglected to address the rise in Islamophobia and deeply regret that omission.  As someone who is vehemently against Islamophobia and hate speech of any kind I understand that intention is not impact and I am so sorry.”

Left unstated was why one cannot oppose antisemitism in one message and Islamophobia in another.  What is the undertext of a policy that says if one is to condemn one, one must simultaneously condemn the other?

With all this going on right here in San Diego, and across the United States, one gets the feeling that the world is somehow becoming topsy turvy.  This is especially so, when one reads stories such as one distributed by the PR Newswire, that began: “The rabbi of the United Arab Emirates, Rabbi Levi Duchman, while fixing the mezuzah at the Israeli Embassy in Abu Dhabi:, (stated): ‘There aren’t many places in the world where you can safely lead a Jewish lifestyle without fear the way you can in the Emirates. I am convinced that this is only the beginning, and invite Jews worldwide to come to the Emirates.”

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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com