Major Rally Against Antisemitism on Sunday, July 11, in Washington D.C.

Bruce S. Ticker

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — American Jews were expected to gather on Sunday (July 11) outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., to hear a line-up of more than 20 speakers in a rally co-hosted by prominent Jewish organizations – all to confront the overwhelming levels of antisemitism that have evolved in America and worldwide.

About time. That was my first thought when news reports described how extensive this rally will be. A sign of its importance is the widespread support behind it: Organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Federations of North America, the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish outreach arms of both the Democratic and Republican parties.

The event is a pleasant surprise. It is not likely to eliminate antisemitism overnight if at all, but the very concept is a significant step.

“We have to make sure antisemitism is stifled and not the norm in the United States,” Ron Klein, chairman of the Jewish Democratic Council, told a reporter for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

“Anti-Semitism is a societal problem, and the No Fear Rally will bring together the Jewish community and our allies to jointly express outrage and demand meaningful action,” added Alan Ronkin, director of the American Jewish Committee Washington, D.C., region, according to JTA.

Elisha Wiesel, son of the late novelist and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, is credited for bringing together these and many other organizations for the rally, which is called “No Fear: A Rally in Solidarity with the Jewish People.”

“No Fear” could be a transformative event – not dependent so much on what happens this day but what follows. An event aimed at bringing American Jews together should inspire us to find ways to do more on a consistent basis.

I have long been skeptical that the Jewish community can come together in any defining form. It failed to do so in any sustainable or consistent form when Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists on June 25, 2006, in a cross-border raid via tunnels near the Kerem Shalom border on the Israeli side. He was held in isolation in Gaza for more than five years before being released as part of a prisoner exchange.

It was the perfect opportunity for the Jewish community to unite in a communal cause. There were no contentious side issues. It was simply a matter of seizing a 19-year-old Israeli soldier on Israeli soil and holding him hostage. There were sporadic efforts to protest this travesty – a news conference in Bergen County, N.J., and a drive by a Kansas businessman. Nothing sustaining came of it.

After all, if the Jewish community will not stand up for a credible cause that affects us, why should anyone else?

Wiesel, Klein and Ronkin appear to understand this. Sunday’s rally may be limited in scope, but it can best serve as a vital step in continuing the struggle against antisemitism in America. We must define its origins of antisemitism here and determine strategies for reducing it.

Some efforts can be tightly organized and others loosely coordinated. Efforts in this regard have worked on a lesser scale. I have been part of it and observed small successes. The trick is to expand on what some people have been doing.

Many people have raised concerns that the role of Israel will be raised during the rally. Granted, our attitudes about Israel are wide-ranging, but Israel-bashing is a major strategy of proponents for the Palestinians who use it to promote antisemitism. We cannot possibly ignore this aspect.

I am unable to attend Sunday’s rally, but I will certainly read news accounts and watch televised segments. I hope that the demonstration will be televised in its entirety, possibly on C-span.

It is uplifting that good people are trying to do something about antisemitism. We live in a nation that provides us with the tools for this. We do not even need to fight them on the beaches or the landing strips, as Winston Churchill said. A more apt quote can be derived from Cliff Robertson’s dialogue as he portrayed Lt. John F. Kennedy in PT 109: “The odds are on our side.”

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Bruce Ticker is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.