By Eric George Tauber
CINCINNATI, Ohio — Five years ago, on August 11, 2017, in the normally quiet college town of Charlottesville, VA, the peace was disrupted by the “Unite the Right” rally. The rally brought together Neo-Confederates, Neo-Nazis, the Klan, Patriot Front and other “militias” espousing White Supremacism. I don’t think any of us will ever forget how we felt as we watched a mob of angry, violent men marching through the streets chanting “JEWS WILL NOT REPLACE US!”
That evening, congregants at Beth Israel in Charlottesville were hastily ushered out a back door carrying the Torah scrolls. Thankfully, no violence or vandalism came to the shul, but the precautions were well taken.
The rally also brought together a group of counter-demonstrators who would not let such hateful, bigoted rhetoric go unanswered. Things came to a head when a domestic terrorist, James Fields used his car as a deadly weapon by driving it into the crowd, injuring nineteen and murdering one, a lovely, bright-eyed, idealistic young woman named Heather Heyer.
The next day, the 45th occupant of the Oval Office, mindful of who his most ardent supporters are, said that there were “very fine people on both sides.”
On August 14, 2017, when a rabbi was a no-show at the hastily organized Unity Vigil, I proudly represented the Jewish community by singing Haveinu Shalom Aleichem.
On the fifth anniversary of this infamous rally, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum hosted an online seminar called “The Foot Soldiers of White Supremacy.” Museum Historian, Dr. Rebecca Erbelding was joined by a fellow historian, Dr. Edna Friedberg and David Mills, a lawyer who sued the groups for the damage and loss of life that they caused.
What were the Alt-Right marchers trying to accomplish?
Ostensibly, they were protesting a recent decision by the Charlottesville City Council to remove a statue lionizing Confederate General Robert E Lee. On their flyers, the organizers purposely called the location “Lee Park” even though it had been renamed “Emancipation Park.” The message was clear: their hero was the defender of slavery, not emancipation.
“To be pro-White, you are anti-everything else. … It wouldn’t be murder to kill them because they’re not even human.” (Frohlich, a former White Nationalist)
The hate-group Identity Europa has strict rules about looking and sounding presentable. They are to be well-groomed with clean clothes. They want their men looking manly and their women looking feminine and motherly. They are not to use racial slurs and Nazi rhetoric in public. What is said behind closed doors is quite another matter….
“Without hatred of Jews, there would be no movement.” (Quote by a White Nationalist)
David Mills explained that the American Alt-Right is just the latest version of an old playbook. The imagery of torches and flags with black eagles on red backgrounds is intentionally reminiscent of the Nazis. Interestingly, participants were discouraged from displaying Hooked Crosses (aka Swastikas) as this symbol might hurt recruitment. While there were some Nazi flags among those who didn’t get the memo, most White Supremacists rely on other Nordic Viking symbols such as the Black Sun to get their point across.
Why us? What do they mean when they say that Jews will not replace them?
The terrorists who shot up the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and -closer to home- Chabad of Poway both said that Jews represented “the greatest threat to the White Race.”
Replacement Theory (frequently espoused by Tucker Carlson) is the idea that demographic shifts, intermarriage and the influx of darker skinned immigrants are threatening to replace the White Race as the dominant force in American society. Jews are the ones pulling those strings because HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), which was originally set up to help Jewish refugees of the pogroms, now helps refugees of all faiths from all over the world.
I asked the panel how to combat the move to normalize propaganda. Dr. Friedberg recommended teaching the camouflage. What do the Nordic symbols really mean? What are their slogans really saying?
I would add that the best way to combat these hate groups is to keep up our good work. The Torah teaches us, “Cursed is the one who denies justice to the stranger, the orphaned and the widowed. And all of the people shall respond, Amen.” (Deut. 27:19) Therefore, HIAS -and all of us- need to continue welcoming immigrants and befriending those who are different from us. Let us continue to speak up for Freedom and Justice for All. Let us engage in interfaith dialog. We must normalize members of different religions working together and supporting one another when we are attacked.
White Supremacists see themselves as soldiers in a Culture War. Well, if that’s what they want, let’s give it to them. Let all of the people that they are against- immigrants, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, the disabled and the LGBTQ+- band together. Together we are greater and stronger than they. Let us make it abundantly clear that theirs is the losing side and -like their Civil War- their cause is already lost. And let us say, Amen.
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Eric George Tauber, a former San Diegan now residing in Cincinnati, is a teacher, performer, and a drama critic. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com