Sexism, racism, and antisemitism are the trinity of hatreds in Western cultures. Join Reb David as he takes us on a historical journey into the sociology and psychology of the hatred of Jews. Starting with the Good Friday narratives read and acted out in most churches, to the antisemitism that is systemic to both the far right and the far left on the political spectrums. Before World War 2 the Stalinists accused the Jews as being exploitative capitalists while the Nazis accused the Jews of being communists. There are indications that this perfect storm of hatred of Jews is rising up once again. In Charlottesville the white supremacist chant “Jews will not replace us” indicated the trope that Jews are so powerful that they want to replace the “white race.” And at the other extreme the chant “From the Jordan to the Sea, Palestine will be free” is an example of how delegitimizing Israel’s right to exist. Come learn some of this sad history and how we might respond to it in our own communities. With Good Friday coming up just a few days after this talk it is a good time to learn about this ancient hatred.
Rabbi David Zaslow was ordained by Reb Zalman zt”l in 1995 and has been the spiritual leader of Havurah Shir Hadash since 1996. He is the editor of the popular Renewal siddur “Ivdu et Hashem B’simcha. ” Her recently released the “L’cha Dodi” siddur for Friday evenings comprised of all of Reb Zalman’s translations in one volume. Additionally he is the author of “Jesus: First-Century Rabbi” which attempts to build a bridge between Jews and Christians by understanding how deeply committed Jesus and his followers were to their Judaism.