The horrific slaughter last week of innocents outside Buffalo was the latest publicized violent manifestation of hatred and contempt for others. It enraged and saddened us. But alas, it surprised us little. Indeed, who knows how many “lesser” incidents of inhumane, cowardly victimization without a tally in blood, occur in communities around the world every day?
The murderer last week acted out of a sense of white supremacist righteous rage and justification. Convinced that people who do not look like he does are trying to replace him in America, he decided to kill as many of the “others” as possible.
The Replacement Theory of white supremacists is the warped outcropping of a fecund earth seeded by hatred, prejudice and resentment all of which is fortified, of course, with a sustaining layer of the manure of undiluted antisemitism.
As educators, scholars, historians, parents and grandparents through all time know and have known, the best way for society to respond to prejudice of all kind is to hold its purveyors to account and to ensure the pillars of democratic life are unassailable and strong.
Similarly, as educators, scholars, historians, parents and grandparents through all time know and have known, the best way for Jews to respond to antisemitism is to affirm their Judaism by living Jewishly. How Jews do so is a uniquely personal decision, as long as they maintain and are able to pass forward the connection and connectedness to our people’s past, present and future.
Two weeks ago, in commemoration of Yom Hashoah V’hagvurah, we wrote that “the best – though not the only – way for us to give our children the intellectual, emotional and collective wherewithal to stand their ground and even to push back against antisemites [ie., the ability to live Jewishly] is through Jewish education.”
Jewish education is the heavy equipment, as it were, the best equipment, we must all bring to bear against the antisemitism of the white supremacists. It is for this reason, among other important ones, that GAJE’s objective is to make Jewish education affordable for every family that seeks it for their children.
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As readers of this update know, GAJE has launched an application out by try to bring fairness and equity to the Government of Ontario’s education funding. If you wish to contribute to the funding of GAJE’s lawsuit, please click here.
For further information, please contact Israel Mida at: imida1818@gmail.com
Charitable receipts for donations for income tax purposes will be issued by Mizrachi Canada. Your donations will be used for the sole purpose of underwriting the costs of the lawsuit.
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Shabbat shalom
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE),
May 20, 2022
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 