‘It’s Never Stopped’
On the Australia shooting aimed at Jewish people.
Journalism is too opaque and misunderstood. Chills gives a behind-the-scenes look at how dangerous investigative journalism gets made.
I woke up to a message from a Syrian-American friend offering her condolences about the shooting at a Hannukah celebration in Sydney that killed at least 15 people. It was heartfelt and incredibly kind, and came from someone who understands what it feels like to be hated for your religion.
But I feel indifferent.
It’s hard to muster outrage and sadness when you’ve spent your life watching mass shooting after mass shooting and antisemitism that never abates.
In recent years, under Trump, I said something to my father about how it’s all happening again — the targeted hatred of Jews.
“It’s never stopped,” was his reply.
Two things about the massacre in Australia are encouraging: One, the man who tackled a shooter is Syrian — his name is Ahmed al Ahmed. He clearly didn’t see religion for a second when he disarmed the gunman, and was shot twice in the process. Two, Australian federal and state government leaders “agreed to immediately overhaul already tough national gun control laws,” The Associated Press reported.
The United States is swinging lower and lower when it comes to tolerance, and the gun nuts will never relent to tighten gun control, despite the never-ending mass shootings here. So my friend’s condolences were sensitive and kind, but the violence — and the violence against Jews — seems to be only getting worse.
Then again, it’s never stopped.
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What has changed is that it is overt now. No shame in being anti semitic.