‘Tis the season, right? So a Jewish woman in the Los Angeles area goes to Walgreens to buy Hanukah wrapping paper. She takes one look at it, and she goes ballistic. OMG, she says to herself (and numerous other people as well, apparently): this wrapping paper is filled with swastikas!“>http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/171515773901?lpid=82A picture of the teapot wound up on a billboard, and, lo and behold, to some people – many people, apparently – the teapot looked like Hitler. This is what Michael Graves said about this: “And it's really the sort of way you photograph the teapot, how you can get that image. I test very well for this sort of thing, seeing objects in cubist paintings. And for the life of me, I don't see it. I just don't get it.” “>http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.630651
So, yes – I can understand why many Jews are getting just a tad testy.
What’s the answer? Yes, anti-Semitism most certainly exists in the United States (not to mention Europe). Yes, there are people with anti-Semitic attitudes.
But let’s stop and think. Anti-Semitism becomes a major problem when the Jew-hatred becomes elevated to a political movement. That is not happening in the United States. And, truth be told, it is not even happening in Europe, as numerous politicians jump to the defense of the Jews. As Bob Dylan put it, the times they have a-changed.
Moreover, I have another issue with all this. As a rabbi and educator, I walk that fine line between encouraging my young students to be aware and vigilant – and allowing them to slip into the trap of paranoia and acute anxiety. This is why I constantly weigh what I say to them. Tell them about the presence of anti-Semitism on campus, and how some Jews are becoming afraid to publicly display their identity?
Well, sure – but how, pray tell, does this help them feel secure about being publicly Jewish on the college campus? Isn’t that what we want them to be, and to do?
There are no swastikas in that wrapping paper. None. Zilch. Efes. That’s the good news.
The even better news? In less time than you can spin a dreydl, Walgreens and Hallmark pulled the offending rolls. Even when there was nothing to be offended by.
Because – dare we even dream it? – they care enough about the Jews to not want to offend us.
Isn’t this good news? Let’s grab it when we can.
