O pinion
pride and protest?
I don’t pretend to possess
any panaceas for an inordi-
nately complex problem, but I
can imagine what bolder and
more proactive rejoinders to
violent antisemitism might
look like.

If extremist rhetoric is
more of a threat today, maybe
Jews should propose limits on
group libel that are as of now
shielded by First Amendment
protections. There is historical
precedent for this, as explored
in a 2019 article by Jewish
historian James Loeffler. In
the 1940s and ’50s, American
Jews engaged in pioneering
legal and legislative advocacy
to criminalize group libel.

Their efforts resulted
in a major 1952 Supreme
Court victory in the case of
attack once again suggests it
does, maybe Jews should get
behind reinvigorated social
welfare programs.

If the danger comes from
easy access to guns, which
may have played a role in
Colleyville as well, perhaps gun
control ought to be a higher
communal Jewish priority.

True, gun reform has attracted
the tireless work of a number of
laudable Jewish organizations,
but there’s still much more that
could be done to place it at the
top of the communal agenda.

The dearth of widespread
conversations about these or
other far-reaching measures,
let alone communal consensus,
is all the more baffling when
you consider the one notable
exception: anti-BDS laws that
have been enacted in over 30
beliefs about Jews that rarely
changes across time and
place, and that it is inherently
different from other forms
of bigotry in its ontological
salience. If that is the consensus,
it is natural to embrace
responses that focus more on
how Jews orient themselves
relative to their enemies rather
than actually taking on the
problems of Jew-hatred. If one
sees antisemitism through the
prism of ahistorical pessimism,
maybe it cannot be taken on
at all.

We need not see antisem-
itism in this way. We might
instead conceive of Jew-hatred
as not unlike other forms of
prejudice even if Jew-hatred,
like all prejudices, has certain
unique characteristics. We
I see that while Jewish history is rife with Jew-hatred, such hatred
takes many forms and has many causes, often specific to various times
and places. By separating and distinguishing these causes, perhaps we
can recover old solutions as well as open the door to new strategies to
combat antisemitism.

Beauharnais v. Illinois, which
held that a white suprema-
cist’s campaign against Blacks
amounted to libel and was
therefore beyond constitu-
tional protection. That this
history is largely forgotten and
required Loeffler’s uncovering
is instructive.

If social media is a repos-
itory of antisemitic bile,
Jews should be at the front
of those pushing for tech
companies to moderate their
content more vigorously. The
Anti-Defamation League has
taken this on, but it appears to
be alone in the Jewish space.

If violent antisemitism flows
downstream from socioeco-
nomic despair, or if it in some
way overlaps with the scourge
of mental illness, as this latest
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM states. Even as the constitu-
tionality of these laws appears
increasingly dubious, many
American Jewish organizations
continue to support them. But
why unify around legally brash
solutions that may depart from
the American Jewish legacy of
free-speech liberalism and that
invite negative attention only
when it comes to boycotts of
Israel, and not around remedies
that ensure our safety at home?
These are complicated
questions. The ways most
Jews understand antisemi-
tism adds to that complexity.

This includes the notion that
antisemitism is the oldest and
severest form of group hatred,
that it is endemic to Christian
civilization, that it ultimately
stems from a consistent set of
might instead consider how
Jews have devised all sorts of
ways of dealing with animosity
— against themselves and
others — and while some
have fallen short, others have
successfully met the particular
social and political problems
of their era and may hold great
promise in our own.

Approaching the problem
with a more critical eye will help
us see our specific challenges in
context and, even if daunting, as
surmountable. And that might
invite bolder responses than the
ones currently in play. l
Judah Bernstein holds a Ph.D. in
Hebrew-Judaic studies and history
from New York University and is
a student at New York University
School of Law.

JEWISH EXPONENT
KVETCH ’N’ KVELL
Saget Obit Missed Being a Full House
AS I PERUSED THE JAN. 14 Jewish Exponent, I saw the
full-page obituary for Bob Saget (“Local-born Actor, Comedian
Bob Saget Dies at 65”). I settled in to read about this beloved
actor with local connections, figuring the Exponent would have
an exceptional recounting of Saget’s life from local people who
had known and loved him.

Boy, was I wrong. I did not know Saget personally, but people
I know did. Surely the article would mention he was an Abington
High School graduate. Nope. Undoubtedly, it would mention that
he was married — to his Abington High sweetheart — at Beth
Sholom Congregation, and perhaps that he showed a snippet of
his wedding video on “The Tonight Show.”
Certainly, locals who knew him and posted loving tributes
to him after his death — such as David Tilman, cantor emeritus
of Beth Sholom, and local bandleader Eddie Bruce — would
be interviewed. Perhaps a beloved Abington teacher would be
tracked down, or some of his crowd from his Abington days, or
even the then-student reporter for the Abingtonian whose 1994
interview of Saget made the rounds online after the comedian’s
death. Nope, nope and nope again.

All a JE reporter would have had to do is execute a search for
“Bob Saget” and “Abington” on social media, and these local
tributes, and many more, would have popped up, leading to a
more robust homage to one whom this area called its own. JE,
you truly were asleep at the wheel for this one.

Tali Joan Segal | Fort Washington
Groner Responds
I am writing to clarify comments that were included in the article
about my upcoming retirement (“Perelman Day School Leader to
Retire,” Dec. 23), and explicitly recognize the important contri-
butions of our now-retired teachers. I deeply appreciate their
many years of hard work and dedication that put Perelman in the
strong position I found when I arrived, and paved the way for its
continued success.

I have the utmost respect and appreciation for all of the
teachers who made Perelman a place where students develop
a lifelong love of Judaism while thriving academically. These
teachers worked ceaselessly to create a truly warm and vibrant
community, one that is cherished by generations of students and
parents. I know that I, as well as the teachers today, stand on the
shoulders of those who came before us. l
Judy Groner | Head of School, Perelman Jewish Day School
STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER
We are a diverse community. The views expressed in the signed opinion columns and let-
ters to the editor published in the Jewish Exponent are those of the authors. They do
not necessarily reflect the views of the officers and boards of the Jewish Publishing
Group, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia or the Jewish Exponent. Send
letters to letters@jewishexponent.com or fax to 215-569-3389. Letters should be a
maximum of 200 words and may be edited for clarity and brevity. Unsigned letters will not be
published. JANUARY 27, 2022
15