Temple Isaiah hosts discussion on antisemitism

Before shabbat service on Friday at Temple Isaiah during International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Rabbi Steven Rosenberg described antisemitism as “the tip of the spear” and discussed how it affects other minority groups.

“We have to understand that when we start putting people down because of their race, culture, religion or orientation, it diminishes everyone,” Rosenberg said.

Rosenberg also described what some Jews are calling “polite antisemitism.”

“When people say ‘I’m not anti-Jewish, I’m just anti-Zionist,’ that’s basically the same thing (as antisemitism),” Rosenberg said. “That is saying ‘Jews are fine as long as they don’t have their own homeland.’ Judaism and Zionism are connected and part of the heart of Judaism is a sense that Jews have been an indigenous people to (Israel) for over 3,000 years.”

Friday’s service featured Rosenberg in a discussion with two representatives from the international non-profit Israel education organization Stand With Us -- executive and development specialist Gary Ratner and director Carly Gammill.

According to a recent study by the Anti-Defamation League, the number of Americans who hold extensive antisemitic prejudice and believe in antisemitic tropes has doubled since 2019. The ADL surveyed 4,000 people in September and October 2022. Examples of the tropes the ADL asked about include whether “Jews stick together more than other Americans,” or “Jews have too much power in the business world” and “Jews have a lot of irritating faults.”

The year 2021 saw a record 2,717 antisemitic incidents across the United States, up 34% from 2020 according to the ADL's annual audit. Most of these were incidents of harassment against Jewish Americans, but assaults and antisemitic vandalism also spiked the previous year.

Gammill also discussed the subject of Zionism and its relationship to Jewish identity, misconceptions and how Stand With Us makes it a focal point of its educational efforts.

"There is a political component for sure, but that is not all Zionism is," Gammill said. "It's part of what it means to be Jewish and to have not just a connection with Israel, but to believe as part of one's Jewishness that Israel not only has a right to exist. Also, Jews have a right to self determination to thrive in their ancestral homeland. It comes with the understanding that Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel."

Most of the discussion with Ratner and Gammill was about antisemitism and anti-Israel activism on American college campuses led by groups such as by Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and others.

Ratner said he visited UC Irvine in 2002 during Israeli Apartheid Week, an annual series of lectures and events held on college campuses around the world. The series featured what Ratner described as "walls of misinformation about Israel," displaying body bags laid out on the ground, controversial artwork and speakers who deny the existence of Israel.

"It's a big problem that we face," Ratner said. "One of the things we found is there are full time activists working with the SJP and other programs who were there for years. They claim to be students, take one course to maintain their student status, but they're paid, full-time propaganda artists for the Palestinian cause."

Rosenberg described Temple Isaiah as a "multicultural and multiethnic place' that also houses the Desert Winds Freedom Band and the chorus Modern Men. It also hosts quinceañera celebrations, weddings, funerals and other events.

"I am very proud we house a church, symphony and different activities," Rosenberg said. "We serve a great swath of the community, and I feel good about the fact we have so many diverse groups as our tenants. We're also a place that's very eclectic and welcoming to everyone.

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Temple Isaiah hosts discussion on antisemitism