Letter to the Editor: Jonathan Ringel

Letter to the editor,

I had been wondering how Jews should deal with the latest example of antisemitic ugliness—Nazis demonstrating in front of Chabad of Cobb—when I received an email from my congregation, Temple Sinai. “Many in our community will find it comforting to gather with others,” it said, notifying readers of an interfaith response scheduled for that evening at the East Cobb United Methodist Church in Marietta.

Apparently, I was among those who needed comforting, based on the number of times I felt farklempt (Yiddush for “choked up”), as I sat with about 200 others in the packed, unassuming church. What struck me about the event was how it focused on caring for each other—love—even as it was prompted by outrage.

The first time I felt tears welling and a catch in my throat was when Rabbi Dan Dorsch of the nearby Etz Chaim congregation noted that the East Cobb Jewish community has been dealing with occasional antisemtic acts for years. But this one felt different, he said, because “it was the first time the Jewish community didn’t have to organize its own response” to an act of antisemitism.

Hearing this, the people in the pews stood for the first of what would become many standing ovations.

The Rev. Kristin Lee, whose church hosted the event, had spent some time studying the Talmud. She emphasized that prayer is important, but so is action. She quoted the prophet Micah, “Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with G-d,” and Jewish scholars who said of justice, “You are not expected to complete the task, but neither are you free to avoid it.”

This is not a request or a suggestion, Lee added, nor should we wait until doing justice is convenient for us. She added how freeing it was to learn she didn’t have to finish the job.

Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson, whose district had been invaded by the Nazis, talked about how she wanted people to feel “encouraged and empowered” by the event. She said when she heard of the demonstration Saturday, she went to the synagogue and was heartened by how many citizens had already shown up to support the Jews: “In the face of hatred, love won.” (Farklempt again.)

Richardson then read a resolution the Cobb County Commission passed to denounce the hate spread on Saturday. My journalist’s heart beamed hearing the denunciation include the Nazis’ “spreading false and inflammatory information.”

Democratic and Republican state legislators urged adding a definition of antisemitism to the state’s hate crimes law; the definition itself is still under debate.

Another standing ovation occurred when a speaker thanked local police officers for keeping order on Saturday and for being there this evening.

When a speaker mentioned an Anne Frank exhibit expected to open soon, I was reminded of the first episode of the miniseries “A Small Light” that I watched recently. It tells the story of the Gentile secretary trusted by the Frank family to help them as they hide in the secret annex. I recalled how scared and alone the Franks and the secretary, Miep Gies, feel in the streets of Amsterdam as the Nazis take over.

Eytan Davidson, who heads the Anti-Defamation League’s Southeast office, told the audience that his grandparents survived the Holocaust, but six million other Jews did not. “They didn’t have neighbors like you,” he added.

One of those neighbors was Mechel McKinley-Hoffman, who organized the event out of her fury with how fellow Americans allied with our enemies from World War II. She ended the night by asking everyone to “be better” and “honor all persons.”

I had been wondering how we Jews should respond to the Nazis, but, fortunately, I was wrong: The event showed that entire communities are working on the problem. That makes all of the difference in the world.

Everyone who is part of a vulnerable minority should feel what Jews in that church felt last night.

Jonathan Ringel, Dunwoody