chickacheep:

besides, antisemitic violence doesn’t always reveal itself as physical attacks. people spread hate speech, deny pain, and install policies that undermine, isolate, and harm jewish people. gun control doesn’t stop that. this has to be about more than gun control, because it’s always been about more than gun control

revengeparty:

Friendly reminder I love all of my Jewish followers. You deserve to feel safe. You deserve to worship without feeling scared. You deserve to be proud of your identity without worrying if you’ll be killed for it.

@ my goyische (non-Jewish) followers—saying you want to punch a Nazi is not enough. It’s performative and it doesn’t make me feel safe or supported if it’s not backed by efforts to lift Jewish voices and dismantle antisemitism. Call out people promoting antisemitic ideas and stereotypes. Stop sweeping casual antisemitism under the rug. Vote against antisemitic politicians. LISTEN to what Jewish people have to say. It shouldn’t take people getting murdered for you to open your eyes.

antisemitism-eu:

chickacheep:

hey, in the wake of Squirrel Hill please remember that this isn’t just about gun control, but about antisemitism as well. gun control is important, but it’s not the reason this tragedy has happened. antisemitism has been on the rise in the united states for years, and no amount of gun control debate will stop that. take an active part in combating antisemitism when you see it, both in yourself and in others. keep an eye open, please, to prevent this from ever happening again

I saw an op-ed like that:

This time a synagogue.

This time a school.

This time a Sikh temple.

This time a softball field.

This time a movie theater.

This time a shopping center.

This time a Baptist church.

etc.

And no. just no.

When somebody attacks a minority, they’re attacking every member of that minority.  when somebody attacks a Sikh temple, they are terrorizing every single Sikh, and probably other minorities as well.  They are not terrorizing the general population.

A synagogue is not a school or a
movie theater

where people “go postal” for personal issues.  It is a place that is specifically targeted because of specific hatred. 

Hate crimes are not just ‘more of the same’

jewish-education:

jewish-education:

I know many of us are driving to teach Sunday school this morning or day school tomorrow or have already been getting questions from our own children or children in our community as soon as we got the news. Here are some resources I found for folks who need to address the Pittsburgh shooting with Jewish children and teens:

• Here’s PJ Library’s guide for talking to Jewish children about antisemitism
• NextPittsburgh has a guide for parents/teachers of children in general. Much of its advice doesn’t really apply to us, as it will be harder to limit what our kids see and hear. But I think it’s worth reading about how to approach the conversation.
• Dr. 

  Michael S. Scheeringa wrote a guide on Psychology Today on talking to teens (and children) about school shootings that has some helpful advice, especially for parents.

• Here’s the experience of a Seattle community having this conversation right now.

My main take-aways were:

1. figure out what they already have heard and start there
2. they don’t need to know all the details, see pictures, etc. but it may be hard to shield older children that much
3. be open about your own emotions
4. if your synagogue has safety measures or evacuation plans, you might choose to talk about these
5. ask them about their own experiences with antisemitism and about how they’ve handled it, do they need strategies? support? etc.
6. be ready for them to ask questions about G-d
7. ask questions throughout to gauge how they feel and what they need, and to help them come to answers themselves

I’m sorry this is so late and might not get to everyone who needs it, but I needed some time to process for myself. I encourage anyone with suggestions for approaching these conversations to speak up.

Thank you to everyone who is supporting our Jewish future in this time of tragedy. 

I didn’t even check the ADL! They’re here to help you with these conversations too and have some specific advise for talking with young people.