Oct. 15, 2019: Launch of "Understanding Antisemitism" Discussion Group

Above: Our fabulous facilitator team!
Shaina and Erica (middle) are from Beth Jacob Synagogue
and Gail and Sam (far left and right) are from the Unitarian Church of Montpelier.

Last night our friends at Beth Jacob Synagogue welcomed about 8 of us UCMers warmly with apples and honey, time in the outdoor sukkah they've created, and rich time of sharing and listening in small groups. Here are some pictures from the evening, along with words from Gail Falk, one of the UCM facilitators. We'd LOVE to have more participants and you can still join by coming to the 2nd of 5 sessions next Tuesday. Gail shares her motivation to facilitate here, entitled Why "Understanding Antisemitism" Now?

"My mother was Christian, and my father was Jewish, so if religion is a matter of genes, I am half Jewish. But I grew up in a secular household, where we defined ourselves by our politics, not our religion. Those were the post-World War II years, when we though the defeat of the Nazis had left virulent antisemitism in the dustbin of history, and that what traces remained could be handled by the Anti-Defamation League.

As an adult, I worked hard to study and combat racism and sexism, and like many in this church I’ve worked hard to confront and overcome homophobia and Islamophobia. But through the years, antisemitism seemed to be an out-dated “ism” – and something I didn’t need to worry about.

Until two years ago we saw Nazis marching in Charlottesville,

Until the Women’s March leadership fractured over accusations of antisemitism,

Until the Christian and Jewish far rights appropriated the term to discredit critics of Israeli government policy, and

Until …. a year ago in October, 11 worshipers were murdered in a synagogue in my home neighborhood in Pittsburgh, just 10 blocks from where I grew up.

Still, after all this, I didn’t hear my friends or fellow church members grappling with the rise of antisemitism beyond blaming it on our president. The people I admired were focusing (with good reason) on racism. As for myself, I didn’t have a coherent way of thinking about a basket that contained Steve Bannon and Louis Farrakhan and the loner synagogue shooter Robert Bowers andHungarian Prime Minister Orban.

Then Michelle Clark passed along to the LSE a link to a curriculum called Understanding Antisemitism written by Jews for Economic and Social Justice. Michelle suggested that it was something that might interest our congregation.

I read it, and suddenly I had a framework for all my confused thinking. I learned much I didn’t know, and I became very keen to share the curriculum with other UUs. It’s taken a year, but we are now starting a course called Understanding Antisemitism. Along the way, friends of friends at Beth Jacob reached out to partner with us, and we are offering discussions in tandem at the two congregations.

We had an inspiring joint session on Tuesday night at Beth Jacob and realized that none of us is alone in being confused and challenged as we try to understand the many shapes in which antisemitism appears. Our next three sessions will be in separate caucuses – one here at UCM, and one at Beth Jacob. Sam Clark and I are facilitating the sessions at UCM. Then we will have a a 5th culminating session to talk together about what we have learned and how to work together in the future.

There is still time to join in. It is a busy time for our congregation, but this is a unique opportunity for us to partner with our neighbors at Beth Jacob, and we would love to have a few more participants. If you are interested, contact me at gail.falk@gmail.com, or call me at 595-4614." More details also here: https://forms.gle/aYV9F78hSiNKoSCk7