It Comes with Different Faces

By Joe Roberts
University of Maryland

So picture this: I’m pushing a cart full of groceries out of the grocery store for this tall, well-dressed gentleman. I had been working at the store for a few months and was used to all kinds of conversations while walking with people to their cars. I was engaged in pondering the weather and the color of the concrete with this man, when he asked me what church I went to, seeing that I was a respectful, God-fearing Christian. Please note that is what he saw, not what he was looking at. I calmly said that I was a member of Beth Shalom. After the obvious clarification of my faith and loading his food into his vehicle, he proceeded to hand me his card, introduce himself as a reverend, told me that he could help me and said "all churches who do not follow Jesus are going to burn in Hell."

I’m sitting there, a 17-year-old Conservative Jew, on a bus full of Orthodox yeshiva boys, on the way to one of the largest rallies for Israel that Washington, D.C. had ever seen. I was as thrilled as a pup about to strut his stuff down the street. We made a stop along the way for minha at a small rest stop. After praying and stretching for a little while, a few friends and I noticed a woman walking towards us. She walked up and said only this: "I have nothing against Jews, my neighbors happen to be Jews, but if you want peace, you need to stop bombing the Church of the Nativity."

When I sat at the Ugly Mug, I was in my little hideaway. It was my safe haven, where I was respected and appreciated. Of course, this would be insignificant if the coffee shop was not run by the Presbyterian Church, but that was part of why I liked it. I was appreciated because there, differences were respected. I became friends with the people who worked there and often engaged in theological discussions. That is why it caught me extremely off guard when one of the people with whom I was friends asked if I had "converted yet."

You want to talk about anti-Semitism? Well, the first of these three stories shows prejudice based on unquestioned teaching. If people are taught something from the start, then that is what they will believe. This presents a challenge that must be met by the Jewish people. It’s a cycle of false teachings that has to be broken, but I would like to allow the more learned of the Jewish community to fight this battle.

The second story is one which shows false information causing prejudice. Trying to tell that woman the truth would have been useless, because she walked away before we could ever respond. She had her set ideas and that was what she was sticking to. However, the source of this information (which was false, the Church was held captive by Palestinian terrorists and the IDF was trying to run them out) must be held accountable. Petitions needed to be organized by leaders of our community and we needed to expose false reports and demand corrections.

The third story is what really interests me, because it is about an offensive comment, made with no negative intention. Also, I was the only person directly affected by it. That’s why I feel it is so important. That was my chance to step up and correct a little piece of anti-Semitism.

First, my response would have been reviewed by the person who made the comment and I would have been able to show the person why I found it offensive. Second, by voicing my disapproval of the comment, I could have prevented another comment from being made in the future. Yet the most important issue in the situation was that the responsibility to act was solely mine. I was the only witness and the only one who could do anything about it. That’s a lot of pressure. As Jews, we have to be ready to handle the pressure of facing anti-Semitism when we are alone. Anyone can write a letter which will be added to thousands and sent out in bulk. We have to know how to talk to individuals, as individuals, face to face. We have to be able to explain who we are, what we are, what we believe and why every person has a responsibility to truly understand and appreciate others and their differences.

Think about it: Every Jew is a representative of the Jewish community. Our educators are there to teach us how to handle that pressure, our leaders are there to set the example for us and when the time comes, we will be there to effectively shine an educating light on those who are in the dark about what anti-Semitism really is.

[Posted 8/15/04]