By Gary Ackerman
I am of a faith that is small in number, but rich in culture, and largely generous in participation in every aspect of American life.
We strive to make our beloved communities and country great. As individuals, we work hard to make our fellow countrymen well, smart, secure and entertained. We are strongly competitive to achieve things good.
Unjustifiably, we are mostly, quietly, personally embarrassed should someone associated with our community go astray.
We are grateful to have found so welcoming a home in this, our great country.
Most of our fellow citizens are surprised upon learning that we comprise less than two percent of our entire country’s population and yet endure more than 50 percent of all the hate crimes — that’s more than the combined totals of such crimes against all other religions added together.
Despite an inexplicable history of suffering epoch hatred and persecution in every generation and around the world, we neither whine nor despair. We are insistent on remembering, and vehemently reject pity. But we do fight back.
Perhaps our personal historic experience, and also having accepted the commandment to seek justice, makes us among the most bluntly outspoken proponents for human and equal rights when intolerance and discrimination shows it’s ugly face in any form against any person or people.
Today it is we who grieve. Again.
We mourn our dead: the largest collective murder of Jews in America.
Just for being Jews.
But we know we do not grieve alone. And that is a comfort. We grieve along with all those who understand the loss of humanity and decency we are facing with the steady drumbeat from those who would divide us from each other along any lines.
Evil needs little encouragement.
Tomorrow our community will bury it’s dead. We, with all our beloved neighbors joined, will never allow our democracy, our humanity, our decency to be buried in an avalanche of hate, unleashed by words and winks.
