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A letter from our Co-Founder & CEO Linda Novick O’Keefe
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” -Elie Wiesel
It’s been very difficult for me to watch the recent outpouring of hate and anti-Semitism in cities across the U.S. as a result of the Gaza conflict. In just two weeks, there were 324 reported hate-crimes that were sparked by recent headlines. The desecration of synagogues, use of slurs and discriminatory language, and the physical acts of violence toward people who are “visibly Jewish” is devastating and sickening. Unfortunately, these acts are not new, but we are once again seeing these incidents spike as we have with other minority communities in recent months.
To see the graphic, unsettling and demoralizing photos from the Holocaust, piles of disposed bodies, gas chambers, soaps made from human body fat, albums made of human hair and skin, is to see hell revealed. To have our elected officials compare mask mandates to this history of extermination is illness revealed. Hearing that nearly 17,000 social media posts contained a variation of the phrase “Hitler was right,” among other messages that demonize Jews, is difficult to comprehend, and requires us to hold tech companies accountable for enforcing community standards. Even more disturbing is that our children see and hear such vileness and that they are forced to process these chilling images and sentiments of sickness and hate. This horror has had and will continue to have real consequences.
“Tikkun Olam,” a concept in Judaism, means to repair the world; it’s a notion of social action and the pursuit of social justice. This idea is the very one we must all come together around. Our differences, cultures, and religions should be respected, celebrated, shared, and held sacred. We must commit to being value driven, to teach our children and have them pledge to embrace diversity, act with humility and celebrate the strengths, creativity and perspectives of all individuals until we get closer to the world we all want to live in so desperately.
Our Common Threads family stands in solidarity and empathy with the Jewish community. As an organization that was born from 9-11, a tragedy that affected us all, we know that this kind of hate and induced traumatic stress negatively impacts health and life expectancy.
To our colleagues across sectors, we appreciate your support, care and commitment to building safer, more inclusive organizations and communities that value and celebrate the world around us. As an organization, Common Threads will continue to speak out when we see wrong and promote values of acceptance and understanding in our kitchens, tables and communities, one plate at a time.
We have shared a few resources below so you can educate yourself and your loved ones about the important topic of Antisemitism. If you have additional resources, please email us at hr@commonthreads.org.
