It's Not Easy Being Jewish In 2015
I'm Jewish
I'm part of a community. I'm not religious, I'm more spiritual and cultural.
But there's no question about it...I'm a Jew. I'm proud of it and it's not easy.
Let's face it, being Jewish has never been easy. You can go back thousands of years...since the beginning of time.
But now it's 2015. You'd like to think we're better educated. More tolerant of other's beliefs. Yeah...you'd like to think that.
Last Friday's attack in Paris was shocking but not surprising. It's just the latest in a series that has seen Jews leaving France at a record rate.
In 2014, more than 7,000 French Jews moved to Israel. That was double from 2013. Look for the number to increase this year.
It's not just France. We've also seen a rise in antisemitism in England and Germany.
In the U.S. antisemitism has a subtle look at a University not returning a painting stolen by Nazi's during World War 2. It gets a lot more blatant when Swastikas are painted on synagogues and homes in a Jewish neighborhood of Chicago.
Then there's musicians boycotting Israel, led by Roger Waters.
So what can we as Jews do about this? I'm not sure we can do much except support our people.
You can certainly do this economically. Spend your money in places where they support our community. Avoid the place that don't.
Nothing wrong with prayers and positives thoughts...can't hurt.
But let's face it...being Jewish in 2015 is hard. As Tom Hanks said in "A League Of Their Own", If it was easy, everyone would do it.