Antisemitism on Long Island

What happened to 'Never again'?

We chanted “Never again” at rallies for decades and hoped that it meant something clear and definitive. We would never allow ourselves to be weak, vulnerable and scapegoated. Maybe all our effort was for naught because despite those efforts it has happened again [“Swastikas found in classroom at East Meadow High,” News, Nov. 1].

I was raised in a good neighborhood and had only two encounters with antisemitism, walking home from school around age 10 and walking home from a synagogue-sponsored event at 16. Both times, I was called a dirty Jew and other names. My friends and I fought back, and we dismissed the encounters as the behavior of foolish children.

My father was a survivor of the Auschwitz death camp and several other labor camps. He always recounted his experiences with the emphasis on resilience and maintaining a strong sense of identity.

That is what motivated us to proudly cry out “Never again” as often as we could with the belief that our cries would help the world to never allow antisemitism to flourish again. But that is not our reality.

Right now, we are not OK. But we will be. We will be strong, resilient and continue to shout “Never again” for as long as it takes.

— Michael J. Salamon, Hewlett

I have always been incredibly grateful and blessed to have won the lottery to have been born in the United States. Despite the principle of separation of church and state, America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles yet was welcoming to all [“Where are my non-Jewish friends?”, Opinion, Nov. 3].

This egalitarian acceptance of “others” came with the assumption that over time, newcomers would adopt similar values and accept at least some degree of assimilation to allow for peaceful coexistence. While most cultures have been very successful in this regard, sadly this has not been universal, and tribalism continues its inexorable descent into disunity and chaos.

I fear that American Jewry stands on a precipice of an ever shrinking island, and the thought of this happening in the greatest country in the world should be frightening to all, since who knows what religion, ethnic group, culture, race or political party will be next?

From the bottom of my heart, I hope I am wrong and being overly dramatic and that my fears are unfounded, but the events that commenced on Oct. 7 have stoked these fears in many. Only time will tell if America is truly exceptional and can emerge from the abyss.

— Joel Reiter, Woodbury

For those of you who support Hamas and would like to see a cease-fire, imagine that someone brutally killed your spouse, child or grandchild, in such a horrible fashion that the world turns away from watching, never mind that it was recorded and shown to the world.

As authorities go after the devils that did this, would you want them to stop the search for a while? And give the enemy a chance to run again, to do this another time? Or would you want justice?

— Martin Smulison, Oceanside

It now appears that the world has decided to declare war on the Jewish community again [“Antisemitic graffiti found in Montauk,” News, Oct. 31]. When does this end? When does the world stop blaming the Jewish people for every ill? They certainly don’t give credit when credit is due to us. But find something to blame us for, and they jump on it.

President Joe Biden is speaking out against the antisemitism, but we have heard hardly a peep from the right.

Where was the outpouring of love for Jews over the successes of Dr. Jonas Salk, Albert Einstein, the Warner brothers, Irving Berlin, Adm. Hyman Rickover, the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and so many others of the Jewish community from whom the world has benefited so greatly?

From the beginning of recorded history, the Jewish people have been discriminated against, murdered, imprisoned and subjugated by dictators needing a scapegoat for the ills of their nations. It is time for it to end.

Isn’t this something all Americans can rally around?

— Robert Broder, Stony Brook

Antisemitism and racism are not on the rise, just more out in the open. Neither has ever gone away. The overt expressions of hate went away — for a while, nothing more.

In 2008, America elected its first Black president. We got eight arguably wonderful years under former President Barack Obama. Did he make mistakes? Sure, they all do. Was he an exemplary human being? He was, and he is.

No sooner was Obama out of office than people who already were racists came out of the woodwork, encouraged by former President Donald Trump.

Antisemitism? When was it ever over? When did it ever go away? There are people who still claim we Jews killed Jesus. The tropes were always there along with the stereotypes of Jews. They have always been in the black hearts of antisemites. And all it took was for Israel to be savagely attacked by Hamas and then defend itself for the haters to rise.

Racism and antisemitism are not new. They are not gone.

— Ted D. Gluckman, Rockville Centre

Of course there is a rise in antisemitism, when the article on page A9 in the Oct. 25 Newsday has the headline “Officials: Hundreds die as Israeli strikes surge in Gaza” and on the next page it says, “NYPD: Antisemitic incidents spike since war.”

Let me be clear — this war is against Israel and its people. Hamas wants to kill all Jewish people, and Israel is retaliating.

— Joyce Miller, Jericho

Cathy Young is making a profound false equivalency in her sweeping “both-sides-ing” of the horrific Hamas attack on Israel [“Hamas attack exposes far left and right,” Opinion, Oct. 13].

The “far left” that she mentions, “several Black Lives Matters chapters,” are not affiliated with the Democratic Party. The “far left” politician she mentions, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has repeatedly expressed support for Israel, adding her concern for innocent Palestinians.

The “America first populist far right” that Young mentions is currently a significant number of our Republican representatives in government, blatantly illustrated by the House speaker vote between Reps. Steve Scalise — “David Duke without the baggage” — and Jim Jordan, a Jan. 6 defender who berated a 10-year-old rape victim. It’s not remotely the same.

— Robert Emproto, Huntington