MY TURN: Back to the '30s and '40s: Jew hatred today

My parents were both born in the 1940s, I was born in the 1960s. We were all born in the USA and have been so thankful for this great country and the many blessings we’ve enjoyed. Growing up I heard many amazing stories from the past, the Great Depression, stories of World War II and its horrors and, of course, Hitler's hate! I remember imagining how I might have acted out and stood up when it came to many of these difficult days. Like many people, I imagined myself as the hero, maybe if I had the chance under the great pressure cooker of world dominating powers, I would have been the good guy! I think it's easy to see myself as a Schindler or a Cory Ten Boom, risking my life and the lives of my family to help total strangers who are being hunted by the Nazis. I would be the one to stand in the gap against the tide of humanity. Today at 59 years old living in the comfort and safety of North Idaho watching more Jew hatred on TV and social media than I ever thought possible in my lifetime, I realize, I may just get my chance!

I ask myself, what is the rationale for the hatred of this tiny people group, a people from a far away land, a tiny sliver of land, about the same square footage as the state of New Jersey? It’s in the Middle East no less, buffered up against the Mediterranean Sea and surrounded by many nations that have declared their undying hatred for these people. There are about 17 million Jews in the world today. The U.S. still has the largest population of Jews, with Israel coming in a close second. In a world of over 8 billion people, why has this sliver of land and this tiny percentage of people become so high profile, again and again and again? History tells the stories, not just the Bible, even the dirt itself speaks out, layer after layer, revealing the truth about the land, its origins and the people who have been there for over 3,000 difficult and storied years! Israel is the Jewish homeland!   

Today we live in a world that says, believe what you are told, not what you know! The truth is now what powerful organizations and governments devise to manipulate and manage the masses for their own ends. These powerful world-shaping bodies have again turned their attention to the Jewish people. We see it everywhere today, from daily news coverage and stories to “spontaneous” campus riots masquerading as student protest, all with matching tents delivered on the same buses as many of the “student protestors.” College campuses are being shut down, college presidents unable or unwilling to stand for their own professors and students. Many are being harassed and threatened, bullied and tormented, just for going to class and being Jewish. We see law enforcement being held back while turmoil takes over instead of higher learning. A nation of laws built by and for immigrants, now defending anonymous world power brokers and setting on fire a hope we all know and love. Liberty itself is under attack, along with human decency, freedom has dulled its symbol and truth has turned its back! All while I watch and wonder! Will I be the hero, will I stand up against hatred and misinformation, will I live my life against the flow of age-old bigotry and bias? 

Hatred like Hitler's is not something that can be contained, it must be defeated. Hatred will destroy whole cultures and worlds. Do we believe it will be focused just on this one people group and thus never affect us? This idea defies the realities of a wildfire! I’ve seen first hand the power and rage, the unstoppable thirst a fire can have! A fire eats everything in its path, it's a freight train that eats, breathes and lives. Its power is undeniable. This same power rides on the winds of hate today, spreading with terrible consequences. We must fight as if our home is next in line, because it just may be. I believe the current fires of hate and antisemitism are as much a test for us as the Jewish people. I’ve recently heard of a pastor in North Idaho who was physically attacked for wearing a Jewish shirt and Jewish flags being broken off in a front yard, one of our Idaho congressmen reports that there’s an uptick in calls filled with Jewish hate coming into their offices! Hate like we are seeing today and have heard about in the ’30s and ’40s is rising up. This in not a drill, the worst in human nature doesn’t die easily. 

What can I do, what must I do, or will I, like so many good people before me, just do nothing? Will I concede the path of destruction to ideas and individuals I do not condone? In essence, condoning that in which I have lived my life against, that which I have taught my children not to do? Am I, are we just too tired or weak to stand up? I wonder if I am a coward, afraid to be counted? Here are four areas — items I have committed to and invite you to consider: 

1. Reestablish your core beliefs

• Do my beliefs guide my life?

• Will I live them out loud without compromise?

2. Teach my core beliefs to my kids/grandkids 

• Verbalize and model who and what you believe in.

• Model your dream before your kids.

• Don’t let others shape your future generations.

• Fly a Flag

• Wear a pin or use a bumper sticker

• Talk at church or social clubs

• Be visible on social media

3. Guard your sources

• Listen to and trust only known individuals and organizations

• Fill your heart and mind with foundational truths

4. Fight for high social standards

• Local, state, and national government

• Local school boards

• Vote your core principals

So many today want to leave it up to someone else, maybe even “visualize world peace” or celebrate International Peace Day with the U.N. (Sept. 21), with the ringing of a peace bell, all while condemning and sanctioning the nation of Israel. Israel is sanctioned 10 times more than any other nation on Earth, including Iran, North Korea and China combined. This body, the U.N., was born out of World War II and purports to be peace loving but continue to lead the world in Jewish hatred and bias. Could we find a way to live out loud our support for Israel? Could we wear our “virtual” yamaka, not because the Jewish people are our neighbors or relatives but because it's the right thing to do. It’s the world we hope to raise our kids and grandkids in. If not for these reasons than stand for Israel because the same wind swept fires of hate coming for them is coming for you next, as soon as it devours the easy, obvious and old targets! 

My grandparents and father are gone now. I’m sure the latest disgusting turn of events on the world stage would have left them in disbelief, I can hear their voices now, “You mean it’s back?” Its probably best they didn’t have to see this. I’m determined to live out their legacy and core values and not the whims of this world. I hope to pass on a better world, not a broken one. I’ve decided to live on purpose, apparently against the tide of today's culture, I’m going to stand when they say sit and shout when they say silence! 

The little boy in me still wants to be the hero, but heroes come in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life, all religions, all colors, and all creeds! I guess my question for you, my beautiful North Idaho family, 

Will heroes come from here?   

Will you join the fight, will you get involved, will you take a stand with me? If we all do a little it makes a big difference. 

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Kurt Salisbury is a Hayden Lake resident.