Alan Berg introduced me to American anti-Semitism.
It was the summer of 1984, and Berg, a Jewish talk-show host on KOA radio — the KMOX of Denver — was murdered by members of the white supremacist group the Order, .
Several years later, I was in the KOA studios for an interview with host Greg Dobbs. Before the interview, Dobbs asked me a favor: Don’t mention that we’re friends, he said. Don’t mention where we live, or that you coach my son.
The fear following Berg’s death still resonated.
And it continues today, after the worst massacre of Jews on American soil.
Last Saturday morning, during Shabbat services at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, a madman shouting anti-Semitic slurs , many of them elderly, mowing them down with an AR-15-style assault rifle and other weapons of death.
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In America, it had been a week of violence, of terrorism spurred by hatred, fueled at least in part by the vitriol of President Donald Trump, and bookended by the shattering of silence at places of worship.
In Kentucky, a white supremacist tried to break into a black, Christian church and slaughter worshiping souls. He failed, so he went to a local grocery store instead and . A fervent follower of Trump who had spewed hate on social media sent bombs to former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris and other national Democratic leaders.
And then, death at the synagogue.
Jews across the nation were horrified, but not necessarily surprised.
“When people are saying hateful words,†says Rabbi Scott Shafrin of Kol Rinah synagogue in University City, “it enables people to do hateful things.â€
He was worshiping when he heard the news.
“It was beyond horrible,†he says. “There aren’t enough words to explain the disgust.â€
I met Shafrin this year when I wrote about the unique collaboration between Kol Rinah and the Journey, a Christian church that is moving into the building that for years has housed the synagogue. For more than a year now, as Kol Rinah remodels its new building south of its current location on North Hanley Road, .
That’s created occasional conflict, but mostly learning opportunities, as Christians learn about “the historical trauma of the cross,†Rabbi Noah Arnow told me. Much evil toward Jews has been done in the name of that cross, and as Jews study that history as part of strengthening their faith, it creates a modern day reality in which they are hypersensitive to words and actions that enable anti-Semitism.
“It’s enough to make anyone on edge,†Shafrin says.
Indeed, that is the state of America in the Era of Trump, and it isn’t just the president who is fueling the hate. Just a few days before the synagogue shooting, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan referred to Jews as Elsewhere, Republicans are using dehumanizing language to refer to the Central Americans in a caravan heading toward the U.S., seeking asylum in a country that used to welcome immigrants, but these days seems to shun them.
From black churches to synagogues, much of the country is on edge.
That’s what makes a visit to Israel this week so hopeful.
On Monday, Arnow and Pastor Carlos Smith, who leads worship at the Hanley Road campus of the Journey, are headed together on a mission trip to Israel.
Sponsored by the , the trip matches rabbis and African-American Christian pastors on a trip to their common holy land. They will hear from Israelis and Palestinians, study holy texts together, and learn how people of faith build bridges in this conflict-torn land.
As devastating as last week was, it’s bridge-building that gives Shafrin hope.
Within hours of the Pittsburgh massacre, Smith had posted a Facebook video message offering support to his Jewish friends, telling them
Jews, Muslims and Christians are raising money for victims, reaching out to their local synagogues and seeking to learn about the pain caused by historical anti-Semitism that, according to the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, is on the rise in this nation.
Amid the cacophony of hate, the concern at places of worship — from black churches to Jewish synagogues — Shafrin chooses to see hope.
“It is amazing to have people trying to take positive steps forward,†he says. “There has been an incredible outpouring of love and support from the local community and beyond. With every passing day, it’s becoming more overwhelmingly positive.â€