Will fear prevail?

(Originally published in The Times of Israel)

American Jews have adapted to—pretty much to the point of resignation and acting like its “normal”—the fact that to do almost anything connected with being Jewish—go to synagogue, drop a child at day school or pre-school, work out at a Jewish community center, look around a Jewish museum, go to a meeting of any kind, go to a music or art show, in short, just about anything Jewish—they are going to face one sort of security measure or another, or several.

Jews know that to be a connected Jew in the U.S. today means being beeped in, showing identification, putting in a code, going through a metal detector, signing in, reserving prior to being told the location, and/ or being swept by a wand.

It is part of being a Jew in America in the 21^st century.  Jews do it without a second thought.  Few if anyone, Jew or non-Jew says “Hey, wait a minute.  This isn’t normal.  This is not the way it is supposed to be.  This is unacceptable.”  Because they’ve essentially accepted it.

Jews have also accepted the fact that there are streets and neighborhoods and many campuses across America where it is dangerous to publicly identify as a Jew.  There are places where Jews are afraid to wear a kippah (head covering), to speak Hebrew, to wear a Jewish star.

And displaying an Israeli flag or a sign expressing support for Israel, or putting a pro-Israel sticker on your car, or putting a pro-Israel button on your jacket, or putting a picture of a hostage on your lawn or in your window—the types of behavior that should be, and are for most people in America, accepted as just what you can do in a free country—they are very often considered ill-advised if not downright stupid. There has been no debate over it for quite a few years.

Then came the arson attack on the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion.  Then the murder of two young diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C.  And then the Molotov cocktails at the Boulder walk for the hostages that caused 12 injuries, some severe.

Now Jews are wondering if it is even safe for them to gather in public spaces—to protest, or to walk, or to sing, or to pray, or simply to talk.  Many Jewish institutions and organizations—who already spend inordinate resources and time on security—are “reevaluating” their security measures.