Countering Oppression of
Neighborhood Emergency
In the last two months, we have seen over 2,000 antisemitic incidents in the United States.In the last two months, we have seen over 2,000 anti-Muslim incidents in the United States. Our Jewish and Muslim neighbors are often spending $1,000 per week on security. Individual members of each tradition have to consider carefully if they will…
Read MorePermission For Violence
Recently, someone came to me concerned about the rise in antisemitism and anti-Muslim sentiment in our country. We discussed how influential figures, including some in the media, can inadvertently promote these biases. For instance, there’s concern about conflating Muslims with extremist groups or making insensitive remarks about Jewish communities. This person had heard my talks…
Read MoreResisting Collective Blame
For the past decade, my focus has been on understanding and combating dehumanization in Washington State and across the United States. During times of conflict, communities here become more susceptible to threats and violence. Just last week, I had conversations with a young Palestinian Muslim woman and a Jewish woman, both of whom expressed feeling…
Read MoreA Jewish Perspective on PTU’s Strategy
As I sit down to write this, I am struck by how much has happened over the last many months. This country and our world are experiencing hatred at an alarming rate. Whether it is between political parties, racial groups, or religions, we are more segregated than we have been in years. The divides between…
Read MoreMore Than We Know
Human beings and human societies always have struggles and anxieties. If we were all in the same room we could easily name many of the great challenges of our day: A crisis of trust in each other Lack of equal status for people of diverse groups Wealth and income inequality Climate change And more of…
Read MoreShocking But Not Surprising
We are all filled with grief at the shooting that took place at the Q Club in Colorado Springs. What happened there is shocking. It is, grievously, not surprising. In high school we had three bullies in my class. They had a group of followers who actually did most of the damage. One week, they…
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