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Good afternoon members of the Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism.  My name is Rabbi Ariella Rosen and I serve as the interim lead rabbi at Congregation B’nai Israel, a community of about 500 households in Northampton, the largest synagogue in the  Upper Valley. 

I greatly appreciate this opportunity to share my comments with you.  I also want to share my deep respect and appreciation for my rabbinic colleagues who have spoken, and members of my own community, Molly and Henny, who have shared stories from within our community that were so important for you to hear. 

As a rabbi, I am an educator and a spiritual caregiver. I spend much of my time as a listener- taking in people’s experiences, stories, worries, and hopes. I help locate the story of the Jewish people in the cycle of the calendar and within our larger context. And I support my community in finding the best ways possible to thrive as a diverse community, alongside our diverse neighbors.  

CBI, like much of the Jewish community, is a place that contains multitudes, with many different perspectives on how to be a Jew in the world, different politics, practices, and more. We do our best to make space for these multitudes. It’s often difficult work, and we are constantly engaged in it because it is essential.  

This is who the Jewish people are. Our culture of spirited debate and holding of multiple approaches and perspectives is something that we have celebrated and honored for centuries. It is a point of pride, and the true foundation of what has enabled Judaism to thrive and survive through hundreds of generations. Much of my work over the past couple of years has been to support our community in continuing to honor the presence of multiple truths, even as we live in a world that becomes increasingly polarized each day.  

We are here to talk about preventing further harm from antisemitism in our community. To that task, I ask the commission to remember that all Jews, regardless of our political perspectives, are harmed by antisemitism, and hope that the Commission’s recommendations will recognize that and support us all. 

Also towards that end, I ask the Commission to resist any effort to codify a singular definition of antisemitism, in particular the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition, for two reasons. First, most scholars of antisemitism and Jewish history agree that codifying a formal definition of antisemitism is not realistic or possible because of its changeable nature and the different forms it has taken throughout history. Codifying any definition of antisemitism impedes the ability to recognize and respond to it when circumstances fall outside its bounds. Second, the IHRA definition dangerously conflates antisemitism with critique of Israel. Actions based on this definition actively harm members of my own community- Jews and allies- who hold critical positions on Israel with integrity and love for the Jewish people.  

There is no debating the presence of antisemitism in our community. Many of the stories and testimonies you’ve already heard today reflect many of the stories with which I have been entrusted; I share the pain and the imperative to pay close attention and to take fast action to ensure our community’s safety.  

I also want to bring to this table additional perspectives that are not always well represented in the conversation, but are equally essential to hold during this time, also in the name of caring for our community’s safety and well-being.  

In two days, Jews will be celebrating the holiday of Purim, about the defeat of Haman and his antisemitic plot to kill all of the Jews in the kingdom of Persia. We then enter a several week period of preparation for the holiday of Pesach (Passover), in which we recount the exodus from Egyptian slavery. It is a special time of year, where some of the major themes of our people’s stories are front of mind.  

Prominent Jewish thinker Yossi Klein Halevi of the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem wrote about the importance of holding the themes of both holidays in conversation with one another, especially with regards to American Jewry.  

He suggests that two biblical directives are to be our guiding reminders. The first voice commands us, “don’t be brutal,” because as strangers and slaves in Egypt, we know what oppression feels like and must have empathy with others facing their own brutality. The second voice commands us, “don’t be naive,” for as a people we have faced threat and attack throughout the generations, including into our present moment. 

Halevi writes “The first command is the voice of Passover, of liberation; the second is the voice of Purim, commemorating our victory over the genocidal threat of Haman.” 

The message of Passover motivates our empathy with the oppressed; the message of Purim motivates our alertness to threat. Halevi says, “Both are essential.” 

This duality is so important for navigating being a Jew in our time: don't be naive, don’t be brutal. The threat to Jewish safety is real, and exists across the political spectrum, showing up in many different ways, including sometimes under the guise of “helping the Jew.” But in our response to fear of threat, or deep pain at experienced harm, let us not allow the tactics that have been used against us to be used in our name against others. 

For example: I am an alumna of Columbia University, grateful for the incredible education I was privileged to receive. It’s been an incredibly difficult time for so many Jewish students on campus. Yet, when I heard the news of the federal government’s decision to withhold $400 million from CU due to their lack of action against antisemitism on campus, my first reaction was one of fear and dread. When major funding is withheld from a university in the name of Jewish safety, Jews will bear the brunt of resulting consequences, including resentment and animosity, among other potential consequences. 

Sending ICE to detain Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder involved in the pro-Palestinian student protests of the past year, deepens my alarm. No matter his politics, even if we strongly oppose his politics, the violation of his rights should scare us all. Moreover, I find it horrific that the very tactics that Jews have faced with our long history of forced migration are being used against others in our name.  

Relying on the goal of Jewish safety as an excuse to further a political objective becomes a vehicle for division, distrust, and resentment, shutting down the real and critical work of discerning the difference between legitimate protest and true harm. Once again, the claim that such actions are for the sake of Jewish safety can very easily lead to the opposite. 

We face here in Massachusetts, the nation’s capital of higher education learning, the same threats before us. I urge the commission to defend free speech, including freedom to protest peacefully that makes academia possible and vibrant. These freedoms are vital for Jewish safety in our country. 

As a rabbi, my primary tool for effecting change is learning, education, conversation, all of which further open doors to greater understanding. This is how stable, lasting change can happen. 

We need to educate about how antisemitism has historically shown up throughout the generations, and how antisemitism has been used to divide us from our neighbors and natural allies.  

We need to have conversations about the ways in which antisemitism is both unique from and linked with other forms of discrimination and hate.  

We need to speak about the fact that protest against the actions of the State of Israel or in support of Palestinian rights and safety is not inherently antisemitic- God forbid-our tradition requires us to know and celebrate and fight for the full human dignity of each person!- while recognizing that these actions can- and have (as we’ve heard many examples of today)- very easily become antisemitic with the use of certain language, imagery, intimidation, or targeted harm. By opening rather than closing thoughtful discourse, those within the movements will have the tools to better discern that difference.  

We need to work with our educators. This means we must approach them with the respect and humility that they deserve. As an educator, I know that teaching is one of the most challenging professions. Our teachers manage a multitude of responsibilities, considerations, and constituencies each day, and we can better build trust through listening, and offering to be their partners.  

We need to understand and educate about the ways that antisemitism can be used as a tool of white nationalism, as Eric Ward has so thoughtfully written about in his essay “Skin in the Game.” We need to show that our fight against antisemitism is also a fight against all forms of violent extremism. They must happen together; we cannot take on this fight alone. 

All of this is true, regardless of which side of the political spectrum it emerges from, and I am asking all of us to work together to develop our muscle in holding it all. It is not only possible; it is critical to sustaining the fabric of our Jewish community, our state and our nation. 

A beloved brief debate from the Talmud questions: “which is greater? Study or action” The concluding response is that study is better, for it leads to action. To that end, I hope we can lift up students and teachers, rather than punishing people for caring about innocent life. Let us provide the tools to help everyone succeed in truly standing up to all forms of hate. Let us allow diverse perspectives to help us develop a more expansive toolkit to respond to antisemitism. May your period of study, as the Commission on Combatting Antisemitism, lead to action that allows all of us- Jews of various backgrounds and perspectives- to thrive. May you help hold all of these many truths with us, and may all of our voices lead to greater safety for the Jewish people alongside all peoples. Thank you.