I'm Not Jewish...

... but from the point-of-view of the anti-Semites among us, my husband and children are. (From the point of view of the rabbi, they probably aren't). Sometimes I find it scary. I see them as the little girl in the red coat in Schindler's List, and the thought brings me physical pain. I am unused to how to think about their origins in this world where there is so much blind hate.

I'm not sure what to say to people who have been Jewish their whole lives, either. Mostly, I defer to them. This is a new area for me. But lately I have been overwhelmed by the level of paranoia and anger that seems to be required. I don't think I can sustain it.

First, I got this chain letter from a woman in my playgroup:

Important, please read!!

Several weeks ago, Germany announced its decision to stop all arms sales to Israel . Since then, other countries have followed suit.

In response, Israel has canceled its annual multimillion dollar contract for its nationwide DAN buses which were manufactured in Germany , and is looking at other bus suppliers in the US , and Japan.

The Europeans and their Muslim allies should understand that boycotts works both ways. When we said NEVER AGAIN, we meant it. Europe is stuck in the mentality of 1933 and conditioned to thinking of Jews as
defenseless entities. The reality is very different. As long as Europe adheres to and supports its primitive Middle Ages death cult, European products must be off limits.

We continue to call for a complete boycott of travel and products from the following countries France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Holland, and China, due to their support, sponsorship, and/or participation in global Islamic terror. The voting record of the above countries at the UN openly endorses Muslim terror.

Remember, every time you buy a bottle of Evian, a Carlsberg product, a Spanish melon, a Godiva chocolate, a Dior lipstick, a Gucci bag, or a German kitchen appliance, you are financing the next Muslim mass murderer.

The European Union gives over $10 million per month to the Palestinian Authority, knowing full well that the money is funneled to buy, import, and train Muslim terrorists and their weapons of mass murder.

We strongly encourage everyone to buy American and Israeli products instead. Buy Estee Lauder or Ahava instead of Chanel, Dior, and YSL. Tell the salespeople why. Educate the public when you shop.

Europe is underwriting the Arab war to exterminate the Jewish state. We cannot sit idly by while this happens. Make your voice heard and let them feel the sting in their pocketbooks. Let the Europeans know that supporting terror does not pay.

Please send this to at least 10 like minded people

Where to start with this?

• The events referenced happened in 2002, when Germany halted on arms deal in response to Israel's action in the West Bank. The article I read described Germany as "long Israel's biggest supporter in Europe."
• Since then, several of the countries mentioned have seen terrorist actions, most notably Spain. One could hardly accuse them of supporting Islamic terrorism after the bombings there.
• In any case, companies are publicly held and in this age of globalization it is very hard to characterize them as coming from any one company.
• Even if the company was entirely based in one country, unless the company is actually government owned then boycotting the company does nothing to affect the government.
• At least one of the brands here, Godiva, is actually owned by an American company, Campbell Soup, which is based in New Jersey. There are probably more but I didn' t have time to research it.
• The Palestinian Authority has historically received money from Israel, the U.S. , the European Union, and other sources. In April the European Union cut off all funding to the Palestinian Authority until the Hamas government recognizes Israel's right to exist, though they are debating whether to fund health care workers there.

Then I just foolishly got myself embroiled in a discussion on Blogging Baby. The original poster described some teenage boys' use of quotes from Hitler in the yearbook, and said she found the quotes themselves "meaningful." The quotes themselves could easily have been interpreted as an indictment of the current administration, as one said "Strength lies not in defense, but in attack" (perhaps a reference to the U.S. "pre-emptive" attack of Iraq) and the other said
"The great masses of people ... will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one." (perhaps thinking the Weapons of Mass Destruction were a big lie.). Since the boys didn't give any context clues, using Hitler was a bad idea.

But the commenters on the post came down hard on the original poster, accusing her of insensitivity and worse. "When you are lucky enough to come from a family or people or religion or culture that has not been slaughtered, raped, pillaged or hunted down - I then I guess you can look at this as genius or 'meaningful'," said one poster. How's that for strong language? Exactly how that poster knew the original poster's ethnicity is beyond me. In fact, I think her assumption was wrong, but it is neither here nor there, unless you actually think there should be some kind of litmus test for commenting on anything to do with Shoah or Hitler or even Germany.

So I posted and tried to explain the original poster's thought, but that just got me attacked too. One of the people had lost many family members, and her pain and anger were understandable. Yet I'm sure the original poster did not intend to come across as a Hitler apologist.

I am pained. Is a constant level of vigilance and anger required? Can it just be vigilance, and careful thought, without assuming the worst motives in everyone?