Brick thrown at Brookline kosher grocery store highlights antisemitism's rise
This act was, simply, antisemitic in the way it blamed a Jewish individual in America for the actions of the Jewish state in Israel.
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As a state that values every resident, we must emphasize clearly that antisemitism is wrong and antisemitic actions can't be tolerated. We must work to change a culture where slogans that can be perceived as violent threats against the Jewish people — like 'globalize the intifada,' a reference to the often violent uprisings by Palestinians in Israel — are considered acceptable discourse.
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While the brick was thrown when the store was closed, any attack on a Jewish individual can spark fear across the entire Jewish community. That is especially true after two lethal attacks recently. In Washington, D.C., two Israeli embassy staffers
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Earlier this month, an Egyptian man was charged with
Attacks against Jews are nothing new in the Boston area. In 2021, a man was
The
The Massachusetts Legislature formed the
Commission cochair state Senator John Velis (D-Westfield) says one challenge is the tendency to see antisemitism as someone else's problem. 'People on the left see it on the right, people on the right see it on the left,' Velis said. 'Antisemitism today shape-shifts, it mutates, it's ubiquitous. It's moved away from being only on the right or left, it's everywhere.'
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Jeremy Burton, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, attributed antisemitism's rise to a culture that lets progressive groups conflate criticism of Israel with language that demonizes Jews. 'The use of Zionists as a slur has been normalized,' Burton said.
'There is this willingness to absolve and minimize a rhetoric which tolerates, if not promotes, violence against Jews anywhere, as if no harm might come from that.'
There are real debates about the distinctions between anti-Zionism — opposing Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state — and antisemitism. Activists have every right to criticize Israel, its government, and its military. A robust debate about Israel's prolonged and deadly military campaign against Hamas in Gaza is warranted.
But the Butcherie is not a political institution; it's a store that sells food to Jews who adhere to religious dietary laws. The brick was thrown through a window displaying a winery map of Israel that depicted the disputed West Bank as part of Israel. But holding a Jewish-owned store responsible for actions of the Israeli government has no justification.
It would strike most people as obviously bigoted — and ridiculous — to protest for a 'free Tibet' by throwing a brick through the window of a Chinese grocery store, even if it displayed a map that included Tibet. Yet too many Americans can't bring themselves to understand that it's just as wrong to inflict violence on Jews or Jewish institutions to protest Israel.
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Brandeis University Professor of American Jewish History Jonathan Sarna said historically, domestic antisemitism rises when tensions rise between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Sarna said what struck him was the premeditation involved in writing a message on the brick, which implies not sudden anger but a statement of power. 'This incident, in addition to trying to make Jews fearful … is also about an expression of power, a reminder to Jews that we, whoever the people are who threw the rock, are stronger or at least are able to inflict lots of fear upon you,' Sarna said.
That's a message our society cannot accept.
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