The senseless killing of fifteen people in Sydney on Sunday as they were celebrating the start of Chanukah, and the wounding and hospitalization of twenty-seven more, is not only a tragedy for the Jewish community, but also a tragedy for humanity. When hate strikes one group, it threatens us all.
History shows us that hate does not discriminate. Black people, Hispanics, Asians, Muslims, LGBTQ+ individuals, and countless others have each been targeted simply because of who they are, what they believe, or what they aspire to achieve. Bigotry thrives on difference, but its reach is universal. What begins with one community rarely ends there.
As a Jew, I cannot forget the lessons of Nazi Germany. Good people who could have spoken out remained silent. Their silence became complicity. The danger of indifference is as great today as it was then. To do nothing is to stand with those who commit these atrocities.
It is incomprehensible that in a world where every major religion preaches brotherhood, compassion, and kindness, more wars have been waged in the name of righteousness than have been avoided in the name of decency and respect. The contradiction is stark: the very values meant to unite us are twisted into weapons that divide and worse.
Earlier that day, before learning about the attack in Sydney, my wife and I were out holiday shopping. In the dressing room of a department store, I stumbled upon a chilling reminder of the times we live in. Someone had arranged shirt pins into the shape of a swastika. A symbol of hate, casually etched into an ordinary wall.
Who did this? A young person? An adult? Was it someone emboldened by prejudice, or simply indifferent to its meaning? Why here, why now?
These questions linger, but the deeper truth is clear: hate is never far from the surface. It can appear in the most unexpected places, waiting to remind us that vigilance is necessary.
We cannot afford silence.
Each of us has a responsibility to resist hate wherever it appears, in our communities, in our institutions, even in the walls of a dressing room. An attack on one is, ultimately, an attack on all.
Jeff Rubin is a speaker, author, and adviser on community and aging issues with over 30 years of experience leading programs and initiatives that advance the greater good. Based in Berea, he advocates an author and a NKyTribune contributor.