I remember my parents telling us, one time and one time only, that the only difference with the couple that lived on the side of us was that they went to a different “church”than we did.
Mr and Mrs Siegel were nice people. Their children were grown and moved away.
They were Jewish.
The only Jewish people in our suburban Connecticut neighborhood.
In the 1960s I guess that was a thing.
To me, they were just the Siegels.
I imagine my parents told us this because of some anti-Semitic concern at the time that they did not want us to buy into.
I never thought about it again.
There is such a hatred in America today.
A hatred I do not understand.
The pipe bombs and the synagogue killings are but the latest ramifications of this hatred.
It’s fine to disagree and to debate.
But insults and hate speech breed hate actions and those of us with a public voice have a responsibility to use that voice for peace.
My heart cries for my Jewish sisters and brothers, for the people of Pittsburgh, and for the all Americans.
We are better than this.
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