People gather in Lexington in solidarity with victims of recent anti-Semitic attacks
A group of people gathered Sunday in downtown Lexington to show solidarity in response to recent violence against the Jewish people across the United States and in other countries.
Attacks like the one in Monsey, N.Y., that seriously injured five at a Hanukkah gathering in December are part of a larger uptick in violence toward people who are Jewish, Rabbi Shlomo Litvin said at the event in Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza Sunday.
Litvin, who is the director of the Chabad at the University of Kentucky Jewish Center, led a prayer for those who have been injured or killed in the recent violence.
After the gathering, Litvin said he believes online communications have allowed people with anti-Semitic views to talk to one another without ever having to meet, and that it’s a problem that requires modern solutions.
“We’re not backtracking, this is an entirely new form of a very old hatred,” Litvin said.
Threats against Litvin, his family and the Jewish community in Lexington have caused him to be in close contact with Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers and the local FBI office over the years. While some events in Lexington’s Jewish community have had upgraded security because of such threats, it is important for Jewish people to continue living proudly and not cancel events, Litvin said.
“The only thing that shocks anti-Semitism back into the corner of society where it should reside is awareness, is people speaking out against it,” Litvin said.
U.S. Representative for Kentucky’s Sixth Congressional District Andy Barr was at Sunday’s event and told those gathering about multiple pending house bills that he said would support the Jewish community.
One of the bills, H.R. 4009, was introduced in the house in 2019 and would “codify” an executive order by President Donald Trump that defines Jewish people as an ethnic group rather than a religious group. This allows Jewish students to be protected by Title VI of the Civil Rights act of 1964, Barr said.
“We should come together and stand against hate in all of its forms, it shouldn’t be a partisan or political issue,” Barr said. “This is a human rights issue.”
The event Sunday was held and sponsored by Chabad of the Bluegrass, the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, Jewish Advocacy of Kentucky and the Lexington Leadership Foundation.
“Unfortunately anti-Semitism is not a new thing,” said Aaron Rothke, president of Jewish Advocacy for Kentucky. “It’s been around for thousands of years.”
Rothke also said that while there is a spotlight on some attacks against Jewish people in the United States, many other attacks go under-reported.
“The answer to hatred is never hatred,” Rothke said after the event. “The answer to hatred, violence, whether it’s anti-Semitism, racism, Islamophobia ... hatred or violence in return is not going to solve the problem.”
This story was originally published January 12, 2020 at 6:58 PM.