In this episode of Bending the Arc, we speak with Geri Copitch of Temple Beth Israel about her community, her Faith, and some of the responses to the recent distribution of antisemitic leaflets in our county. During our conversation, she references the work of the Anti-Defamation League and the resources available at adl.org. Once there, you will also find a recently released report on antisemitic incidents in 2022.
During our conversation, she also shared this quote/poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller*:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Geri shares that myjewishlearning.com is a rich website where one can learn more about Judaism.
To learn more about hate crime definitions in California and what communities can do in response, visit https://oag.ca.gov/hatecrimes.
To join a network of organizations committed to working for equal justice in our county, go to www.shastaequaljustice.org
*The US Holocaust Memorial Museum website shares: “Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) was a prominent Lutheran pastor in Germany. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he sympathized with many Nazi ideas and supported radically right-wing political movements. But after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, Niemöller became an outspoken critic of Hitler’s interference in the Protestant Church. He spent the last eight years of Nazi rule, from 1937 to 1945, in Nazi prisons and concentration camps. Niemöller is perhaps best remembered for [this] postwar statement.”
