We are writing to express our concern about the Nov. 26 guest column “Rethinking the holidays: The Big Switch.” While we realize that the author meant his words to be in jest and without malice, we feel that the author and the Gazette should have thought twice before publishing it in today’s climate of rising antisemitism and violence against Jews.
The column plays into at least two harmful tropes, calls into question the legitimacy of the story of Hanukkah (without at all questioning the story of Christmas), belittles much-loved Jewish foods and traditions, and implies that Jews, because we make up only a small percentage of the population, do not deserve to have our full Hanukkah celebration.
Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. rose 34% last year (according to the Anti-Defamation League) to the highest number on record since the 1970s. These acts are becoming normalized in this country, where our former president blithely dines with known antisemites and Holocaust deniers and the leaders of the Republican party can barely bring themselves to condemn him. It can feel sometimes like these incidents are seen as not a big deal, and that jokes about Jews are “acceptable” bigotries to express.
The whole point of Hanukkah is that it lasts eight nights. If it didn’t, it would lose its essential meaning and disappear.
We represent two inter-faith families that also celebrate both holidays. But we were very dismayed to see this printed in our local newspaper. It is unlikely that the column would have seemed as funny, or that the paper would have published it, if anyone at the Gazette had considered the wider context.
Amy and Jamie Sweeting
Emily and Rob Boutilier
Amherst