Carolyn Cushing: Stop perpetuating dehumanization

I have read Hannah Moushabeck’s children’s book “Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine.” It’s lovely: a story of a father sharing memories and stories with his three daughters about his family and the sights and sounds of East Jerusalem growing up.

Reading it, I was reminded of how my grandparents talked about the Ireland they left as children but still loved. So I was dismayed and confused to see it mentioned as an example of antisemitism in the March 14 Gazette article “State panel gauges climate for Jews.”

The book does not address religion; Jewish people are not mentioned. That the Gazette chose to report this testimony is irresponsible. Not only does it take away from calling out of very real acts of antisemitism locally and nationally (threats and attacks against synagogues; use of hate language, symbols, and salutes by our own political leaders; conspiracy theories; bullying in schools of Jewish children) but it adds to the stereotyping and dehumanizing of Palestinian people here in the U.S. and internationally.

Dehumanization is a key strategy of authoritarians to divide us from each other and make people afraid to speak the truth and work for positive change. We must push back against the dehumanization that is coming full force from the current administration and seeping into so much of our public discourse. With a sweet story and colorful images, Ms. Moushabeck’s book does this in a beautiful way.

Carolyn Cushing

Easthampton