The Hanukkah menorah is a sign of peace and joy, symbolic of a miracle in the Jewish religion. But a menorah in Miami Beach, Fla., has also become an attraction for hate speech, with someone scribbling “you killed Jesus” on the base of the prominent Chabad Hanukkah display. Rabbi Zev Katz, who put up the menorah, is disappointed. “I hoped that people from other religions, we could all get along, we all have what we believe in, respect each other and live with each other,” said Katz, of Chabad House in Miami Beach.
In my world, there are few life form lower on the social/intellectual/moral food chain than religious bigots. Those who take their bigotry up a notch by attacking and/or defacing the symbol(s) of another religion are troglodytes who’ve amply demonstrated their lack of humanity and simple human decency.
I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by speculating that the perpetrators of this vandalism are probably white, angry, and very likely under-educated. I say this because no one with anything resembling a fully functional intellect would assume that their (vastly superior) flavor of Imaginary Friend sanctions this sort of silliness.
And it’s not as if this vandalism is an isolated incident.
At Temple Beth Torah, in the Wellington community near West Palm Beach, there was more anti-Semitism this past weekend. In that incident, somebody painted a swastika along with some offensive words on a dumpster.
The truly depressing aspect of this anti-Semitic violence and destruction is that such cases often go unsolved. Sure, the Anti-Defamation League can report crimes like this, and they have, but the odds are that little will come of such a report. It’s not as if the Jewish community isn’t used to this sort of defamation; theirs is a long and sad story of oppression and worse.
I may not believe in God, but I do remember enough of my Sunday School lessons to understand that vandalism and defamation committed in the name of the Lord does not ipso facto demonstrate the superiority of one’s Christian faith. Indeed, no Christian worthy of the appellation and who truly understands the Word of God would find anything appropriate in committing acts of violence directed at those of another faith.
Ditto for the troglodytes responsible for leaving a dead pig at a mosque outside Houston. Y’all really are a collection of sick bastards, aren’t you?
So much for Christian tolerance and charity, eh?? No, I’m not about to say that this behavior is typical of the majority of Christians, because it’s not. What disturbs me is that Christians aren’t exactly rushing to support those who are the victims of this sort of religiously-oriented violence. If Christians won’t stand up and denounce this sort of reprehensible behavior, an argument could be made that they could be considered complicit in it.
What would Jesus do? I doubt he’d stand mutely by why others were targeted by those who claim to be His followers.
