Carol,

Thank you for this beautiful comment. I try to practice the same humility and goodness that you’re showing here, often imperfectly.

Jews originated as a nation in ancient Palestine and were expelled in various waves beginning 2600 years ago. Since then, we were always a minority in every country where we’ve lived. Antisemitism (or hatred of Jews) is a terrifyingly reliable phenomenon that arises everywhere. You may have heard about the Holocaust, or the organized Nazi-led slaughter of about 6 million Jews in Europe during the early 1940s (one-third of our total population at the time), but there are many other examples, like the expulsion of all Jews and Muslims from Spain in the 1490s and other expulsions of Jews from France, England, Italy and many other places. When Israel was created in 1948, it was the first time since about 586 BC that Jews had self-determination.

One of the scariest things about all forms of hatred is that it only takes a small number of hateful people to cause extraordinary violence and misery, as long as most of their fellow citizens stay out of their way.

Thanks again for your comment and for reading.

Boaz