Dr. Hill,

I'm deeply grateful for this reply and I take it very seriously. Since posting the article I've been thinking about ways to organize the Jewish community more effectively on its own behalf.

What scared me into writing this article was not so much the fact that progressives did not burst into an spontaneous outcry in Jews' defense, but rather the silence - and borderline hostility - of even my own friends even *after* I brought the situation to the attention of my circle. (That said, I have no doubt that other communities have encountered the same and worse when engaging in their own self-advocacy.)

I pray that the only obstacle between where we are today and where I feel safe today is organization and hard work, and not the unconscious antisemitism I fear is behind much of the silence and which seems to arise in every time and place where Jews try to exist.

I share your aspiration to have the same standard of compassion and justice for others as they do for ourselves. I deeply respect my Palestinian friends and support their struggle for freedom and self-determination.

Respectfully,

Boaz

PS. Even though I took an entire course in high school on African American History, I never learned about the Tulsa Race Massacre until I happened to be in Tulsa and took a tour of Black Wall Street. I was horrified by the fact of the event and its erasure, but even more so by the fact that it wasn't taught in every school as a national shame.

PPS. I grew up 2 blocks from Tree of Life synagogue and my mom was at home during the shooting. She'd attended a Bar Mitzvah there the week before. Still, I'm more alarmed today than I was then because after the shooting, the community showed up in solidarity. I'm not sure what work went into that, but I felt seen and supported.