Today I am fasting. Tisha B'Av, "the Ninth day of the month of Av," began at sundown last night on the Jewish Calendar. On this day in both 576 BCE and 70 CE, the two Great Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed, first by the Babylonians and then by the Romans.
For over 2,000 years, Jews like me have been fasting on this day to mourn our loss. We sit close to the ground and listen to the book of Lamentations chanted in wailing Hebrew and we try to fathom the pain of losing one's house of worship. In modern practice, this day has become a remembrance of all the persecutions and misfortunes that the Jewish people have undergone throughout history. It happens to mark the date on which Jews were expelled from England in 1290 and also on which Ferdinand and Isabella began the Spanish Inquisition in 1492, evicting 300,000 Jews from their homes in Spain.
Today my sorrow has a new context. Since January of this calendar year, twenty-eight historically Black churches have been burned in the South. These churches fall under a variety of denominations, but all were founded by African Americans. This racially-motivated religious persecution cannot be tolerated. In the Jewish community we know the dangers of silence in the face of subtle destruction. Unchecked, the destruction only gets worse. Jews have made a commitment never to let the Holocaust happen again, and I for one will not stand by and watch another group be violated to their spiritual core.
On Tuesday night, Hillel and the Afro-American Society committed themselves to raising awareness on campus and to responding to the burnings and helping rebuild the churches. At a dinner discussion, we shared facts about today's day of mourning and the current events in the South, and affirmed an alliance to work towards continued Black-Jewish dialogue on campus.
We are beginning our campaign with an informational and fundraising table at Family Weekend Registration outside of Collis tomorrow. Members of the AAm and Hillel will staff the table to provide information about the burnings and addresses where donations can be sent.
Today, as I fast, my sorrow is extended beyond Jerusalem, Spain and my ancestors in Eastern Europe, to a more tangible context of America, 1996. Ignorance and violence have no place in an ethical society. It is my hope that such an ethical society can surface here at Dartmouth as we work together to face the injustice.