I loved this post, for the writing about poetry, for the inclusion of the poems in snapshot from the books and their covers. For the one poet leading to another leading to an essay, past and present. Taffy Brodesser-Akner's essay is masterful and should be read by everyone, if only that were possible. I was in tears by the end...which, of course, was intended. And yet... my hackles got ruffled here: "Is there any rational way to explain why, from 2018 to 2023, right here in New York State, where the largest number of Jews outside of Israel live, hate crimes against Jews rose by 89 percent, so that in 2023 they made up 44 percent of all hate crimes." These statistics are suspect, do they include anti-Israel words and actions (they shouldn't)? do they include the everyday, unrecorded anti-Black, anti-immigrant, anti-indigenous slurs, violence, exclusions (it's not possible).
But here's the actual rub, for me: while I know and feel how dangerous it is that 48% of Americans can't name a single concentration camp, killing field or ghetto where Jews were exterminated, what percentage of Americans can name the slave ships, slave pens, the slave markets, the lynching trees, the name and numbers of Black people murdered by police (hmmm, classified as hate crimes?)? My point is not to diminish the reality, brutality, unfathomability, or memory of the Holocaust. It is rather to widen our gaze, our memory, our questions. I'm going to beg now: if Brodesser-Akner's essay moved you, please study learn and learn again the history of unfathomable brutality that humans inflicted, that humans survived, during the Atlantic slave trade, during the genocide of Native Americans.
Thank you, Clare. I share your concern about a decreasing knowledge of history, and I hope people of all backgrounds widen their gaze, to borrow your phrase.
There are also state and city statistics released each year. The Department of Justice released a report last year on hate crimes in the schools, which I read at the time, and which may be of interest to you.
Aviya, I love your work and so conflicted about arguing with you. I’m obviously both conflict averse and driven by certain things at the same time. The reports that you linked to above are reported hate crimes. Who reports hate crimes? People who feel police are basically there to protect them. Not people who want to stay out of the radar and cross hairs of the police. I don’t think these statistics are a way a talk about the rise in experiences of antisemitism. Our personal experiences are maybe a better way. Either way, we all should keep talking.
Are these questions really what all of us should be asking now? About the Holocaust and antisemitism and etc. etc.? Maybe all of us are not as intimately related to holocaust survivors as you and Taffy are. Maybe all of us are more concerned at the moment about how warped Israel has become and the destruction it is perpetrating on Palestinians. I do appreciate you offering the link to the article and have not yet read all of it in depth but have read enough of it to know that it is a glimpse into a world that I, as a Jew, currently living in the Midwest, whose grandparents arrived in this country in 1912, have had little direct contact with. What bothers me, though, as you can see, is the suggestion that all of us must be equally consumed by these questions. Yes, the questions are vital; yes, there are people whose lives will be consumed by them; but there are also people who are consumed by what is happening to the so-called light among the nations, the Jewish state of Israel. I guess I put myself more in that group and amid the ironies pof a nation state founded by Holocaust survivors that is now responsible for the systematic murder of so many Palestinians“PS I am dictating this so sorry for typos.PPS I do love reading your sub stack so I hope that my comments do not offend you and also I love that you have presented Elaine Feinstein‘s work to us. I have another British poet, a Jewish poet in mind, whom I would love to introduce to you; a Scottish Jewish poet named zArthur Jacobs. I will contact you about him and the book I co-edited with Anthony Rudolf of his selected poems.
Merle, if you read all of Taffy Brodesser-Akner's essay, you will see that she addresses the question of readers who do not want to read about the Holocaust--in fact, she writes "I’ll understand if you don’t want to read it." I don't know if you got that far.
You are of course entirely right that there is no way I -- or anyone else-- can know what questiions all readers are asking, so I changed "all" to "many" in this post. I do believe it's an extraordinary essay, and I hope as many readers as possible read it.
When I review a book, or recommend an essay, I always read the entire thing. I find that some readers (and reviewers) want an author to write about a different subject, but I try to look at each piece or book on its own terms.
While I am not surprised to hear that there are readers who cannot approach a piece about the Holocaust without thinking of other subjects, it does pain me to hear it. And it worries me. Decreasing knowledge of the Holocaust--which I see in my work as a college professor-- is a concern of mine. I believe every writer has the right to her subjects, and you can certainly write about the questions you are thinking about, and all the concerns you have! Do write me about the Jacobs book, and chag sameach!
Thank you for this gracious reply, Aviya.... I will be in touch with you after the Seders about Arthur/A. C. Jacobs & the book (which I think will fascinate you!). You have a chag sameach too.
What an excellent post! So interesting. I loved it.
Thank you, Elisabeth!
Thank you for introducing me to these beautiful poems by a poet I was not familiar with!
I'm happy to hear that, Laura--one of my goals is to write about poets who deserve more attention!
I loved this post, for the writing about poetry, for the inclusion of the poems in snapshot from the books and their covers. For the one poet leading to another leading to an essay, past and present. Taffy Brodesser-Akner's essay is masterful and should be read by everyone, if only that were possible. I was in tears by the end...which, of course, was intended. And yet... my hackles got ruffled here: "Is there any rational way to explain why, from 2018 to 2023, right here in New York State, where the largest number of Jews outside of Israel live, hate crimes against Jews rose by 89 percent, so that in 2023 they made up 44 percent of all hate crimes." These statistics are suspect, do they include anti-Israel words and actions (they shouldn't)? do they include the everyday, unrecorded anti-Black, anti-immigrant, anti-indigenous slurs, violence, exclusions (it's not possible).
But here's the actual rub, for me: while I know and feel how dangerous it is that 48% of Americans can't name a single concentration camp, killing field or ghetto where Jews were exterminated, what percentage of Americans can name the slave ships, slave pens, the slave markets, the lynching trees, the name and numbers of Black people murdered by police (hmmm, classified as hate crimes?)? My point is not to diminish the reality, brutality, unfathomability, or memory of the Holocaust. It is rather to widen our gaze, our memory, our questions. I'm going to beg now: if Brodesser-Akner's essay moved you, please study learn and learn again the history of unfathomable brutality that humans inflicted, that humans survived, during the Atlantic slave trade, during the genocide of Native Americans.
Thank you, Clare. I share your concern about a decreasing knowledge of history, and I hope people of all backgrounds widen their gaze, to borrow your phrase.
You can find national hate-crime statistics on the FBI website; the link for 2019 is here: https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-releases-2019-hate-crime-statistics
There are also state and city statistics released each year. The Department of Justice released a report last year on hate crimes in the schools, which I read at the time, and which may be of interest to you.
Here is a summary from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/29/us/schools-hate-crimes-doj-fbi-report/index.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CFrom%202018%20through%202022%2C%20the,Gay%2C%20Bisexual%2C%20or%20Transgender%20(
I believe everyone should become more informed about the dramatic rise in hate crimes in recent years--including antisemitism.
Aviya, I love your work and so conflicted about arguing with you. I’m obviously both conflict averse and driven by certain things at the same time. The reports that you linked to above are reported hate crimes. Who reports hate crimes? People who feel police are basically there to protect them. Not people who want to stay out of the radar and cross hairs of the police. I don’t think these statistics are a way a talk about the rise in experiences of antisemitism. Our personal experiences are maybe a better way. Either way, we all should keep talking.
Are these questions really what all of us should be asking now? About the Holocaust and antisemitism and etc. etc.? Maybe all of us are not as intimately related to holocaust survivors as you and Taffy are. Maybe all of us are more concerned at the moment about how warped Israel has become and the destruction it is perpetrating on Palestinians. I do appreciate you offering the link to the article and have not yet read all of it in depth but have read enough of it to know that it is a glimpse into a world that I, as a Jew, currently living in the Midwest, whose grandparents arrived in this country in 1912, have had little direct contact with. What bothers me, though, as you can see, is the suggestion that all of us must be equally consumed by these questions. Yes, the questions are vital; yes, there are people whose lives will be consumed by them; but there are also people who are consumed by what is happening to the so-called light among the nations, the Jewish state of Israel. I guess I put myself more in that group and amid the ironies pof a nation state founded by Holocaust survivors that is now responsible for the systematic murder of so many Palestinians“PS I am dictating this so sorry for typos.PPS I do love reading your sub stack so I hope that my comments do not offend you and also I love that you have presented Elaine Feinstein‘s work to us. I have another British poet, a Jewish poet in mind, whom I would love to introduce to you; a Scottish Jewish poet named zArthur Jacobs. I will contact you about him and the book I co-edited with Anthony Rudolf of his selected poems.
Merle, if you read all of Taffy Brodesser-Akner's essay, you will see that she addresses the question of readers who do not want to read about the Holocaust--in fact, she writes "I’ll understand if you don’t want to read it." I don't know if you got that far.
You are of course entirely right that there is no way I -- or anyone else-- can know what questiions all readers are asking, so I changed "all" to "many" in this post. I do believe it's an extraordinary essay, and I hope as many readers as possible read it.
When I review a book, or recommend an essay, I always read the entire thing. I find that some readers (and reviewers) want an author to write about a different subject, but I try to look at each piece or book on its own terms.
While I am not surprised to hear that there are readers who cannot approach a piece about the Holocaust without thinking of other subjects, it does pain me to hear it. And it worries me. Decreasing knowledge of the Holocaust--which I see in my work as a college professor-- is a concern of mine. I believe every writer has the right to her subjects, and you can certainly write about the questions you are thinking about, and all the concerns you have! Do write me about the Jacobs book, and chag sameach!
Thank you for this gracious reply, Aviya.... I will be in touch with you after the Seders about Arthur/A. C. Jacobs & the book (which I think will fascinate you!). You have a chag sameach too.