On Friday’s St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh went behind the headlines to discuss the local Jewish community’s reaction to last weekend’s tragic event in Pittsburgh at the Tree of Life synagogue, where 11 people were killed.
“It feels like we’ve seen this uptick in anti-Semitism for a while now,” Rabbi Amy Feder of Temple Israel in St. Louis County told Marsh. Also joining the conversation was Karen Aroesty, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.
They talked about their reactions to the shooting in Pittsburgh, the status of anti-Semitic hate crimes in the region and how to prevent attacks from potentially happening again.
“Our congregation and our community have been trying to figure out how to prepare ourselves but also how we can still be proud of who we are and be confident as Jews and as Americans. And we’re doing everything we can to just go about our life as we always do,” Feder added.
The Anti-Defamation League has various educational resources listed to help parents and educators discuss difficult issues, incuding incidents of anti-bias.
Aroesty said threatened communities should “use all the layers” at their disposal, such as working with law enforcement, educating members on how to be more security aware, “and then we also go out in the community, because if we hide, then the haters are winning.
“So we go out in the community, we do good work … we learn about others and we let them learn about us, and hopefully that all ends up reducing the lack of awareness and bias.”
Listen to the full conversation here:
St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh and producers Alex Heuer, Evie Hemphill, Lara Hamdan and Xandra Ellin give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region.
