The Cyclical Nature of Anti-Semitism Skit

Narrator: The Place – Ancient Babylonia. The Year -- 450 C.E. Jews have been living in Babyonia in relative safety for nearly 900 years.

First Person: Babyonia has been good for the Jews. My family is very happy and healthy here.

Second Person: It’s true. I remember the stories that my grandmother told of her grandmother. About how it wasn’t safe to be Jewish. She told me that just 75 years ago the Romans killed people for converting to Judaism.

First Person: I heard that, too. But that’s all over now. Look how good we have it here. These are modern times, and now we have the freedom to practice our religion.

Narrator: Just 5 years after this conversation, Jews in Babylonia nad Assyria were no longer allowed to celebrate Shabbat. By 800 C.E., large numbers of Jews had fled from the area so that they were now spread on 3 continents – Europe, Africa and Asia .

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Narrator: The Place – England. The Year – 1280. Jews had lived in England for over 200 years.

First Person: I’ve heard stories that when my family came to England with William the Conqueror they didn’t think that they’d like it here. But since the Talmud was burned in Paris 2 years ago, we feel really glad that our ancestors came here instead of settling in France.

Second Person: I know what you mean. England has been really good for the Jews. Look how good we have it here. Now we’re really safe.

First Person: I guess you’re right. Though sometimes these English people make comments about Jews, and I worry about what might happen.

Second Person: Oh, come on. We’ve been here for over 200 years and nothing’s happened.

Narrator: Ten years after this conversation, all Jews were expelled from England and they were not allowed to return until the 17th century. This happened repeatedly in European countries including France and Germany.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Narrator: The Place – Spain. The Year – 1470. At this time, the Golden Age for Jews has lasted for nearly 500 years.

First Person: Life here has been good. As Jews we were forced to come here many generations ago. Or so the stories say.

Second Person: Yes, and they say that nearly 800 years ago we were persecuted here just for being Jews.

First Person: But that was a long time ago. I’ve never experienced anti-Jewish prejudice. Nowadays, Spanish Jews are leaders in intellectual thought and have important positions in international commerce.

Second Person: You’re right. Spain has been good for the Jews. I’ve heard stories about how Jews were treated in Europe, being exiled form their own countries. That hasn’t happened here.

First Person: We’re finally safe as Jews.

Narrator: Within 10 years of this conversation, the Spanish Inquisition had begun. Jews and Muslims were targeted by the Catholic Church and were tortured, killed, or forced to convert. In 1492, all Jews were expelled form Spain. Many of these Jews fled to Eastern Europe and Turkey.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Narrator: The Place -- The area of Eastern Europe now known as Poland. The Year –1635.

First Person: My grandfather told me abut how his mother had been forced to flee from Spain for being a Jew.

Second Person: I’ve heard those stories. It’s hard to believe that they’re true.

First Person: I know. We have a good life here. Though my cousin told me he heard about Jews being Killed and synagogues burned in other towns.

Second Person: I think those are rumors. I think we’re as safe here as can be expected.

Narrator: In the decades following this conversation, there were Cossack rebellions in Poland. Hundred of thousands of Jews were killed, many for refusing to convert from Judaism.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Narrator: The Place – Berlin. The Year – 1920. For over 200 years, Jews had lived in Germany in relative peace and prosperity.

First Person: What do you think of all this talk about us Jews? You know, blaming us for the economic problems of Germany?

Second Person: I know. I worry about it. But I think it’s like what’s been said before. It will all blow over. Nothing is going to happen to us. We fought for the Kaiser in the Great War. Germany has been good for the Jews. Look how good we have it here. There’s no reason to leave.

Narrator: By 1945, approximately 6 million European Jews had been murdered.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Narrator: The Place -- Oakland, California. The Year – 2004. Jews have lived in the United States in relative safety for over 300 years.

First Person: The last 100 years have not been good for the Jews. First there were the pogroms in Russia and Ukraine in the Pale where Jews had been forced to live. Then there was the Holocaust and no country would let Jewish refugees in, even when they knew what Hitler was doing.

Second Person: But things are different now. We’re safe here in the U.S. This has been the land of opportunity for Jews. Many of us have education and money, and some are really famous and important. There are lots of people who have it way worse than we do. We have separation of church and state, and freedom of religion. Life is comfortable and safe. Our bad times are over. Nothing like that will happen again.

First Person: I’m not so sure. I think anti-semitism is cyclical in its nature. Something terrible happens to us, and then we recover, or go somewhere else, and every time, we try to think now the problem is over. But the underlying anti-semitism has never stopped, so sooner or later, it just happens again. It’s like the flames have died down, but the embers are still smoldering.

Second Person: Maybe you’re right. There was that attack near L.A.when the white supremacist shop up a Jewish Community Day Care Center, before going on and killing a Filipino postal worker.

First Person: Right, and those arson fires at the synagogues in Sacramento, and swastikas painted on a synagogue in Fremont and Nazi literature directed at students in Bay Area high schools. Actually, I read that there were over 1500 hate crimes against Jews reported in the U.S. last year alone – and quite a few of them were in Northern California.

Second Person: Let’s go to the conference on anti-semitism for Progressives. Maybe together we can figure out how to weaken anti-semitism. Then things might really change.

END

[*] a California collective, members of which performed this at the first conference of Facing A Challenge Within: A Progressive Scholars & Activists Conference on Anti-Semitism and the Left, in Oakland, CA in 2004