Torah Parashah Notes: Justice In An Age Of Hatred, Bigotry And Injustice

Justice In An Age Of Hatred, Bigotry And Injustice

In Memory of George Floyd

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

May 30, 2020

In the Torah it says, “Justice, justice shall you pursue.”

The repetition of the word underscores its importance, and the importance of pursuing it, although justice is sometimes blurred and slippery.

The Torah continues, teaching us that failure to bring justice to light is equivalent to being an accomplice to it oneself.

One of the greatest injustices perpetrated by one human being against another, throughout our history, is racism.

I have known about racism in America since my days in middle school, when I learned about Little Rock, and the 1954 Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education ruling that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.

In August 1965, I lived in Los Angeles, and I remember well the clouds of smoke billowing over Watts, a primarily African American neighborhood in an otherwise prosperous and modern city. The Watts Riots began as a traffic stop which soon escalated. Six days later, after the intervention of nearly 4000 member of the California Army National Guard, the violence finally ended, leaving behind 34 deaths and over $40 million damage[1].

There were many riots since then, all following a similar pattern: Police overreaction to some relatively minor offense (actual or perceived) resulting in escalating violence and destruction.

Today we are witnessing a similar pattern, in Minneapolis and elsewhere in the United States.

Riots are never excusable. They perpetuate the injustice, affecting lives, livelihoods and property (often owned by people who live in those impoverished communities).

They do give vent, however, to pent up anger and frustration.

Because racism is still, tragically, alive and well in America. Despite the Civil Rights acts. Despite the many changes in culture and society. Why—as some would proclaim—there are African Americans in TV shows now! In movies, even in commercials! Supposedly there is no discrimination in admission to colleges and universities. Some have even made it to the highest echelons of American society, including the US Supreme Court—and of course (though one time and one time only so far), the office of the President of the United States.

But these few and far-between successes only highlight the general state of affairs today. By and large, there still is discrimination against people of color. This fact is even more apparent these days, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though African Americans represent only about 13% of the American population, according to the CDC nearly one-third of the infections is among people of color. “The environments where most live, the jobs they have, the prevalence of health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and how they are treated by the medical establishment have created a toxic storm of severe illness and death”[2]

This “toxic storm” was waiting for an opportunity to erupt, and that moment was the horrendous killing of George Floyd. The brutal and deeply disturbing video has gone viral, not surprisingly igniting even more rioting and demonstrations.

These are highly charged and challenging times. COVID-19 is only one wave sweeping over us all. The cultural and political divides that underlie American society have become monstrously ugly. Anti-Semitism—the canary in the mines—is at near-historic levels today. “Maskers” vs. “anti-maskers;” health specialists vs. politicians and big business; quarantine vs. nearly 15% unemployment—the worst since the Great Depression—all these are indicators of the great divides that threaten us.

And now, George Floyd, and racism.

At exactly the time when we need to overcome our differences, to support one another, to help find a cure for the pandemic, to show more compassion to the stricken and the dying.

Because there is injustice: resources being diverted from poor neighborhoods toward those that can afford testing and better health care.

Because there are far too many instances of police overreaction and brutality towards African Americans.

Because cultural stereotypes and fears persist—maintained both by whites and people of color (think of the word “thug” and how it’s used by each community).

Because fear and mistrust persist.

What we should be hearing from the government is comforting, unifying words. Instead, what we heard on Friday from the White House was an historically racist tweet (“When the looting starts, the shooting starts”), a phrase that to African Americans rings of the same threat and hatred as a burning cross.

So what can we do to help?

The problem is enormous. Racism runs through human history—through human veins. How does one stop that?

Change must take concerted effort on all levels of society—legal, educational, social, economic, cultural, and political. We must educate ourselves and recognize the problems (we already know the roots; what we need to know now is what forms this bigotry takes today). And we must take action. Where we see racism, we must call it out. There will be countless arguments about freedom of speech and whether we can make racism a hate crime. But no matter, we must point to it wherever we see it raising its ugly head. Racists must be held accountable—not because of the fear of rioting, but because racism is an injustice and a wrong that must be righted. Speech that is even seen as incitement to violence must be curbed—even if it comes from the President of the United States.

Correction: Especially if it comes from the President of the United States.

The war against racism is never-ending. Because it is so deeply rooted in our subconscious, it must be constantly confronted, each and every time that we encounter it.

In his immortal “I Have A Dream” speech, Rev. Martin Luther King spoke of a time when people “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Sadly, this vision is still a dream, no closer to realization than when the words were spoken in 1963.

May God give us strength and courage to make this noble dream turn real. It’s up to us—all of us, regardless of color, race, region, nationality, or gender—to make it so.

It’s the right thing to do, the holy thing to do, no matter how difficult or dangerous.