“A Time For a Teaching Moment”; Local Rabbi Reflects on Combating Anti-Semitism through learning

BERLIN, Md- A teaching moment, and a renewed focus on anti-Semitism and how to fight it. That’s how Rabbi Arthur Rutberg of Temple Bat Yam is viewing the controversy around recent comments made by Whoopi Goldberg regarding the Holocaust.

Their Rabbi tells us to fear and misunderstanding of Jewish people come from a lack of education and exposure. He says anti-Semitism is unfortunately nothing new, and understanding what happened in the Holocaust can help to make sure it does not happen to other ethnic minorities and groups across the world.

He says he wants to see a renewed focus in schools on exposing kids to Jewish culture and teaching more extensive history as well as a curriculum that can help bring people together. Rabbi Rutberg tells us anti-Semitism and hate are taught, so the best way to fight them is by teaching tolerance and acceptance.

“Reaching tolerance; that is a fight that is ongoing and very tough to do but it is important to teach tolerance and that applies to any group Jewish, Black, Latino any group that can be a minority or ostracized because [hate] is just plain old ignorance because you are ignorant you fear you discard, you don’t comprehend what it is all about,” he said. 

Rabbi Rutberg tells us exposure to other cultures from a young age can help to combat hate, as well as understanding the deep history of anti-Semitism in Europe that predates fascism by thousands of years.

“Through many periods of time, there are new reasons claimed to be okay to hate the jews since the time of ancient Greece, where we have been seen as worshipping a different way and it has fueled that fear,” he said.