ATLANTA — As Sandy Springs and Dunwoody police are investigating antisemitic literature left in neighborhoods with Jewish neighbors, a metro Atlanta rabbi said it opens an opportunity to have a conversation with the perpetrators and the overall community.
"There are so many things that always cross my mind when hatred, antisemitism and racism are in our news and that's 'oh no, not again.' Unfortunately, we're hearing so much of this in our world today," Rabbi Larry Sernovitz said.
Sernovitz currently serves as the senior rabbi at Temple Kol Emeth, a synagogue in Marietta. His comments come after several Sandy Springs residents woke up to antisemitic literature, including Georgia House Rep. Esther Panitch.
She said she woke up Sunday to the material inside Ziplock bags that also included kernels of corn. For some people of the Jewish faith, it is customary to not eat corn as it is not considered kosher.
"Welcome to being a Jew in Georgia," she said in the Tweet. "Govern yourselves accordingly, GDL and Anti-Semites who seek to harm/intimidate Jews in Georgia. I’m coming for you with the weight of the State behind me."
Panitch said police took the material for testing and noted it was happening to other Jewish families across Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb and Paulding counties.
"Part of it is, is that we're not speaking up enough," Sernovitz said. "We're not building bridges."
Antisemitism on the rise
He said the other half is the inaction in the wake of the threats.
"We have the highest levels of antisemitism since the 1970s," the rabbi said. "And we know that in a world that's filled with hatred and violence and antisemitism itself and racism, we know that this stuff is going to continue to keep popping up."
Data shows Sernovitz is right.
The Anti-Defamation League reports in 2021 there was a 131% increase in antisemitic incidents. Eytan Davidson, the southeast director for the Anti-Defamation League, said Georgia saw 150 similar incidents last year.
"We believe the reason they're distributing this material is to sow fear," he said.
As the group prepares its 2022 audit, Davidson says the group anticipates another surge.
"To give you a sense of what that looks like historically: 2021 we saw the highest number of incidents on record. We expect 2022 will be another record year," the rabbi said.
To Sernovitz, the numbers prove just how resilient Jews have to be.
"The Jewish community for centuries has been through this; we know what this is like," Sernovitz said. "In many ways, I would say that this only emboldens us as a community, but even more so, it reminds us of the importance of the bridges we build within the community."
Building bridges to stop hate
He said these bridges manifest in unity events with the Black, Asian and LGBTQ+ communities and other groups who may experience hate.
As for the perpetrators, he has an idea of who left the literature and said he just wants to talk.
"First thing I would say, they're a bunch of cowards," Sernovitz said. "If they want to talk and they want to have some conversations, I welcome them."
With the literature meant to stoke hatred and fear, Sernovitz said that it also spreads lies and fears.
"In essence, that you are incredibly unpatriotic in a country that prides itself in diversity and freedom and democracy," he said. "So if people want to come forward, they want to have a conversation with the Jewish community -- our doors are open."
He doesn't think one conversation would resolve the antisemitism Georgia Jews are experiencing but he believes that being open to confronting such views shows an effort to stop it.
"What history has taught us is that for centuries that people would persecute the Jewish community. Many of those are no longer here anymore," Sernovitz said. "But we're still here because we have an eternal hope in our hearts."