ATHENS-It is fair to say that Richard Evers' rhetorical attack on "a group of local Jews who call themselves the Shalom Alliance" - whose plea for civility somehow offended him - did not age well.
Less than one day after tarring these Jews as "self-involved" fearmongers focused on their own "chose-ness," one of Mr. Evers' comrades in the "Free Palestine" movement used the same rhetoric as he, and a firearm, went to murder two innocent Jews on the streets of Washington, D.C.
As a self-proclaimed "confirmed non-believer born to very non-believing Jewish parents," Mr. Evers may not sense the fear that American Jews - in Vermont and beyond - who identify as believers, and who are identifiable as believers, carry with them every day.
But it is real. It is the result of unprecedented levels of actual hate crimes against Jews in the United States, and it is fomented by self-hating opinion pieces like the one penned by Mr. Evers.
Mr. Evers' thesis is that believing Jews do not care about "goyim," i.e., non-Jews. Yet, Jews and non-Jews still are being held hostage by Hamas in tunnels in Gaza, rockets still rain on Jewish and non-Jewish residents of Israel from Yemen (which, last I checked, has never been occupied by Israel), and Jews and non-Jews have to be searched by security before entering synagogues, not - as Mr. Evers proclaims - because of self-absorption but rather as a matter of self-preservation.
Is there any society that respects one who turns on their own people, especially in a time of crisis? I think not. In this respect, Mr. Evers - who spouts ignorant stereotypes - is himself a Jewish archetype.
In the Book of Exodus, Moses attempted to make peace between two quarreling Israelite slaves and, in response, the slaves - Datan and Aviram - threatened to report him to Pharaoh for having previously killed an Egyptian whom Moses found beating a fellow Israelite.
Fast-forward to the modern iteration of the death camp "kapo," the Jew who would sacrifice the lives of all of Israel to exalt his own sense of moral rectitude.
In that regard, while Mr. Evers may be comforted by his faith that his righteous views afford him a degree of protection, historically, non-believing Jews were sent to the death chambers on the same trains as the believing Jews whom they, like Mr. Evers, scorned.
Mr. Evers can choose not to believe in the Jewish people's right to live in peace in the Land of Israel, but it his outspoken willingness to condemn fellow Jews - and not local Jews' reasonable pleas for civility among Vermont neighbors - that truly offends.
Mark A. Berman
Athens
This letter to the editor was submitted to The Commons.
This piece, published in print in the Voices section or as a column in the news sections, represents the opinion of the writer. In the newspaper and on this website, we strive to ensure that opinions are based on fair expression of established fact. In the spirit of transparency and accountability, The Commons is reviewing and developing more precise policies about editing of opinions and our role and our responsibility and standards in fact-checking our own work and the contributions to the newspaper. In the meantime, we heartily encourage civil and productive responses at [email protected].