In drawing and painting, artists make use of a concept called “negative space.” That means the shape of the empty space around an object being portrayed is often vitally important in defining the shape of the object.
Similarly, the “negative space” — by analogy, the information that is not present — may be even more important in showing the state of local anti-Semitism than the information present in the 2004 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents released last week by the Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations.
According to Paula Simon, executive director of the MJCCR, missing from the eight instances cited, all taking place in southeastern Wisconsin, are:
• Activity by organized hate groups or white supremacist groups. “Maybe they know they are not welcome here and are finding no buyers for their message,” said Simon. “We’re always pleased not to see them.”
• Instances inspired by the 2004 elections. “We didn’t see it [or] hear anything concrete” in this regard, said Simon.
• Instances inspired by the controversial Mel Gibson feature film “The Passion of The Christ,” which some Jewish observers feared might resurrect the old libel of “the Jews killed Jesus.”
“The concerns we had about the hype, about whether the film would foment greater anti-Semitism, were unfounded,” said Simon.
In fact, the overall influence of the film “was a positive” because it inspired the MJCCR and others in interfaith relations to develop programs about the film that were “very successful” and “opened for us the opportunity to have conversations” with groups in the community, said Simon.
Of the instances that were reported, seven involved anti-Semitic expression. They included one anti-Semitic slur about Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry; some letters, faxes and e-mails sent to Jewish and non-Jewish institutions; and the words “die Jews” scratched into a sign at the entrance to a Jewish institution.
There was also one possible case of employment discrimination, in which, according to the report, “A Jewish physician, who contracts with a religious-based hospital, reported that the contracts for two Jewish partners in the practice were being terminated in a ‘come to Jesus’ effort by hospital management.”
Simon said that the MJCCR is careful about what kinds of incidents it learns of that it classifies as anti-Semitic. She added that it is especially careful when comments about Israel are involved, as “not all” anti-Israel statements embody anti-Semitic sentiments.
She also said that MJCCR staff members are “still very concerned about underreporting” of incidents and encourages community members to contact the council (414-390-5777, info@mjccr.org) about any even possibly anti-Semitic expressions or actions they might encounter.
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