The beginning of January has not been easy in Winnipeg. We\u2019ve dealt with hate crime graffiti, including swastikas, on Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, Kelvin High School, the Abu Bakr Al-Siddique Mosque, as well as a hookah caf\u00e9, residential properties and street signs. For my household, it was personal. It hit our congregation and my kids\u2019 school. It marred street signs near where we live. It defaced a mosque where I know one of the members. This is a lot to deal with. The police triumphantly made an arrest, but, from what I\u2019ve heard, it seems unlikely that this individual did all these crimes. The story is familiar to Canadians at this point. Here it is.<\/p>\n
Hate crimes happen. \u201cOh!\u201d our leaders say. \u201cHate crimes are horrible. This isn\u2019t Canadian. We will seek justice!\u201d Then, an intermittent flow of outrage and misinformation follows. Suddenly, there\u2019s an arrest. Everything\u2019s solved. Canadians live happily ever after.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That is, until a new crime pops up. When that\u2019s reported, the response sometimes is, \u201cWell, this isn\u2019t fitting into our narrative. We don\u2019t know how this happened.\u201d It even extends to, \u201cOh, we (police or officials) don\u2019t clean up graffiti, so you can go ahead and do this yourself.\u201d Essentially, another episode is swept under the rug as inconvenient.<\/p>\n I learned about the Overton Window in a social science class years ago. However, when it came up in reference to societal change and antisemitism, I had to review its meaning. The term is neither positive nor negative. It defines something that we have all experienced. Imagine you have a spectrum of beliefs: about school choice, disabilities, tolerance and diversity, human rights, whatever. The term was originally designed to describe how a politician might use a \u201cwindow\u201d to define policies on this spectrum. Occasionally, it\u2019s used to say where someone\u2019s beliefs fall on the political spectrum. We can shift the Overton Window; for instance, towards increased accessibility for those with disabilities. Some shifts are good, some are not. This term helps describe what\u2019s happening with respect to antisemitism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As the police described their arrest of the suspect in this recent series of hate graffiti, they said something like they \u201cwould have to examine the motive behind the crimes.\u201d I was flummoxed. How could a swastika on a minority\u2019s place of worship or a public school be anything other than an act of hate? Discussion followed about the suspect\u2019s mental health situation, as he is unwell. Soon after he was released from custody, he was arrested again, for breaking into a home and violating the conditions of his release.<\/p>\n Many people have mental health issues, but going out in the dark at 4 a.m. to paint swastikas isn\u2019t a normal, common expression of those challenges. People who perform hateful acts should face consequences. The Overton Window of what is considered \u201cacceptable\u201d antisemitism seems to have shifted.<\/p>\n I\u2019m guessing there are multiple people committing this hate in our city. Yet the narrative here indicates that \u201cHurray! We\u2019ve got the culprit\u201d and no more effort is being made to resolve the bigger issues.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, I concluded my Daf Yomi<\/i> (daily page of Talmud study) of Tractate Zevachim, on how sacrifices worked in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem. I\u2019m lucky I didn\u2019t start my learning with this \u2013 it felt like a slog. However, I continued studying the tractate, even while I found it somewhat dry and lacking in fun aggadah<\/i> (stories).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Zevachim examines questions like when is a religious ritual sacrifice acceptable? What is the right physical and mental space for doing these holy rituals? When is it considered transgressive because it\u2019s done wrong? When is it accepted even if it is not done in quite the right time or place? What rituals are exempt from repercussions, even if they are not done exactly right or considered acceptable practices?<\/p>\n These questions are intellectual exercises. We have no Temple in Jerusalem. The rabbis quoted in this approximately 1,500-year-old text didn\u2019t have a Temple anymore. We Jews in modernity don\u2019t do ritual sacrifice. Still, questions about what feels acceptable or forbidden, exempt or meaningful, have real-life repercussions. When the rabbis discussed different parts of ritual, they considered shifting their Overton Window about what they could see as correct, acceptable, exempt from punishment, or such a violation that one was cut off from the Jewish people.<\/p>\n Historically, the Overton Window about what\u2019s considered appropriate discourse or hate speech has also shifted \u2013 multiple times. Slurs and crimes against Jews are commonplace throughout millennia. We\u2019ve also had some golden eras, when things felt safe.<\/p>\n This January was another shift in Winnipeg. It\u2019s been horrible, but we knew it was coming. It\u2019s part of a worldwide shift of what\u2019s considered \u201cacceptable\u201d antisemitism. I\u2019ve been asked what can be done. I suggested giving this hate a broad, inclusive definition. Re-read the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition. Nothing good is intended when someone spray paints a swastika on a synagogue door. It\u2019s even more of a threat when it\u2019s on a classroom whiteboard or hidden in a Jewish kid\u2019s locker, as was the recent case.<\/p>\n We must educate people about history, including how to avoid antisemitic hate. Make that education required. With definitions and education, our window of what\u2019s acceptable or a crime firms up.<\/p>\n These experiences have felt like a terrible personal violation. It feels threatening and unsafe. Yet, our congregation responded with courage and love. We welcomed many non-Jewish supporters at our Shabbat services afterwards. We responded with pride and inclusivity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The kid was so brave. He took a photo of the graffiti on his locker, asked a parent for help, went to the school office. Now, there\u2019s a police report, all his classmates know what happened.<\/p>\n The kid also faced extended questioning from administrators about \u201cif he\u2019d told the whole story.\u201d He was told that \u201ceveryone makes mistakes.\u201d One lesson the kid learned is that maybe reporting the hate crime itself was a mistake, because, instead of supporting him, the approach involved the suggestion that the victim did the graffiti to begin with. This is bad news, and a familiar type of antisemitism, where Jewish victims are blamed for having \u201cbrought it on themselves.\u201d We shouldn\u2019t say this to any victim. It\u2019s not OK. If this is treated as being OK, it means that victims may trust institutions less, and report less often.<\/p>\n Sunshine is the best disinfectant. Actions like education and transparency can clean up and eradicate hate. We don\u2019t know who did this, but we know who we are. We\u2019re Jewish. We\u2019ve been here before. We\u2019re made of stern, proud stuff. The Overton Window has shifted. It\u2019s time to ask our allies to all lean in to help shove it back again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Joanne Seiff <\/b>has written regularly for the Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including <\/i>From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner<\/a> or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The beginning of January has not been easy in Winnipeg. We\u2019ve dealt with hate crime graffiti, including swastikas, on Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, Kelvin High School, the Abu Bakr Al-Siddique Mosque, as well as a hookah caf\u00e9, residential properties and street signs. For my household, it was personal. It hit our congregation and my kids\u2019 school. 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