Thanksgiving is supposed to usher in a season of goodwill to all (hu)mankind. But just as there was a “movement” to replace the respectful (“woke”) “Happy Holidays”(to acknowledge people come from different backgrounds) with the “killing Christmas” narrative, Thanksgiving has its dark side.
The story we tell ourselves is that the pilgrims invited the indigenous people to enjoy this feast of thanksgiving. In reality, the indigenous people outnumbered the pilgrims (half of whom did not survive their first winter, and those who did only survived because the Wampanoag helped them, teaching them how to hunt, plant crops, get the best harvest) and even brought most of the feast. Just 50 years later, the European settlers were forcibly removing the Wampanoag (“savages”!) who did not convert to Christianity from their own land, prompting the King Philip War. (Perhaps this what Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and the Christian Nationalists who have taken over the Supreme Court and Congress mean when they assert “America is a Christian nation.”)
As we celebrate this season of “good will to all” we too are mourning the loss of so many in the Israel-Hamas War. And we worry about the eruption of antisemitism and Islamophobia that had been building, even flourishing, with Trump’s rise and his weaponization of hate, violence, terror and intimidation as fundamental to his political strategy.
The Israel-Hamas War is merely the latest excuse for acts of savagery.
Jewish students on elite college campuses – Yale, Harvard, even Cornell – express fear for their safety and wellbeing. There was already concern over a campaign for years of discrimination and intimidation on campus and in many communities – President Biden recently marked the fifth anniversary of the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the most deadly against American Jews in history (prompted by the conspiracy theory spread on social media, retweeted just recently by Elon Musk, that an international cabal of Jews are flooding America with immigrants in order to diminish the power of White Christian America). But since the war, incidents already at record highs, have increased fourfold, with a Cornell student arrested for threatening to kill Jews.
President Biden has responded with extraordinary, first-ever actions, even before Oct. 7’s atrocities. Back in May, he launched a National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, consisting of 100 new actions by the Administration to raise awareness of antisemitism and its threat to American democracy, protect Jewish communities, reverse the normalization of antisemitism, and build cross-community solidarity. (It certainly helps that Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff is the first Jewish person that close to the Oval Office.) Since then, Biden has taken multiple actions reinforcing and enhancing these directives for the Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Treasury, and Transportation.
On Oct. 30, the DOJ announced it is awarding $38 million in grants to support the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes, increase hate crimes reporting, expand victim services, and improve community awareness. This includes over $8 million in grants to community-based organizations and civil rights groups, including awards to organizations serving Jewish and Arab American communities.
On Nov. 7, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a new Dear Colleague Letter reminding schools of their legal obligations under Title VI to provide all students, including students who are or are perceived to be Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, or Palestinian, a school environment free from discrimination. Secretary Cardona also warned that ED has the authority to investigate and take action to redress violations, including by withholding federal dollars from those schools that violate those obligations. (The Department stressed it interprets its regulations consistent with the requirements of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.)
And on November 14, Biden, responding to the alarming rise in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents at schools and on college campuses since the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, initiated specific actions to help protect students, engage school and university leaders, and foster safe and supportive learning environments.
Governor Kathy Hochul is also stepping up New York State’s actions to address antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate crimes, allocating $3 million to expand the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Domestic Terrorism Prevention Unit’s Threat Assessment and Management training to all colleges and universities in the state. The Governor also directed the Division to develop and distribute a media literacy toolkit to help public school educators teach their students how to spot misinformation/disinformation/malinformation (“MDM”) online, sent a letter to major social media companies calling for increased monitoring of content that could incite violence, and released an informational guide for parents to discuss the destructive impacts of hate and hate speech with young adults.
“The rising tide of hate is putting all New Yorkers at risk — and as Governor, I’m committed to tackling this crisis head-on,” Governor Hochul said. “We’re deploying physical security resources, expanding our Threat Management and Assessment teams, calling for stronger action from social media companies, and encouraging families and communities to come together to fight hate. New York has always been a beacon of hope, tolerance and inclusivity, and we will be defined by how we come together to condemn hate in all forms.”
Thanksgiving is one of the myths Americans have embraced, along with “American Exceptionalism” and “the American Dream” where all have an equal shot at success. Abandoning these ideals was apparent when, in 1954, to stick it to the ungodly Soviet Communists, the nation replaced its motto, “Out of many, one” with “In God We Trust.” (New York State reclaimed “Out of many, one” as its motto in 2020). As mottos go, I really prefer France’s, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” See the difference?
This is what Thanksgiving and the holiday season should stand for, and, more importantly (to paraphrase Charles Dickens) to keep the spirit of the season in our heart the whole year through. And while we’re at it, add in the US Merchant Marine Academy’s motto, “Action Not Words.”
And when people are grousing over the few extra pennies for eggs (you don’t here Republicans celebrating how the cost of turkey, eggs and gas are actually down from last year), or that higher mortgage rates have yet again put owning that first home out of reach, let’s give thanks that we have eggs and gas, a roof over our heads, and a plentiful supply of clean drinking water when millions of people around the world don’t.
