OPINION: Don’t let hate take root in Alaska

This past week, my family and I visited my older brother at college in the Lower 48. Friday night, we met Jewish families from all over the country for Shabbat dinner. It would usually be a joyous occasion, yet an undeniable sadness lingered in the air.

Later that night, a parent from California told me about rising antisemitic incidents in his community. When he asked about Alaska, I told him how lucky I am to live in a place that has shown my Jewish community nothing but support. And that was completely true. Alaska has always felt like a haven from the harmful rhetoric in so many cities.

And yet, I fear that hate, like a disease, may be spreading to our beautiful state. Instagram, where I like to share photos with friends, has become a place where people read a single post and form simplistic, harmful conclusions about a complex conflict, and then follow a rabbit hole of single perspectives and twisted narratives. It seems people would rather be angry than educated.

But anger isn’t just ignorant, it’s deadly. It can lead to hate, and hate can spread like wildfire. Had someone asked me two months ago whether I thought the Holocaust could repeat in the next 20 years, I surely would have said no. Now, I’m less certain.

I’ve studied the Holocaust more than nearly any kid I know, Jewish or not. I don’t just know what happened, I know how it happened. It started with just words, propaganda. And then those words inflamed anger, and then acts of violence. Hitler alone did not cause the Holocaust. Holocaust survivors will tell you they never could have foreseen how quickly their friends and neighbors and teachers would turn on them. The lesson of the Holocaust is that each of us is capable of evil, that the line between hateful thoughts and horrific actions can be perilously thin.

Until now, I didn’t feel threatened enough to speak out. I remained silent when anti-Israel hate infiltrated my social media. When clubs at my brother’s university celebrated Hamas’ atrocities. When my neighbor and good family friend, who attended my bat mitzvah, started posting numerous false statements about Israel taking advantage of the terrorist attacks to commit genocide. But I feel threatened now, seeing a rise in anti-Jewish hate unfold right in front of me.

What’s happening in Israel and Gaza is heartbreaking on both sides. Any life lost is a tragedy. This conflict is extremely complex, and it’s ignorant to assume there are simply good and bad sides. But when people use pro-Palestinian activism as an excuse for antisemitic hatred, they become part of the propaganda machine. Antisemitic acts in the U.S. have risen almost fourfold since the Hamas attacks. Being angry at Israel does not justify antisemitism. Scapegoating Jews like myself does not make you an activist; it makes your well-intentioned concerns for Palestinians and their suffering ring hollow.

I’m proud to be an Alaskan. Visitors to our state will tell you we are the friendliest people they have ever met. The supportive nature of our warm community is what I cherish most about this state. Throughout difficult times, we are there for each other.

I won’t lie, I’m scared of what’s to come. But I’m also full of hope that my beloved community will once again prove to be stronger than the forces of hate that threaten to tear us apart.

All I ask when reading this, is that you recognize the consequences of spreading hate. Choose individuality over the herd mentality. Only by speaking out against anti-Semitism and bigotry towards all minorities (including Muslims and Arabs who also should never be scapegoated) can we safeguard Alaska’s precious culture and sense of community.

This is the kind of place where I feel safe to share my opinions, knowing most people are open-minded enough to consider them. And right now, my opinion is that we are at a crossroads. I hope you will pay attention to the warning signs. And choose the path of upholding the community that we share. We all have a stake in it. I am the one calling out the warning signs today. Tomorrow it might be you and those you love who are scapegoated.

Alana Kaufman is a junior at Service High School.

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