Some less observant Jews (ones who need to wear glasses) ask, "what ARE we supposed to do on this date? Buy a plant and something that looks like a lemon?" For Christians, it's a time to envy Jews taking days off, or just be anti-semitic about Jews in general and Israel in particular (as in, "If there wasn't any Israel…ooh, all our problems would be solved." As if a Muslim-run Israel would allow Christians to view the Holy Land.)
I was thinking about Groucho Marx, and his famous line about the "restricted" health club that wouldn't admit him or Melinda: "My daughter's only half Jewish, can she wade in up to her knees?"
Let's remember something about that line. It's funny, but it's not: even after the ovens of Auschwitz and "Never Again," Jews were being routinely maligned and humiliated in daily life. Groucho Marx, George Burns, Danny Kaye, Jack Benny and the others…were members of Hillcrest, because as famous as they were…they were JEWS. As in, "We don't want you in OUR country club because…YOU….ARE…JEWISH." So they quietly created their own.
"No Jews Allowed." Nevermind if you're not religious, or if you're bringing smiles and laughter to millions. Nevermind if you don't even "look Jewish" (Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Lizabeth Scott...) Jew? OUT.
Jack Benny didn't perform on radio if it was Yom Kippur, but he said it was because he didn't want Gentiles to think he wasn't respecting his religion. He was making a social point. But he couldn't do much about being denied membership in some damn country club that was "restricted." He chose not to toss a Yiddish phrase into his comedy or make a point of his Judaism. He tried to rise above anti-semitism.
Today? Today we face the worst anti-semitism since Hitler. If you've been reading the Simon Weisenthal Center's newsletter, and others who monitor the news and are "watchdogs" in areas of human rights, you'll know that violence against Jews has never "gone away." It just hasn't been reported in the mainstream press as often as crimes against other races or religions. It's rare when a name like Yankel Rosenbaum or Leon Klinghoffer even vaguely rings a bell...a tolling bell for the deceased. During a a new scuffle in the Middle East...reporters sometimes can get a story through...about kids tormented on a bus, shopkeepers dealing with broken windows, or tombstones overturned. Otherwise...oh, somebody using Hitler in a TV commercial, or there's Nazi memorabilia for sale, or a bull ring in Spain has signs that insult Jews...oh well. Let's try and ignore it and maybe it'll go away.
Despite the constant abuse, the Jewish response has not been terrorism or rioting. Perhaps, inborn after all these centuries, Jews simply accept that this is the burden of being "The Chosen People." Yes, as arrogant or foolish as that phrase might seem to Christians, what it really is, as far as the average not-very-religious Jew is concerned, is just a way of coping. In that sense, it's no different than the 60's declaration "Black is Beautiful." Humor has been another way. Groucho made a joke out of being denied membership in a country club. He could've sued. He could've pointed out this injustice at a news conference. He could've showed up with a mob and demanded entrance to that club under threat of breaking down the doors. He didn't. Neither did Burns, Benny, Jessel or the others. The only fight has come from Israel...which has been vilified as genocidal and apartheid...the only nation on Earth to be boycotted as 100% wrong and evil. "Defend yourselves? You have a lot of nerve! Why don't you people stop being Jewish and just get along with everyone?"
But once again the Jews are celebrating the holidays…some doing little more than buying the honey cake that's suddenly available at the supermarket, or the Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray on sale. In the midst of hopes for a good new year, and all the rest, we should remember Groucho's line about his daughter. And after we laugh, and the smile subsides into a grim line, we might just ponder the two words…the vital two words…"Never Again."
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