Reply To: Kiddush Hashem, Chillul Hashem, Anti-Semitism, and Self Awareness

DY –
1. Well, the Gemara does say that impressing people with your conduct is the definition of a Kiddush Hashem. Why wouldn’t the same concept apply for some other religion? I think it is fair to ask what the Torah expects us to think of the righteous conduct of others. How, for example, are we to think of the self-sacrifice of those Polish and other Eastern European non-Jews who risked their own lives to save those of our grandparents? If their righteousness is to be attributed to “humanity”, then why is ours assumed to be attributed to the Torah?
So I agree that your first point is valid, and that the Gemara needs further review.

2. To be honest, until last night I never understood why so many people get so angry when someone puts on blackface. After your comment, I did some rudimentary research, and found that it has quite a history, and is an important part of the racism practiced against blacks in this country. In other words, it isn’t just a costume, it has a lot of baggage.
The parallel would be if the kids had dressed as Jews who had murdered little non-Jews and used their blood in the production of Matza (although, I’m not sure how a costume could convey all that).

Joseph –
Please tell me which parts are right, and which are wrong. I am very happy to acknowledge when I am mistaken, but I can’t have a conversation that doesn’t address specific points.

In any case, I agree absolutely with lesschumras. Your assumption that a certain group of people will bring crime is terribly racist. I would much rather live among black professionals than among white trash. I don’t assume, however, that someone black must be a professional, or that someone white must be trash. In reality, I don’t care about my neighbor’s skin color, but about his character.

What’s more, you actually got precisely the wrong message from my original post. I wrote that , “When a town deliberately changes zoning laws and building codes so that Jews will not be able to move in, that is anti-Semitism. ”

TLIK –
I always understood that Mishna either to mean that “Seiser” and “Galui” are relative terms, or that a person can hide behind some anonymity even as he is easily identified as an Orthodox Jew. Nevertheless, I hope to look around a bit to see if there is more out there.