海角大神

In today鈥檚 Daily we look at what Brexit doesn鈥檛 solve, why a Palestinian election seems more real, how human habitation is being rethought, how a commandment plays in academia, and why you should devour these December books.聽First, a look at where intolerance has flared into violence 鈥� and the prescription for a pushback.

We鈥檙e reporting on the spate of anti-Semitic attacks. We鈥檒l have a story tomorrow.聽

The stabbing of five Jewish congregants Saturday at a rabbi鈥檚 home in Monsey, New York, occurred on the seventh night of Hanukkah. A suspect, said to have struggled with mental illness, was arrested and charged with a federal hate crime. That followed a string of recent incidents 鈥� more than a dozen this month 鈥� in which Jews were targeted.聽In a shooting at a kosher grocery store in Jersey City, Dec. 10, a half-dozen people, including a police officer, were killed.聽

鈥淛ews have been living defensively for a long time,鈥澛犅爄n The Atlantic. But 鈥渨e have reached a new level.鈥�

Those who align themselves against such hatred often share the fundamental belief that people acting peacefully and in accord with their faith are pursuing connection to a higher power, and doing so as honest seekers. They have a core fellowship with humanity.

The unwavering recognition of that fellowship 鈥� empathy 鈥� can be an antidote to intolerance.聽

In early December, Rabbi Steven Moss was honored for his leadership at an event hosted by the Southampton (N.Y.) Anti-Bias Task Force. After that event 鈥� and just after the New Jersey shooting 鈥� about a harassment case in his county. A Muslim man had been targeted in a bank. The man charged was asked about his motivation. Muslims, he proclaimed, were Americans鈥� collective enemy.

Rabbi Moss鈥� reaction was immediate. 鈥淚 said, 鈥楧o you [think] this man, who ... was at the bank making a deposit, this man who has a family, do you think we are at war with him?鈥欌�澛�

In mid-November the United Nations marked the International Day for Tolerance, as it has since 1996. In her message, Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, stressed the importance of making right thinking a tangible reality.聽

鈥淭olerance is more than standing idly by or remaining insensitive to differences between ... cultures and beliefs,鈥� . It is 鈥渁 state of mind, an awareness, and a requirement.鈥澛�