Some 30 years ago, the five states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming were declared a “white homeland” by various white supremacist, neo-Nazi and Klan groups. Jews, African Americans, interracial couples, Muslims, homosexuals and others became the target of harassment, assault and, in some notable cases, murder.
Billings, Montana had its share of displays of anti-Semitism: desecration of a Jewish cemetery, harassing phone calls to Jewish homes, swastikas on the home of an interracial couple. Then something happened in 1993 involving a Chanukah menorah that triggered a positive reaction by thousands of people.
Someone threw a brick through the window of the home of a Jewish family who was proudly displaying a lit menorah. An editorial in the Billings Gazette urged Billings residents to stand up against anti-Semitism. The Gazette published a full-page image of a menorah. By the end of the week thousands of homes became decorated with menorahs. The Billings Jewish community felt supported and gratified, but anti-Semitism and other bigotry didn’t vanish from Big Sky Country.
Fast forward 23 years to the age of social media. The white supremacists are still at it, this time in Whitefish, Montana, the hometown of one of their leaders. It’s also home to a small Jewish community which was targeted by a white supremacist website last week. Followers were urged to “take action” against Jews in Whitefish by writing and calling them with anti-Semitic messages. The post included names, addresses and phone numbers of local Jews, plus photos of Jews emblazoned with yellow stars.
As in Billings, the Jews of Whitefish have found themselves bouyed by their neighbors and the city government. Both emphatically reject the white supremacists in their midst.
It’s gratifying and scary — all at the same time.
Copyright © 2016 by the Intermountain Jewish News
