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NO. 406 | A JWC MEDIA PUBLICATION
TEACHING MOMENT ANTI-SEMITIC SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS BY A PROMINENT PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYER PROMPT ILLINOIS HOLOCAUST MUSEUM & EDUCATION CENTER TO SEND AN EDUCATIONAL "CARE PACKAGE." BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
When DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles posted anti-Semitic comments on his social media pages earlier this month, the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center (IHMEC) in Skokie offered no condemnation. Instead, IHMEC did what it does best—offering educational resources and an invite to Jackson and the Eagles team to visit its online virtual museum or the physical location whenever the team is next in town to play the Chicago Bears. It wasn't the first time IHMEC's CEO, Susan Abrams, and staff have put together a care package of books and other materials to individuals and groups that have been caught in a media firestorm after anti-Semitic statements were made public. It won't be the last, and it's all part of a two-pronged strategy on the part of IHMEC to diminish the influence of leaders who peddle in anti-Semitisms, and to take advantage of opportunities to educate those who may, even unwittingly, hold anti-Semitic views. "Anti-Semitisms and other forms of bigotry have a long history not just in this country but globally," Abrams says. "Typically, when people feel under duress, they fall back on these age-old tropes that have been brought up recently by professional athletes and celebrities."
Abrams is referring to the comments by Jackson as well as a number of fellow athletes who shot to his defense, and comments by Nick Cannon, the now-terminated ViacomCBS comedy host who recently made antiSemitic remarks on his podcast, Cannon's Class. Cannon and the athletes have since apologized, and a forceful statement was issued condemning Jackson's posts by the Philadelphia Eagles organization, which said Jackson's comments were "offensive, harmful, and absolutely appalling." Some African American former athletes have stepped in also. Former professional basketball player and writer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote in the Hollywood Reporter that, "If we're going to be outraged by injustice, let's be outraged by injustice toward anyone." Just this past weekend Jabbar's former NBA colleague Charles Barkley posted a video online lamenting the fact that in their efforts to support equality for African Americans, Jackson and others are simply finding another scapegoat. While Abrams says it's important for people from across different communities to call out anti-Semitic comments, it's also important to go after the root of the problem. "Louis Farrakhan uses vitriolic anti-Semitism on a regular basis and he's looked upon with great respect in some communities," says Abrams. "A number of celebrities have referenced his words or Tweeted ideas that he is propagating that are so dangerous and hateful." Abrams notes the work the IHMEC undertook in early 2019 to convince some Chicago institutions and venues, including the United Center, to resist providing Farrakhan a platform to spread his views. The organization wrote op-eds comparing Farrakhan's rally at the United Center with a Nazi rally held at Madison Square Garden in 1938 as a way of highlighting, Abrams says, that words turn into action and it's important to "be vigilant to call out hatred and bigotry when we see it." Continued on PG 8
Susan Abrams, CEO of Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, has sent an educational care package to Philadelphia Eagles player DeSean Jackson.
