Some Kind of Hate is a year old
Sadly, the antisemitic tropes it highlights are everywhere - including the kidlit community
A year ago today, the hardest book I’ve ever researched and written came out — and I’ve tackled some pretty tough topics. Eating disorders, online predators, cyberbullying, PTSD, deepfakes, hacking…and that’s just the books that got published.
Unfortunately, in the year since the book came out, I see that the antisemitic tropes that Declan learns from being radicalized to the far right are now coming from the left as well. I’m not talking about legitimate criticism of Israeli government policy in Gaza or the West Bank. That is free speech.
I’m talking about using language about how Jews control the government, how they control the media, how there’s a secret cabal…the age-old conspiracy theories that raise their ugly heads.
I’m speaking of the incendiary language that creates stochastic terrorism. To write the book, I researched how that language was used on the right, turning a disturbed landlord against his innocent tenants, causing him to stab an innocent Palestinian boy, Wadea Al Fayoume, 26 times.
Now we’re seeing that same kind of language from the left, inspiring a disturbed 21 year-old Cornell college junior to threaten to “stab male students, sexually assault female students and …. ‘bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews."
Hate crimes against Jewish and Muslim communities are up dramatically since Hamas murdered innocent Israelis on October 7th and the Israeli government retaliated by bombing Northern Gaza.
Words matter. Language matters - particularly when we throw social media and the way it amplifies the most extreme voices into the mix.
I wish that it hadn’t been necessary to write Some Kind of Hate. I wish that it were becoming less relevant, even though that’s the opposite of what is good for my author income.
But that’s not the case. And it breaks my heart.
B’Shalom
Sarah
Well said and written - thank you Sarah for sharing your thoughtful and informed perspective