Difficult and Important Work

November 22, 2023

The Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine is a trusted organization, and during difficult times, many turn to us as a resource for guidance. As you know, our organization was founded by Holocaust survivors, their families, and allies who settled in Maine. The survivors bore witness to one of the darkest periods of human history, and while we affirm ‘never again,’ we are seeing the greatest loss of Jewish lives since the Holocaust.

We are deeply saddened and troubled by the events unfolding from the October 7th atrocity in Israel. We condemn the terrorist group Hamas for their violent acts inflicted on innocent children and adults. We are also heartbroken for all of the innocent civilians in Gaza caught up in this brutal, ongoing conflict.

We are also experiencing an unprecedented increase of antisemitism. According to the Anti-Defamation League, nearly 1,000 antisemitic incidents have been reported in the U.S. since October 7th. About 800 rallies have occurred, nearly 200 of which are rallies that had explicit or strong implicit support for Hamas and/or attacks on Israelis and Jews, including two in Maine.

We are also seeing dangerous increases in Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias in the U.S., according to the Council on American Islamic Relations. Nearly 1,300 incidents have been reported since October 7th. This is more than a 200% increase in the reports of bias incidents from 2022. We are deeply concerned about this climate of rising hate—rhetoric and incidents—and what this means for our collective future.

Our mission at the HHRC is to bring people together for conversation and community building. However, breaking down divisiveness as we look to stop the rise of hate in the very state we call home demands more of us. It requires that we be open to different and multiple viewpoints and perspectives, especially those that differ from ours. It requires that we show respect for people sharing experiences and feelings that are different from ours, or unfamiliar to us, by taking them seriously and understanding the impact of our responses. It asks that we find ways to engage others with respect and care—and be open to challenging our own points of view. This is difficult and important work. 

We implement a number of important programs—Antisemitism, Decision Making in Times of Injustice, Confronting and Understanding Bias, and Hate Speech in Schools—to facilitate conversation and strengthen critical thinking. Our Speak Up program, based on work by one of our partners, Learning for Justice, offers practical strategies to speak up to bias, whether subtle or overt, in our schools or communities. It helps people reflect and then act, moving from a bystander to an upstander.

We are not alone in this work. Here are some other organizations doing critical work in the area of human rights and peace:

Alliance for Middle East Peace
Anti-Defamation League
Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine
Maine Jewish Museum
New England Arab American Organization
Prevention Action Change
Restorative Justice Institute of Maine
Seeds of Peace

There is so much to say; and still words fall short of the anguish we feel as we hope for a resolution. And each day, we will continue working to strengthen human rights for all people—the best way we know to create lasting peace.