Fighting hate should be everyone's thing

Rep. Danny Davis recently doubled down on his friendship with outspoken anti-Semite, Nation of Islam founder Louis Farrakhan. In a recent Chicago speech, Farrakhan once again railed against Jews, calling them the enemy, the devil's children. He repeated anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. When questioned about Farrakhan's despicable words, Rep. Davis defended their friendship and called him "an outstanding human being,". He further explained that "The world is so much bigger than Farrakhan and the Jewish question and his position on that and so forth. For those heavy into it, that's their thing, but it ain't my thing."

I work for AJC, a group that has been fighting bigotry in Chicago for the past 75 years. We may be a Jewish organization, but we know that we must stand up for each other. The future of our pluralistic society depends on building bridges between communities, and we have reason to believe that Rep. Davis knows this, too. Just last year, he signed onto a bipartisan letter urging the White House to prioritize the State Department appointment of a Special envoy to Monitor and Combat anti-Semitism. But his refusal to speak up for a victimized group in this case because it just "ain't his thing" is inexcusable.

We don't get to pick and choose when to speak out against hate. We need to speak out every time - even, and I would say especially, when it doesn't affect you or your own community. As anti-Semitic rhetoric and anti-Semitism hate crimes multiply around the country, let's hope that Rep. Davis comes to the realization that as a Member of Congress, he has a special platform to combat hate and be part of the solution. Indeed, he has an obligation to make it "his thing."

Amy Stoken, AJC Chicago Director

Highland Park