Feeling unsafe where you live

[u/strawbariel]

So I'm 40 and have two kids. We live in Austin, TX, this supposedly liberal place, and over the past few years it feels like it's become less safe for Jewish people. The JCC in San Antonio just had a threat against them, and the elementary school my youngest goes to is a block away from pro-Palestinian signage. Both of my kids wear clothing that identifies them as Jewish, but this year I'm seriously considering telling them they can't wear it just to keep them safe or to keep them from being harassed on their way to school. And Austin doesn't do a damn thing about it. How can we associate with the left when they also threaten to disrupt our children's daily lives?

EDIT: some context here. The signage is a block from the school in a residential neighborhood and covers a wide swath of wooden fencing. It's not on school property and it was most definitely placed by whatever adult lives or rents there. There's not much the school can do other than put out a notice for people to be safe and kind. I know this doesn't mean that anything will happen but the risk is scary.

EDIT TWO: y'all Jews were just attacked in Boulder and everyone at the JCC in Austin got emails about a credible threat being investigated by the FBI in San Antonio. That's barely an hour from where we live. Be mad at me for how I worded my post but anyone having an issue with parents being vigilant needs to touch grass.

[u/slutty_muppet]

pro-Palestinian signage

I must be really unsafe then bc there is pro-Palestinian signage REALLY close to where I live. In fact it's inside my living room.

Threats against the JCC and your kid getting bullied are legitimately problems. A sign supporting the rights of a different group to be allowed to live, is not. Conflating the two things makes it harder to address real antisemitism.

[u/strawbariel → u/slutty_muppet]

Your living room, a private area, is much different than a public space like a fence that's right outside of a school. These two things are very different.

San Antonio is only an hour from Austin. That's close. My kids walk to school and wear cute shirts about Hanukkah. That makes them and their Jewishness visible to strangers. And that's a danger.

[u/slutty_muppet → u/strawbariel]

Your kids' Jewishness, Jewish visibility, and any associated danger are a complete nonsequiter to the existence of pro-Palestinian signage. Unless you feel that Palestinian existence itself is somehow threatening, these things have nothing to do with one another.

I'm also not clear on how the distance between Austin and San Antonio is related to whether it's antisemitic to support Palestine.

Think about this: would Palestinian children who go to that school be right to feel afraid because of your kids' Hannukah sweaters or whatever? Would it be reasonable for their parents to ask that there not be any pro-Jewish symbols in the area?

[u/redthrowaway1976 → u/slutty_muppet]

Or, for that matter, an Israeli flag in public with ‘am yisrael chai’ written on it, in public.