Something disturbing has been happening in the Orthodox world. White Nationalist language is infiltrating our public spaces. It's happening in our synagogues, in our communities, in our schools and, of course, online. And those of us who see it are looking on in increasing horror.
There was always some racism in our communities, of course; we'd begun to address it around the time Barack Obama was elected president, when calling black people shvartze — a derogatory term for a black person — finally started to become taboo.
But what we're seeing now is new. It's different. It's not just plain racism, or hatred and judgment of a group of people because of their skin pigment. Rather, what I and others have been noticing in our communities is the emergence of a philosophy, one that the Trump era is increasingly bringing into stark relief.
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