Dara Horn, a novelist and essayist known for her provocative work on antisemitism, discusses the alarming rise of anti-Semitic incidents in America, framed by the tragedy of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. She highlights how media often neglects Jewish suffering while focusing on other marginalized groups. Horn examines the complexities of Jewish identity, the historical erasure of Jewish narratives, and the urgent need for nuanced conversations around community, culture, and the future of American Jews in a changing society.
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Tree of Life Shooting Anniversary
Three years after the Tree of Life shooting, Bari Weiss reflects on the changing landscape of American antisemitism.
She recalls her personal connection to the event and the initial outpouring of support for the Jewish community.
insights INSIGHT
Shifting Public Response to Antisemitism
Dara Horn contrasts the initial support after the Pittsburgh shooting with subsequent attacks on Hasidic communities.
Media coverage often included derogatory remarks about the Hasidic victims, highlighting a lack of empathy for visibly different Jewish communities.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Jersey City Shooting Aftermath
Weiss visited Jersey City after the kosher supermarket shooting expecting similar community support as seen in Pittsburgh.
She found a starkly different scene, with little sympathy from non-Jewish neighbors, emphasizing the disparity in public reactions based on victim identity.
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In this nonfiction essay collection, Dara Horn examines why society is more fascinated with the death of Jews than with the lives of living Jews. She weaves together history, social science, and personal stories to critique the public's obsession with Jewish history, particularly the Holocaust, and how this obsession can be a profound affront to human dignity. Horn discusses various topics such as the veneration of Anne Frank, the mythology surrounding Jewish family names at Ellis Island, and the life of Varian Fry, a 'Righteous Among the Nations.' She also reflects on her own family life and the impact of antisemitism on her children's school experiences. The book argues that the reverence for past Jewish tragedies does not translate into respect for contemporary Jewish life and that this disparity contributes to the ongoing rise of antisemitism.
It’s been three years since the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, the most lethal attack on Jews on U.S. soil. That day was, for me, as it was for so many others, a watershed event. The country I knew was changing. While anti-semitic incidents in America had been climbing for a few years, this was different. Jews were afraid, and no longer felt safe. After Pittsburgh, there were countless other disturbing incidents: from a shooter at a kosher supermarket in New Jersey to a man with a machete at a Hanukkah party in Munsey. This past spring, antisemitic attacks skyrocketed, and even in a year where George Floyd’s killing and attacks against Asian Americans rightly captured our attention, Jews are still the number one victim of hate crimes in America.
But what’s most shocking is that in an era where we worry so much about hatred and bigotry and exclusion, Jews don’t seem to count; Jews don’t seem to make headlines. My guest today, Dara Horn, whose book ‘People Love Dead Jews’ is a brilliant explanation of anti-semitism in 2021, joins us for a conversation about how most of the world thinks about Jews, and how the future of America, and the future of American Jews, may be one and the same.
Honestly with Bari Weiss 
