For too many Shabbats in recent weeks, I’ve had conversations about anti-Semitism. At my synagogue, most of them have turned to the two shootings at synagogues in Poway and Pittsburgh, and how we can keep our community safe without closing our holy spaces off from the world; how we explain to our children that there are people who hate us.

I’m sure that similar conversations took place at thousands of synagogues across the country in the past months. It’s the new normal for being an American Jew in these times.

Imagine a world where this sober topic would drive a national conversation where leaders across the political spectrum examine the increase in anti-Semitic incidents; where we investigate why violence targeting Jewish people, Muslim people, people of color, and immigrants is spreading in this country; where we collectively resolve to confront hate-fueled terror and all who enable it.