Yesterday, over a dozen heavily armed men stood outside a mosque in the Dallas suburb of Irving, many of them masked. Their stated purpose, fingering AR-15 assault rifles and various long guns, was to ‘protest’ the Islamization of America, Syrian refugees, and Islam in general.

However, as the protest’s masked organizer, David Wright, admitted, the purpose was really to intimidate, to show deadly force. Speaking of the armed men he had amassed outside the Islamic Center of Irving to frighten his fellow American citizens, Wright had this to say:

“They’re mostly for self-defense or protection,” Wright said, eyeing his 12-gauge. “But I’m not going to lie. We do want to show force. … It would be ridiculous to protest Islam without defending ourselves.” David Wright holds his rifle outside the Islamic Center of Irving, a Ted Cruz sign in the background.



Local authorities and politicians responded with appropriate concern, having police on hand to monitor the masked men and working closely with the mosque to ensure members’ safety.

However, what struck me, as an American Jew, was not so much the troubling radicalization of hate against Muslims being actualized by such a protest (which I’ll get to in a moment), but the lack of attention this moment generated.

For had these masked men, assault rifles in hand, surrounded a church, the journalistic fury would be swift. Similarly, had they surrounded a synagogue anywhere in America, masks concealing their identities, protesting the Judaization of America, Jews being allowed into this country, or Judaism in general, this would be not just a national story, but a call to action.

Fortunately, while anti-Semitism still exists, it is so wholly rejected in American society that instances of it have swift, immediate consequences. Jobs are lost and reputations destroyed over expressions of hatred for Jews. And for this, I’m grateful, having found a refuge in America within the context of my own people’s history of trauma and oppression.

However, I have watched the growth of our nation’s post 9/11 Islamophobia with not just heartbreak for Muslim Americans, but with a tinge of fear, knowing this hatred could easily boomerang and hit any group — including Jews — if allowed to continue.

It’s no surprise that we’re seeing the most vile expressions of hatred for Muslims being expressed by our current presidential candidates. For this hatred has been marinating for over a decade, being promoted by conservative leaders and media figures alike without any consequences. Rather than be fired for his repeated Islamophobia, Bill Maher’s show is as popular as ever. Rather than lose column inches and air time, Sam Harris is called upon to spread his Islamophobia at ever increasing rates. And rather than be shunned by the American populace, Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Marco Rubio are leading the polls for spewing a hatred of Muslims.

Students at the Islamic School of Irving stretch before gym class, just normal kids trying to live freely in America amidst societal hatred.

It’s no surprise that Trump feels he can wrongly claim, without fear it will damage him, that thousands of Muslims were cheering as the Twin Towers fell in New Jersey. It’s no surprise that Rubio can suggest, without fear it will damage him, that we shut down any location where Muslims gather to protect Americans. It’s no surprise Carson can call Syrians “rabid dogs” without fear it will damage him. For we’re allowing it to happen.

And by we, I principally mean major media forces in American which have much power in driving political narratives in this country. Unfortunately, they are driving the discourse away from tolerance, and toward fear. For outlets like CNN — understanding Islamophobia to not have the same stigma as other hatreds — are happy to frame hatred of Muslims as eyeball-driving debate and conflict, rather than as a national plight.

Case in point: after the House voted overwhelmingly to block Syrian refugees fleeing terror from finding a refuge in the United States, CNN suspended Elise Labott, its global affairs correspondent, for Tweeting this after the vote:

x House passes bill that could limit Syrian refugees. Statue of Liberty bows head in anguish @CNNPolitics https://t.co/5RvZwVftgD — Elise Labott (@eliselabottcnn) November 19, 2015

“The Statue of Liberty bows head in anguish.” For expressing dismay at the Islamophobia gripping our nation, being actualized in a shameful House vote targeting desperate refugees, Labott was suspended. For editorializing.

Now, can anyone tell me that, had the House’s bill been targeting Jewish refugees trying to escape to America, that Labott would have been suspended for expressing dismay?

We all know the answer.

Trump may not win this election, but in the future, at some point if we as a nation allow this hatred for Muslims to be accepted as mainstream, Trumpism is going to win. We are eventually going to have a candidate, someone who expresses exactly what our current crop of GOP candidates are expressing, who will win.

And we will have more radicalized, white Americans with guns in hand surrounding mosques on a regular basis. We will have more Muslim children fearing what their parents fear: are they safe in this country? For this is what happens when bigotry and racism are approved by political leaders without public rebuke.

And when hate for one group is sanctioned as socially acceptable, you can be sure that hatred for others is soon to follow. It’s why — despite deep, institutional racism in America — it’s shocking to see a black man being punched and kicked at a Trump rally for saying “Black Lives Matter.” For such blatant shows of racism are not socially acceptable anymore, despite the police brutality which exists, the prison complex which exists, the black churches which have been burned.

Media outlets in this country have a responsibility to reveal and counter these instances of hate swiftly and forcefully. For doing so is not editorializing, but performing the central task of journalism: countering state corruption, abuses and oppression.

Currently, hatred for Muslims is state-sanctioned. Our most recent House vote is enough evidence of that. If journalists do not express horror at what’s occurring, it will not just continue, but it will continue to spread.

As a Jew, the existence of a powerful fourth estate has helped protect me and my family from bigots. If that estate fails Muslim Americans, it can fail me.

It can fail us all.

________________________

David Harris-Gershon is author of the memoir What Do You Buy the Children of the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill Your Wife?, recently published by Oneworld Publications.

Follow on Twitter @David_ehg