Hamas atrocities trigger memories of growing up Jewish in Seattle
Dec. 8, 2023 at 2:10 pm
By Henry Aronson
Special to The Seattle Times
The tsunami of shocking antisemitism across the world, from Hamas’ slaughter of 1,200 Jews and hostage-taking on Oct. 7 to antisemitic demonstrations, has triggered deeply held memories of growing up Jewish, and experiencing antisemitism, in Seattle.
We Jews were a distinct Seattle minority and no public institution (schools, government offices, etc.) closed on Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur, our High Holy Days. Until fairly recently, Jews were rarely if ever admitted to Seattle’s prominent social institutions, such as the Seattle Yacht Club, the Seattle Tennis Club, the College Club, the Washington Athletic Club, the Rainier Club, or the Seattle and Broadmoor golf clubs, or allowed to reside in Seattle’s gated communities of Broadmoor or The Highlands.
My most blatant antisemitic experience was in the late 1940s when our family was excluded from what was then the Alderbrook Inn, a resort hotel on Hood Canal. Dad had made reservations well in advance and my sister and I were particularly excited as this was the first time our family had plans to stay at a “resort.”
https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/hamas-atrocities-trigger-memories-of-growing-up-jewish-in-seattle/
