Neo-Nazis bring their hate to Providence

On Oct. 6, while our congregations gathered to read the first portion in the Torah, neo-Nazis and their allies came to downtown Providence for a rally.  

Under the guise of “Resist Marxism” and “Defending Free Speech,” known hate groups – The Proud Boys, American Guard, and others – came to the State House, looking for a fight, for at least the second time this year. Several leaders came from out of state, having been invited to our community specifically because of their propensity for violence. Others were local.

If you are not familiar with these groups, or their tactics, look to trusted organizations like the Anti-Defamation League or the Southern Poverty Law Center, which have extensively covered these groups and their connections to Nazi and anti-Semitic ideology. Members at the rally on that Saturday had hate symbols tattooed on their bodies, such as the “wolfsangel,” used as a battle insignia by several SS divisions.

How did we let this happen?  How did we not hear about and organize against this?  How has this become our new normal?

A group of counter-protestors – myself included – stood up to the haters. The organizers of the counter protest had street medics on hand to care for the injured.  They also kept us from being “kettled,” or surrounded by riot police and arrested en masse. Many covered their faces to protect themselves from “doxing,” or having their names and addresses revealed by hate groups online and used to commit violence or intimidation in person.  

Let there be absolutely no confusion: the violence at the rally was started by the hate groups and caught on camera. Many in the hate groups arrived in helmets and body armor, prepared to fight. The police stood less than 5 feet away and did not immediately intervene to stop the fighting. When they finally broke up the melees, police stood facing the counter-protestors, their backs to the hate groups. Eventually, more than three dozen riot police were used to force counter-protestors off the State House lawn, while the hate group members stood nearby, continuing to antagonize.  One of the out-of-state agitators bragged, on camera, about having beaten several women during the fracas.

I am angry at the hate groups, at the police, at the politicians and officials who give them their orders, and at the media sources who badly misrepresent the true nature and implications of the event. I am also upset that our Jewish community was not ready.

I challenge my fellow Jews with these two questions:

1: We often claim the Holocaust, or anti-Semitism, when these issues might be politically expedient. Even centrist criticism of Israeli government policy is routinely excoriated as anti-Semitic at worst, and disloyal at best. A recent rally protesting family separation policies was forced to move away from the Holocaust memorial downtown after members of our community complained. What use are these claims of past oppression if we allow neo-Nazis and their allies to rally in our streets – less than a mile from the Holocaust memorial – unchallenged by our Jewish institutions, protected, with force, by our government, and normalized by media outlets?

2: We have tremendous political power, as a reliable, mostly Democratic voting bloc in statewide and Providence municipal politics. We utilize this proximal relationship to power when it suits us, such as the welcome addition of Holocaust and genocide education to Rhode Island’s school curricula. We use it to secure the (likely necessary) presence of police to protect our events. What use is this power if it is not used to stand up against granting permits to neo-Nazi groups to stage violent rallies?  What are these relationships worth if militarized police force is used to repress counter-protests?

Let us not focus on the past without using it to help us understand the present. Let us not allow fear of the future to make us unable to see what is happening now, down the street. Let us not be confused about who our real enemies are, and what they believe. We must demand more from our institutions, both Jewish and governmental. 

There can be no platform for neo-Nazis or their apologists, no support for politicians or government agencies who enable them with permits and protection, and no acceptance of media coverage that normalizes their views. Hate should not be welcome in our state.

ADAM CABLE, LICSW is a (almost) lifelong Rhode Island resident. He is a clinical social worker and a member of the board of directors of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

The views stated in this article are the writer’s and do no represent the views of the Jewish Alliance or The Jewish Voice.