OPINION:
Jewish Heritage Month has come to a close. Never heard of it? Neither has almost everyone I work with and teach, other than my fellow Jews. The lack of awareness about this monthlong celebration in May speaks to the quiet hostility toward Jews that exists year-round in prominent institutions far beyond my own University of Illinois hospital — a hostility made worse by the racial and ethnic division inherent in “diversity, equity and inclusion.”
The large antisemitic protests at colleges and major employers drew the headlines last month, but my own awareness of bias against Jews started with something much smaller. Last spring, I started paying attention to the screen savers on my teaching hospital’s computers, thousands of which dot the halls, patient rooms, and nursing and physician stations. It quickly became clear that the screen savers pander to every imaginable racial, ethnic and identity group while barely acknowledging Jews.
The litany of images, which circulate on the computers every six seconds, will surprise no one. In June last year, I counted four screen savers about Pride Month. Last October, we saw slides for Hispanic Heritage Month, with the obligatory reference to “Latinx.” In February, I was invited to join a “Black History Month Book Club” and the “anti-racism committee, one of numerous slides about Black History Month. And in April of this year, I noticed at least three images for Arab American Heritage Month. The constantly repeating images do the bidding of the growing number of our institution’s DEI activist administrators, making identity consciousness part of our daily experience.
But how many screen savers have I seen about Jews this May during Jewish Heritage Month? One, which showed up 15 days into the celebration. We’re generally overshadowed by more screen savers for another May observance — Asian American and Pacific Islander Month. There’s also plenty of focus on National Stroke Awareness Month and TB testing. I’m all for respecting my colleagues’ diverse backgrounds and improving patient safety. But where’s the equal treatment?
Once I noticed the disparity in screen savers, I began noticing a similar trend in other areas. Take the emails that administrators send to all physicians, nurses and teaching staff. I counted dozens that acknowledged this, that and the other identity group, from women to Native Americans. But there were none about Jews. Many of the emails focused on getting more people from specific identity groups into leadership, but without any such encouragement for Jews, it seemed like we need not apply.
We even received emails about other religions’ holidays. Most notably, we were bombarded with lengthy notes about Ramadan, the Islamic holiday that ran from mid-March to mid-April. They gave us tips for respecting our Muslim colleagues, students and patients. But where was the similar concern for Jewish well-being on holidays like Purim and Passover or the stress of walking through an anti-Israel protest? Administrators didn’t feel the need to send a single note about our faith traditions, much less Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter. Such holidays are more broadly celebrated, and in any case, how is it constitutional to promote one religion over others?
The disparity has been especially pronounced since the slaughter of Jews on Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent invasion of the Gaza Strip, which aims to destroy the Hamas terrorists and save Jewish and American hostages. It’s hard not to conclude that my teaching hospital has taken sides in that fight. Several graduating medical students wore a pro-Palestinian stole at the May 3 commencement, bragging online that the administration approved it. The stole portrays a map of Israel controlled by Palestinians, effectively wiping the Jewish state off the map.
Both the overt hostility and quiet antipathy reflect the experience of Jews at many institutions, as many others have documented. The rise of DEI already encouraged our marginalization in favor of more fashionable identity groups, and in the wake of Oct. 7, our isolation and rejection have only grown.
It would be nice to have screen savers and emails acknowledging Jews and our many contributions to medicine and society. It would be nicer still to restore some sense of everyone’s shared humanity instead of the constant reminders of our differences.
• Dr. Benjamin A. Goldberg is a professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago.
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