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Anti-Semitism Up Close
There are some things you mustn’t say under any circumstances. The most common example is yelling “fire” inside a movie theater. But you should never utter the phrase “all you Jews are alike” inside a temple. Which is exactly what happened last weekend at our annual bazaar.
Temple Beth Sholom of Flushing is the largest reform congregation in Northern Queens. It was founded more than 60 years ago, during which its annual three-day Bazaar has occurred every winter. Over time, attendance has declined because people now prefer to buy tchotchkes and novelties at the local Dollar Tree or through online shopping. Yet there is still a loyal base that comes back, year after year, like lemmings attracted to a cliff.
The centerpiece of the Bazaar has become its Book Sale, which draws dealers and resellers from across the East Coast. In the past, organizers waxed rhapsodically about once having 39,000 books crammed into the space of its multi-purpose room.
As the original volunteers retired and moved from the area, the brunt of planning, collecting, and running the Book Sale fell onto my shoulders. I don’t possess an SUV and I’m unwilling to drive to Riverdale or Suffolk County to pick up four boxes of paperbacks. However, we’ve created a baseline of approximately 22,000–25,000 books, supplemented by an influx of alternate media, such as records, CDs, video games…
