A National Pattern: Anti-Semitism and Ukraine.

When we went to cover the rally for Ukraine on Sunday, it was interrupted for about two minutes by a member of the pro-Palestinian side. This person was handed a microphone, and she said, “It’s time to wake up; they are trying to divide us.”

Now, the mood of the event went from somber to tense. Partly, a lot of the people attending are also Jewish. And like this old reporter, we got the code. I was willing to let this pass. After all, elevating these people is the last thing we want to do. But then a pattern emerged.

First, another demonstration clear across the country saw a member of this pro-Palestinian movement crashing a demonstration wearing a Keffiyeh covering his face and aggressively taking photos of all attendees. He was told to go by the men in the crowd, but just like San Diego, the mood became one of fear.

We came home exhausted because we went from just recording and taking photos to threat assessment. It’s not my job to guard a demonstration. But it is an old habit from ten years of working in the streets as a medic. So my head went on a swivel. They were planning to crash the party again, but a low-level evident presence from San Diego Police was enough to send a message.

My husband did the same. As a veteran, his mood went to threat assessment as well. Yes, that…