Exodus 1:8-10

וַיָּ֥קׇם מֶֽלֶךְ־חָדָ֖שׁ עַל־מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יָדַ֖ע אֶת־יוֹסֵֽף׃ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֶל־עַמּ֑וֹ הִנֵּ֗ה עַ֚ם בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל רַ֥ב וְעָצ֖וּם מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃ הָ֥בָה נִֽתְחַכְּמָ֖ה ל֑וֹ פֶּן־יִרְבֶּ֗ה וְהָיָ֞ה כִּֽי־תִקְרֶ֤אנָה מִלְחָמָה֙ וְנוֹסַ֤ף גַּם־הוּא֙ עַל־שֹׂ֣נְאֵ֔ינוּ וְנִלְחַם־בָּ֖נוּ וְעָלָ֥ה מִן־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are much too numerous for us. Let us deal shrewdly with them, so that they may not increase; otherwise in the event of war they may join our enemies in fighting against us and rise from the ground.”

In light of recent events surrounding our local paper, we might imagine the opinion section of a local Egyptian paper in the years preceding the Exodus. Before the plagues, before Moses, even before the forced labor, the book begins with Pharaoh’s words – the first antisemetic libel. It’s a reminder that antisemitism is nothing new, that it can lead to terrible outcomes, and should always be called out.

Don’t Be Outnumbered!
My fellow Egyptians. There is a people who live amongst us who, should we ever be attacked, might join our assailants and we will be overcome. They can’t be trusted. You heard their wild stories: a seven year famine prevented by one of them. Did they really save this country from ruin? I don’t know. What matters is that there are more of them than us, and that’s not ok.
     – Disgruntled Egyptian

Remember Joseph
We Israelites who live here peacefully in Egypt have no intention of joining her adversaries. For generations we have helped this great country grow and prosper. Remember Joseph? He was even given an Egyptian name from Pharoah himself before he saved this country, and we are still proud to contribute. Words matter! To conveniently forget Joseph, to ignore history and spread lies that imply that we can’t be trusted, can lead to very real and dangerous outcomes for our community and for this country.
     – Dismayed Israelite.