Richard L. Connor | Opinion: Answer hate by forgiving and educating | The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton PA

SEN. BARACK Obama, Democratic presidential candidate, got it all wrong.

We do not need a national discussion on race.

Our own recent example -- the type of hatred that seethes in this country every day -- lived a short, public life. A week ago our community awakened to a startling, almost mind-numbing reminder that we are not isolated from acts of emotional violence and hatred.

Worshippers arrived at Ohav Zedek Synagogue in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Saturday morning to find anti-Semitic symbols and words spray-painted on their temple.

There were some who saw the ugly display of ignorance as they were on their way to a bas mitzvah ceremony in the same neighborhood. Talk about innocence lost.

Less than a week later, as members of the community gathered on the steps of Ohav Zedek, the police announced the apprehension of two people accused of the graffiti vandalism. One of those charged with institutional vandalism and criminal conspiracy, Nora Rynkeiwicz, is an 18-year-old senior at Wyoming Valley West who says she is a Nazi. The second person is a juvenile who for all we know may have just been along for the ride.

While we have no way of knowing what defines a Nazi in true terms today, we do know, if she is found guilty, that she appears to hold deep-seated anger and hatred about something.

Maybe her target, if she is guilty, is Jewish people, and maybe the perimeter of her circle of hate is larger than just one religious sect or group. And maybe we are not talking hate here but simple anger and hostility and frustration with the world and life in general.

Whatever the root cause of this horrendous act, it seems that this is a time for law enforcement authorities, the courts, and our social services organizations to seek help for these two youths. Call me na�ve and a Pollyanna if you will, but as despicable as I view this act I view the youthful perpetrators differently than I would if they were 10 years older.

There is chance for teaching and redemption for the pair, but it will not occur at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility where Rynkeiwicz was sent before her bail was posted on Friday. All she will learn in jail is how to be a more successful criminal and hate monger.

Her feelings toward people she may believe to be her enemies will only grow and abound after some time in jail.

Acts such as those we witnessed against the Ohav Zedek synagogue – and against our Jewish neighbors – are not mere acts of juvenile vandalism and graffiti. They are acts of hate.

Hate, though, stems from fear and ignorance. Sometimes that ignorance can appear relatively minor and the symbolism of the hate can be easily corrected.

Twice in the last year, I have suggested to adults who I know and respect that certain phrases are offensive, sentences such as, “I tried to Jew them down.”

When I told both persons that these statements, while perhaps unintentionally offensive, symbolized a negative stereotype and indicate a bias, they acted surprised.

At the same time I pointed out that my daughter is married to a Jew. He is the father of my two grandchildren in that family. I doubt those adults will use either phrase again.

This example is not meant to equate mistakes in language to a violent act of anti-Semitic graffiti, but instead to say that corrections can be made in word usage and behavior.

People can change. Perhaps these two young people, charged with these crimes but still in their formative years, can be taught and can alter their attitudes and behavior.

With the arrests the community can now rest, at least to some degree, knowing we need not fear a marauding group of anti-Semites.

When Pope Paul II forgave the man who attempted to assassinate him, I was stunned. Could I have done that, I wondered.

None of us knows an answer to a question such as that one but the example set by the pope was clear. It set a standard for all of us, I believe.

There has been a community-wide cleansing of the offensive signs and language of the doors to the synagogue and nearby buildings.

A cleansing of our hearts may be in order. Forgiveness should be followed by education. And we now know that we need much more than a national discussion on race. We need to attack the root cause of hate and how it infects attitudes toward religion and all ethnic groups.