It’s time to reclaim our humanity and dignity through deliberate action, not just words, and with a heightened sense of urgency demanded by the atrocities witnessed. True dignity is expressed by acknowledging the human condition, the suffering, the imperfection; the missteps, and the potential for real change.
Outrage: NOUN; an extremely vicious or violent act; a deep insult or offense; great anger, indignation, etc. aroused by such an act or offense
Anti-Semitism: hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious or racial group. The term anti-Semitism was coined in 1879 by the German agitator Wilhelm Marr to designate the anti-Jewish campaigns underway in central Europe at that time. Nazi anti-Semitism, which culminated in the Holocaust, had a racist dimension in that it targeted Jews because of their supposed biological characteristics—even those who had themselves converted to other religions or whose parents were converts. This variety of anti-Jewish racism dates only to the emergence of so-called “scientific racism” in the 19th century and is different in nature from earlier anti-Jewish prejudices. The persistence of anti-Semitism into the 21st century and the marked rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the early decades of the century have prompted new consideration of how to define and combat the phenomenon, which has both incorporated old tropes and taken on new forms.•
The Insidious Creep of Antisemitism*
The year 2022 was barely underway when a British Pakistani man took a rabbi and three others hostage during a Shabbat service in Colleyville, Texas. From there, antisemitism continued to spread, with the number of antisemitic hate crimes in New York, for example, more than doubling from 2021. To discuss New York City’s efforts to combat the alarming rise of Jewish hatred, Hassan Naveed, executive director of New York City’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC), joined AJC’s People of the Pod to explain how his office coordinates agencies across the city to curb the rise of antisemitic hate crimes.
New York City was one of more than 30 other major cities that did not report its 2021 hate crime statistics to the FBI, limiting the nation’s understanding of how widespread incidents have been, especially as anti-Israel protests increasingly targeted American Jews. Efforts to isolate pro-Israel students also proliferated on college campuses, such as the University of Vermont and the University of California Berkeley Law School. (Read more below.)
Rapper Kanye West, also known as Ye, posted antisemitic tropes for his social media audience of more than 50 million, shared antisemitic conspiracy theories during TV and podcast interviews, exalted Adolf Hitler, and, on social media, threatened violence against Jews. White supremacist Nick Fuentes joined Ye for part of his media tour, including a meeting with former President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn Nets basketball star Kyrie Irving promoted an antisemitic film and book to his more than four million followers on Twitter. Titled “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” the book and film rooted in radical Hebrew Israelite ideology deny the Holocaust and blame Jews for the transatlantic slave trade. His endorsement made both items bestsellers on Amazon, prompting an AJC petition urging their removal.
Where’s the Outrage?
Here are just a few examples of “in the headlines” outrage expressed in recent years:
- The #MeToo movement, which has brought attention to the widespread problem of sexual harassment and assault.
- The Black Lives Matter movement, which has protested against police brutality and racial injustice.
- The protests against the COVID-19 pandemic were sparked by concerns about the government’s response to the crisis.
Outrage is a powerful emotion that can be used to motivate people to take action. When people are outraged, they are more likely to speak out against injustice and demand change.
So where are the headlines? Where are the protests? Where is the outrage against Jewish hate?
Our question is not just about the media or the headlines —where’s the outrage from across our communities? Why aren’t these voices being heard?
Tell Your Story
We believe in the power of storytelling to raise awareness and to humanize the issue for wider audiences. Anti-Semitic incidents are occurring every day and by sharing these stories we hope to shine a light on the impact anti-Semitism has on individuals and communities around the world.
If you have been personally affected by anti-Semitism, please share your story with us below so that we may share it with the world. Your voice matters. Do not remain silent.
Help us help you by amplifying your voice across the world. It is only then, through awareness and outrage that real change can happen.
*Courtesy of Brittanica
** Courtesy of the American Jewish Committee (AJC)
Editor’s Note: Read more below and please add your voice/bring your story to our upcoming SALON 360° discussion.
Thoughtfully submitted by Minx Boren in response to our “share your story” outreach:
https://www.bizcatalyst360.com/i-am-but-one/
The recent rise in antisemitism in SW Florida has been staggering. This excerpt of an article published on June 4, 2023 in the Naples Daily News is telling:
“Jewish public speakers harassed and threatened outside a Collier County School Board meeting. A rabbi’s home in Bonita Springs defaced with anti-Jewish graffiti.
Separately, each of these recent incidents of anti-Semitism in Lee and Collier counties are alarming in their own right. Taken together, though, this spate of hate crimes exposes a far more troubling trend, both nationally and here at home.
In a report released in March, the Anti-Defamation League identified nearly 3,700 incidents of anti-Semitic harassment, vandalism or assault nationwide in 2022, a 36% increase from the previous year and the highest number in nearly a half-century of keeping track.
In Florida, the number of reported anti-Semitic incidents nearly doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year. The FBI has also identified an increase in religiously motivated hate crimes, with nearly two-thirds targeting Jews.
Historically, public schools have been a flash point for conflict over social issues, from the desegregation battles of the 1950s and 1960s to current contretemps over book bans, gender identity and other 21st Century challenges.
In this moment of social upheaval, we fear that Collier County Public Schools have become a breeding ground for intolerance, conflict and anti-Semitism.
During the public comment period of the Collier County School Board’s May 3 meeting, an array of speakers strongly advocated for the inclusion of Christian faith and principles into the public education system.
Many expressed the view that our nation’s social and political problems arise from a lack of ‘traditional values,’ a euphemism for Christian values. Public comments included a complaint that prayer has been ‘taken out’ of public schools, and that the school superintendent should be a Christian. In an interview for a potential new superintendent, one candidate said that many of today’s problems exist because too many people are ‘unchurched.’
Sadly, the result of creating this climate of a Christian ‘us’ and other faiths or the faithless as ‘them’ is predictable.
Senior Rabbi Adam Miller of Temple Shalom in Naples, a highly recognizable leader in the Jewish community who attended and spoke during the public comment period, was verbally accosted in the parking lot afterwards by two individuals shouting anti-Semitic statements. Two other incidents of hate speech related to that session have since been reported, both directing hatred toward those not of the Christian faith.
While our country cherishes freedom of speech and religion, the Constitution also provides that governments can show no preference for any religion. Our courts have strictly interpreted this in the public-school setting for the protection of our children. To show preference for one religion will stigmatize, separate, and otherwise cause discrimination against children of minority faiths or no faith. History teaches us that this inevitably escalates to more serious incidents of discrimination.
This growing pattern in our community to reject and to marginalize anyone who does not embrace adherence to traditional Christian values and doctrine is a cause for widespread concern.”
For even more information, Rabbi Miller of Temple Shalom, addressed his experience in his May 19 sermon which can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/831661343/613b8f02c0?share=copy
Thanks Melissa for your very informative post, even though it breaks my heart (wide open) to hear more of what in the world is happening. I will definitely listen to Rabbi Miller’s sermon.
I am trying to find a way to reply. As a first generation American whose family was persecuted and killed in Russia and Poland, I hold both the grief and fear within me from the time I was a very little girl. The nightmares persist (almost 80 years later). The fact that I ever got to be born is a true miracle. AND I have led a very blessed and “protected” life. Yet, the possibility (and vicious signs everywhere) of “Never again!” becoming “Here we go again.” runs deep. I have told parts of my story in books and poems over many years. But people who choose to hate instead of seeking to understand/reach out can be obdurate. They twist the stories and deny them to serve their purposes. When will it ever end? To even imagine that it COULD end is almost too much to hope for. I am involved with Center for Purposeful Leadership (CPL) which addresses these issues in many ways…mostly through the art of “convening” positive purposeful conversations amongst very diverse groups. Marshall Rosenberg’s work in the arena of Non-Violent Communication is also powerful. But it would take billions of people making/taking the time to explore another way to create an impact. I applaud you Dennis Pitocco for addressing this.
“People who choose to hate instead of seeking to understand/reach out can be obdurate. They twist the stories and deny them to serve their purposes. When will it ever end?”is precisely the issue, Minx. It will be the rest of us who must raise our voices even louder and amplify our stories (stories like yours and so many others like you) even more if we expect to create ripples of change, one voice, one conversation, one story at a time. To many the challenge is so overwhelming, they simply retreat/do nothing. To us the challenge is an opportunity to educate, inform, raise awareness, and effect a level of “outrage” necessary to make “shift” happen. We stand up to Jewish hate. We stand with you, my friend.
Thank you for sharing your insights, Minx. Unless and until we all stand up against Jewish hate and call it out when we see it, “Never again” are hollow words. I’m grateful for Dennis creating this space and for all who share the stories that make this an issue for all of us.