by Anita Saville
Most progressives, including many Jews, strongly disagree with Israel’s actions in Gaza — sensitive to a minority’s right of self-determination. Progressives also carefully avoid even the smallest microaggressions against other minorities. Too many are blind, however, to the recent surge in antisemitism in the US, or respond with a collective shrug.
Some are actually inciting violence against Jews. In just the past month, antisemitic thugs:
- Painted the homes of leaders of a Jewish Museum in Brooklyn with red symbols of the Palestinian resistance
- Desecrated nearly 200 Jewish tombstones in two Ohio cemeteries
- Vandalized the Washington office of US Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), who is Jewish and a staunch supporter of Israel
- Drove an SUV flying a Palestinian flag toward two Jewish teenagers wearing yarmulkes in Newton
- Attacked a group of elderly Jews live-streaming a Palestinian resistance event at a library in Asheville, North Carolina
These are just a few examples of the violence taking place against Jews in our own backyard every day. Would we tolerate such aggression against Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, the LGBTQ+ community, or differently abled Americans? Never.
Bigotry is bigotry.
Why are we attacking our own people?
Antisemitism has thrived across the modern world for decades but is now escalating sharply. In 2023 antisemitic incidents of harassment, vandalism, and assault in the US skyrocketed by 140% over 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League. This includes more than 1,000 bomb threats — 906 targeting synagogues. The number of American Jews who said they changed their behavior for fear of antisemitism rose to 46% in 2023, from 38% in 2022.
This tally was taken before Hamas terrorists massacred, kidnapped, and tortured Israelis and people of other nationalities — including Americans — on October 7. Growing opposition to Israel’s retaliation against Hamas in Gaza — especially on college campuses — has unleashed an unprecedented level of violence against Jews in the US. In June, “anti-Jewish bias” was involved in 57% of all hate crimes in New York City — a 137% increase over last year, according to the New York Police Department.
While we all mourn the loss of innocent lives in both Israel and Gaza, bigotry in any form is never acceptable. We cringe at the presence of police during the college protests but seem unmoved when activists calling for peace in Gaza taunt and assault Jewish students and prevent them from crossing campus to get their classes — or worse.
A study just released by the American Jewish Committee found that six in ten US Jewish adults said they have felt unsafe since October 7 doing simple acts such as sharing views on Israel with friends; visiting a synagogue, Jewish community center, or other Jewish institution; wearing Jewish symbols in public; or sharing their views about Israel on social media.
While the mainstream media closely covered this spring’s anti-Israel protests, there has been very little attention paid to the antisemitic violence — on and off campus — that the protests have fomented. You have to track the constant attacks diligently via social media and get the whole story. One wonders why.
But attacks against American Jews make no sense. What exactly have they done to deserve this? How will these attacks end the war in Gaza? When did it become okay to harass and harm people because of their religion or cultural backgrounds? What can and should those of us who oppose bigotry do?
We are all responsible.
Progressives have a lot on our minds these days. But we cannot ignore antisemitism and still remain true to our core values.
I was disappointed, for example, by the recent support from our own Senator Elizabeth Warren and other progressive legislators, for the fortunately unsuccessful reelection of New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman. While they may have had many reasons to endorse him, the fact remains that Bowman is a blatant anti-semite, who called reports of rapes and torture of Israeli women by Hamas “propaganda” and “lies,” and made antisemitic remarks a regular part of his speeches.
As Bowman campaigned just before the primary, a masked pro-Hamas mob that was protesting the war in Gaza outside a synagogue in Los Angeles blocked access to the temple. They then turned on pro-Israel counter-protesters, spraying some with mace and pepper spray and leaving several badly beaten and bloody.
“Violent antisemitism is coming from every direction and threatening the very foundations of our liberal society,” Amanda Berman wrote recently in the Daily Beast. She continued: “A country that cannot protect ethnic and religious minorities cannot function as a democracy.”
As with other forms of bigotry, we must call out even unintended acts of antisemitism: referring to someone who’s Jewish as “untrustworthy” or “good with money”; assuming all Jews support Israel’s attacks on Gaza; blaming Israel for the October 7 attack by Hamas, etc.
We must also urge members of Congress to pass the bipartisan Countering Antisemitism Act (S. 4091/HR. 7921). This legislation calls on the Department of Education to counter antisemitism on college campuses, implement the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, and create a national advisor to the president on antisemitism. (Send your own email HERE.)
Our Jewish citizens deserve more than a shrug of the shoulders. Bigotry is bigotry, and we must all stand against it.
Anita Saville is a member of the IMC Communications Team and the Concord Indivisible Steering Team.
