This is an emergency call to action from a group of your Jewish Demcast colleagues. We join the Biden-Harris Administration in sounding the alarm on the frightening rise of antisemitism and the threat posed to the Jewish community from “[p]eople who peddle… antisemitic conspiracy theories and fuel racial, ethnic, and religious hatred against Jews.” Antisemitism, like all bigotries, ultimately harms all of us, whether Jewish or not (p 1).
Antisemitism fueled the mass murder of Jews at prayer in a Pittsburgh synagogue and was a motivating factor in the mass murder of Black people shopping for groceries in Buffalo. It’s behind the targeting and vandalizing of Jewish-owned businesses. It caused violent agitators to throw glass bottles and injure Jewish educators at an antisemitism awareness seminar on Holocaust Remembrance Day. It’s led to Jewish students being confronted by swastikas drawn on their dormitory walls and physically restrained from walking freely on their college campuses. It inspired a middle school student to invite his Jewish peer “to a ‘camp’ with ‘great showers’–‘Camp Auschwitz.’” Read this article for a more in-depth understanding of the torrent of hate Jewish students are facing.
Across social media, Jewish community members report antisemitic experiences and call out for social justice allies to stand with us. Please heed our voices!
To fight antisemitism, the Administration has implemented a comprehensive all-of-government national strategy. They also urge the “whole of society” to counter antisemitism (p 36). We join them in this call to action.
We must stand together as a community to loudly and unequivocally “confront antisemitism early and aggressively whenever and wherever it emerges from the darkness” (p 2).
What Is Antisemitism?
Antisemitism is the prejudice against or hatred of Jews. Like most bigotries, it manifests in multiple ways, from microaggressions to conspiracy theories to stereotypes to dog whistles to blatant hate to acts of physical violence. Conspiracy theories often posit Jews as both weak and as all-powerful, deceitful, “puppet masters,” leading some to wrongly view antisemitism as “pseudo-emancipatory,” as if harming Jews is a necessary step to being liberated from a hegemonic power. But antisemitic conspiracy theories are distortions of reality and antisemitism will never provide liberation to anyone.
To develop a more comprehensive understanding of antisemitism, we encourage you to take note of the examples we offered above and to refer to “Defining Antisemitism,” published by the US State Department, for further examples.
Actions to Take to Fight Antisemitism
Follow the 5 Rs of Social Media to fight hate and support your Jewish allies.
Repost: Repost the social media posts of Jews and other activists who are speaking out against antisemitism. Repost news articles and other media reporting on antisemitic incidents.
Reply: Reply to posts calling out antisemitism, expressing your condemnation for the act of hate and your support for the poster and/or the specific target of the bigotry. Reply to posts fomenting antisemitism by naming and condemning the bigotry–providing this explicit allyship to your Jewish friends is needed and appreciated. Use the hashtag: #AlliesAgainstAntisemitism.
Report: Report the trolls who write abusive and antisemitic comments.
Re-write: Write original posts or rephrase other social media posts calling out antisemitism. If you see something, say something. We need your voices! When you see a news report about synagogues getting bomb threats or how antisemitic incidents in the U.S. have grown by over 361% in recent months, post about it online.
Remind: Remind others that you stand firmly against hatred and stand in solidarity with your Jewish allies. Help spread tolerance and combat antisemitism.
Can you think of other ways to support your Jewish allies online or in real life? We’d love to hear your ideas.
Checklist for Being an Ally Against Antisemitism:
For all those amazing allies who are already doing these things, thanks so much for your support.
This graphic shows the kind of abuse we are seeing:
