The Rising Tide of Anti-Semitism in the US...On October 27, 2018, a gunman opened fire in the...
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On October 27, 2018, a gunman opened fire in the Pi:sburgh Tree of Life synagogue, killing 11 worshippers and wounding two others, while shouCng, “All Jews must die.” It was the deadliest a:ack against Jews on US soil, ever. That day, the United States watched in horror, at a loss to pinpoint what precipitated such a heinous and atrocious act of terror. Yet, however shocked Americans were, this was not an isolated incident; the world’s oldest hatred had simply reared its ugly head yet again. Accounts of anC-SemiCsm had been rising globally for several years. While the US and Israel conCnue to enjoy a longstanding, warm friendship, a 2019 study by Tel Aviv University’s Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry found that of the 387 anC- SemiCc a:acks recorded worldwide in 2018, over 100 cases occurred in the United States. 1 Record Highs of An0-Semi0sm in the US In fact, the AnC-DefamaCon League reports that anC-SemiCc a:acks in the US doubled in 2018 from the previous year. Overall a:acks, including harassment, vandalism and physical assault, amounted to 1,879 incidents— near record-high levels. The third highest count since the ADL began tracking these incidents in the 1970s, these a:acks are more than numbers: they are evidence of the dangerously changing Cdes in the United States toward Jews and Israel. In 2018, an American Jewish Commi:ee survey found that a majority of Jews considered the status of Jews in the United States to be less secure than the year before. 2 At the start of 2019, a gunman killed an elderly woman and wounded two others when he opened fire in the Chabad of Poway synagogue in San Diego. Occurring six months a]er the Pi:sburgh shooCng, the tragedy at Poway was another horrific and painful reminder that anC-SemiCsm in the US has not gone away. Instead, it has conCnued to rise. An0-Semi0sm’s New Mask Of the 1,879 anC-SemiCc incidents in the US counted by the ADL in 2018, 140 were found to reference Israel or Zionism. The ADL is cauCous against conflaCng cases of general criCcism against the State of Israel or instances of anC-Israel acCvism with anC-SemiCsm. However, according to the ADL’s report, when a:acks “invoke or are accompanied by classic anC-SemiCc stereotypes and tropes” or when “they target Jewish religious or cultural insCtuCons or…they are expressed by groups or individuals who consistently express anC-SemiCc ideas,” they are considered anC-SemiCc. 3 The connecCon between references to Israel or Zionism in anC- SemiCc a:acks demonstrates that anC-SemiCsm is seeking to don a new mask. Disguised as a hatred for Israel, anC-Zionism is a thin shroud for the age-old hatred of Jews that once hid behind religious teachings and racist ideologies and now o]en cloaks itself as ferocious poliCcal opposiCon to the world’s only Jewish state. The Rising Tide of Anti-Semitism in the US CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL A CUFI PRIMER:
Transcript of The Rising Tide of Anti-Semitism in the US...On October 27, 2018, a gunman opened fire in the...
OnOctober27,2018,agunmanopenedfireinthePi:sburghTreeofLifesynagogue,killing11worshippersandwoundingtwoothers,whileshouCng,“AllJewsmustdie.”Itwasthedeadliesta:ackagainstJewsonUSsoil,ever.
That day, theUnited Stateswatched in horror, at a loss to pinpointwhat precipitated such a heinous and atrocious act of terror. Yet,howevershockedAmericanswere,thiswasnotanisolatedincident;theworld’soldesthatredhadsimplyreareditsuglyheadyetagain.
AccountsofanC-SemiCsmhadbeenrisinggloballyforseveralyears.WhiletheUSandIsraelconCnuetoenjoyalongstanding,warmfriendship,a2019studybyTelAvivUniversity’sKantorCenterfortheStudyofContemporaryEuropeanJewryfoundthatofthe387anC-SemiCca:acksrecordedworldwidein2018,over100casesoccurredintheUnitedStates. 1
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RecordHighsofAn0-Semi0smintheUSIn fact, theAnC-DefamaConLeaguereportsthatanC-SemiCca:acks intheUS doubled in 2018 from the previous year. Overall a:acks, includingharassment,vandalismandphysicalassault,amountedto1,879incidents—nearrecord-highlevels.ThethirdhighestcountsincetheADLbegantrackingtheseincidentsinthe1970s,thesea:acksaremorethannumbers:theyareevidenceofthedangerouslychangingCdesintheUnitedStatestowardJewsand Israel. In 2018, an American Jewish Commi:ee survey found that amajorityofJewsconsideredthestatusofJewsintheUnitedStatestobeless
securethantheyearbefore. 2
Atthestartof2019,agunmankilledanelderlywomanandwoundedtwootherswhenheopenedfireintheChabadofPowaysynagogueinSanDiego.Occurringsixmonthsa]erthePi:sburghshooCng,thetragedyatPowaywasanotherhorrificandpainfulreminderthatanC-SemiCsmintheUShasnotgoneaway.Instead,ithasconCnuedtorise.�
An0-Semi0sm’sNewMaskOfthe1,879anC-SemiCcincidentsintheUScountedbytheADLin2018,140werefoundtoreferenceIsraelor Zionism. TheADL is cauCous against conflaCng cases of general criCcism against the State of Israel orinstancesof anC-Israel acCvismwith anC-SemiCsm.However, according to theADL’s report,whena:acks“invoke or are accompanied by classic anC-SemiCc stereotypes and tropes” or when “they target Jewishreligious or cultural insCtuCons or…they are expressed by groups or individualswho consistently expressanC-SemiCcideas,”theyareconsideredanC-SemiCc. 3
The connecCon between references to Israel or Zionism in anC-SemiCca:acksdemonstrates thatanC-SemiCsm is seeking todonanew mask. Disguised as a hatred for Israel, anC-Zionism is a thinshroudfortheage-oldhatredofJewsthatoncehidbehindreligiousteachings and racist ideologies and now o]en cloaks itself asferocious poliCcal opposiCon to the world’s only Jewish state.�
TheRisingTideofAnti-SemitismintheUS
CH R I S T I A N S U N I T E D F O R I S R A E L
ACUFIPRIMER:
OntheFrontlines:CollegeCampuses
AMCHA,anonprofitorganizaCondedicatedtodocumenCngandcombaCnganC-SemiCsmatinsCtuConsofhigherlearningintheUS,trackedanC-SemiCsmoncollegecampusesin2018andrecorded238anC-SemiCcincidents. For example, a Jewish student a:ending Beloit College inWisconsin had an anC-SemiCc noteslippedunderhisdormroomdoorwhichsaidhe“shouldbegassed.”AtVirginiaTech, theChabad JewishStudent Center announced plans to host a Holocaust survivor and, a day later, around 100 leafletswerefoundsca:eredacrosscampusfeaturinghand-drawnswasCkas.
O]en,anC-SemiCsmoncampusisalsomaskedbyanC-IsraelacCvityandintoleranceforpro-IsraelacCvism.Of the 238 instances of anC-SemiCsm on campus, AMCHA recorded 121 Israel-related incidents of anC-SemiCsm,a70%increasefromthepreviousyear.
At the University of Texas AusCn, for example, Jewish students supporCng the Israeli humanitarianorganizaCon, Save a Child’s Heart,were hindered from tabling by two other student groups that “movedtheir tables toflankthem,beganyelling,chanCngandwavingaflagover the Jewishstudents’heads,anddrownedouttheircalls fordonaCons.WhentheJewishstudentsrelocatedtoanotherpartofthecampussquare,thedisruptorsfollowedthemandconCnuedtoharassthem-impedingtheireffortsfortwodays. 4Onmanycampuses,Jewishstudentsarealsosubjectedto:• “swasCkasandotheranC-SemiCcgraffiCinresidenCalhalls,publicareasoncampusandHillelhouses;• physical aggression, harassment and inCmidaCon by members of student or community groups instudent-sponsoredprotests,ralliesandagitpropheldoncampus;
• speakers,filmsandexhibitssponsoredbystudent, facultyandcommunitygroups,thatengage inanC-SemiCcdiscourseoruseanC-SemiCcimageryandlanguagetofalselydescribeIsrael,Zionists,and
• Jews,includingthatIsraelisaracist,apartheidorNazistate,thatIsraelisguiltyofheinouscrimesagainsthumanity such as ethnic cleansing and genocide, that the Jewish State should be destroyed, thatviolenceagainstJewsisjusCfied,thatJewsexaggeratetheHolocaustasatoolofZionistpropaganda,andthatJewsinAmericawieldexcessivepoweroverAmericanforeignpolicy;
• student and faculty-sponsored boyco:, divestment and sancCon campaigns against Israel that are ameansofdemonizingIsraelandseektoharmtheJewishstate;
• suppressionanddisrupConoffreespeechthatpresentsIsrael’spointofview.” 5• Students involved with ChrisCans United for Israel’s campus program, CUFI on Campus, have beenbullied,
• harassed, screamed at and suppressedwhen involved in pro-Israel advocacy on their campuses. Onestudent
• evenhadarockthrownatherforsupporCngIsraelandtheJewishpeople.
Students involvedwithChrisCansUnitedfor Israel’scampusprogram,CUFIonCampus,havebeenbullied,harassed,screamedatandsuppressedwheninvolvedinpro-Israeladvocacyontheircampuses.Onestudente ven h ad a ro c k t h rown a t h e r fo r s u ppo rCng I s ra e l a nd t h e J ew i s h p eop l e .�
CUFI’sEffortstoCombatAn0-Semi0smSince our incepCon in 2006, CUFI has been commi:ed tofighCng anC-SemiCsm wherever it is found. To combat theanC-SemiCsm that is prevalent and spreading on Americancollegecampuses,CUFIworkedCrelesslytoadvancetheAnC-SemiCsm Awareness Act for two years, collaboraCng withallies inWashington, including at theWhite House, and onCapitolHill.In2019,CUFImadethispolicyourtoplegislaCvepriority,andthousandsofCUFImembersa:endedCUFI’s14thannualWashingtonSummittolobbyinsupportofthiscriCcal
piece of legislaCon. In December 2019, when it became clear, despite this policy enjoying widespreadbiparCsan support, Congress would not move it forward, President Trump issued an execuCve ordermirroringandexpandingupon theAn#-Semi#smAwarenessAct. This significantandhistoricmoveby theadministraConwillprotectJewishstudentsoncampuswhereanC-SemiCsmissoprevalent.
In lightoftheshockingupCckofanC-SemiCsminournaCon,CUFI iscurrentlyfocusedonprioriCzingbotheducaCng the next generaCon about the Holocaust—the deadly result of ignoring anC-SemiCsm—andprevenCng further sickeninga:ackson Jews today through increasedsecurity.TheNeverAgainEduca#onActwhich ensures educators have all they need to be successful in Holocaust educaCon and the call toquadruple the funds provided by the Nonprofit Security Grant Program administered by the FederalEmergencyManagementAgencyarecommonsensepoliciesthatCUFIfullyendorses.
In 2019, CUFI also launched the Shine the Light campaign in which over twomillion people pledged toexposeanC-SemiCsm inall its forms;educatetheir friendsandelectedofficialsabouthowto idenCfyandcondemntheanC-SemiCsmthathidesinplainsight;fightthosewhowoulduseopposiContoIsraelipolicyasathinveiltohidetheirhatredfortheJewishstate;andsupportourJewishneighborsshouldtheyeverbevicCmizedbyanC-Semites.InaddiCon,CUFIdistributestwoeducaConalbooklets,TheWarAgainsttheJewsandTheSinofSilence,thatcoverthehistoryofanC-SemiCsmandthehorrorsoftheHolocaust.Finally,everymonth,CUFIholdsover50eventsinchurches,communiCes,andcollegecampusesacrosstheUStoeducatepeopleonthedangerousevilofanC-SemiCsmandensureitdoesnotconCnuetogrow.�
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ConclusionAnC-SemiCsmisaninsidiousandgrowingproblemintheUnitedStates,o]enmasqueradingasanC-Zionism,andresulCnginunspeakableactsofeviltowardJewishpeople.Students,inparCcular,encountervirulentanC-SemiCsmontheircampuses.AwarenessisthefirststeptowardensuringthattheUSconCnuestobeasafeplacewhereJewsandotherminoriCescancoexistsecurelyandwithoutfear.AcCon,bothindividualandstate,isthenextandonlylogical,moralsteptostemmingtherisingCdeofanC-SemiCsmacrossAmerica.
AsCUFIfounderandChairmanPastorJohnHageenotedinanop-edlastyear,“GodandhistorywilljudgeharshlythosebigotswhoespousehatredofJews.Butmakenomistake,Godandhistorywillbenolesskindtothosewhositbyandwatchthatancienthatredspreadonceagain.AsAmericans,aspeopleoffaithandconscience,wemustbeintolerantofintolerance.Andregardlessofhowuncomfortableorhardwemayfindit,wemustneverholdourpeace.”
CUFIfounderandChairmanPastorJohnHageenotedinanop-edlastyear, “Godandhistorywill judgeharshly thosebigotswhoespousehatredofJews.Butmakenomistake,Godandhistorywillbenolesskindtothosewhositbyandwatchthatancienthatredspreadonceagain.AsAmericans, aspeopleof faithandconscience,wemustbeintolerant of intolerance. And regardless of how uncomfortable orhardwemayGindit,wemustneverholdourpeace.”
_____________________________________________Antisemitism Worldwide 2018 Report is Released” (1 May 2019), Kantor Center for the Study of 1
Contemporary European Jewry, http://www.kantorcenter.tau.ac.il/event/antisemitism-worldwide-2018-report-releasedAJC 2018 Survey of American Jewish Opinion” (10 June 2018), AJC, https://www.ajc.org/news/survey20182
Michael Kunzelman, Report: Violent anti-Semitic attacks in US doubled in 2018 (30 April 2019), AP News, 3
https://www.apnews.com/488db75fdadc4109b85c1a1a69a2af04“Zionists Off Our Campus!” Campus Antisemitism in 2017 (August 2018), AMCHA Initiative https://4
amchainitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Campus-Antisemitism-2017.pdfCampus Antisemitism Information, AMCHA Initiative, https://amchainitiative.org/campus-antisemitism/5
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