A BREAKDOWN OF THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT BEHIND ANTI-SEMITISM AND RECENT ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS
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BY HILLARY ALTES HEALTH HEAD
INTRODUCTION
Anti-Semitism is on the rise in America. Anti-Semitism itself is defined as hostile beliefs or behavior towards Jews just because of their religion by the Anti-Defamation League, and it can come in many different forms. Some instances of anti-Semitism are more obvious, like hate crimes or political efforts to isolate and/or oppress the Jewish people. Others take shape in a more covert manner, like Holocaust jokes or generalizations that reflect prejudiced or stereotyped views about Jews. As a Jewish student in the United States, I would like to spread as much information about the issue as possible. Here is a breakdown of the situation, the deep history of anti-Semitism, and ways you, as an individual, can help to combat it.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Hostility towards Jews dates back to ancient times, more specifically to the very beginning of Jewish history. In “biblical times”, Jews were often tolerated as long as they benefited rulers, either financially or as scapegoats. The rise of Christianity greatly increased hatred towards Jews. Rather than just being seen as outcasts, they were perceived as a people who rejected Jesus and crucified him, despite the fact that the crucifixion was ordered and carried out by Roman authorities. The Romans destroyed the Jewish state in the year 70 C.E. and the Jewish people scattered across the world.
Anti-Semitism continued into the Middle Ages, when Jews faced discrimination that restricted their legal and civil rights. They were only able to live in ghettos and they were also required to wear a distinctive symbol (often a pointed hat or a badge) in the 13th century. Jews often became moneylenders because they were not allowed to own land and the church prohibited Christians from loaning money for profit. This led to the development of a set of stereotypes that depicted Jews as greedy and obsessed with money.
In the 19th century, many European countries began to take their modern shapes and nationalism became a more influential factor on society. This resulted in even more hostility towards Jews, which sometimes resulted in deadly persecution. The pogroms in Russia that occurred in the late 1800s are a key example of this violence. These were vicious attacks on Jewish communities with the aid or indifference of the government.
Later on, anti-Semites used the new ‘racial science’ to justify the supremacy of non-Jewish whites in response to the growing number of Jews who were beginning to integrate into European society. They argued that Judaism was a race rather than a religion and that Jews were biologically inferior. This would later become Hitler’s justification for the Holocaust and why he wanted to kill everyone with Jewish blood, whether they practiced Judaism or not.
The Holocaust itself resaulted in the death of six million Jews, which was more than a third of the world’s Jewish population. The belief in the inborn superiority of “Aryans,” that Jews secretly worked together to control the world, and that Jews destroyed societies helped turn anti-Semitism into official governmental policy along with numerous social and political factors. It is clear that the Holocaust should not be taken lightly given the gravity of the statistics as well as the horrible conditions that millions of Jews endured in concentration camps.
A RESURGE IN ANTISEMITISM
According to My Jewish Learning, “the threat of this anti-Semitism [is] the greatest since the Holocaust” today in 2020. This may come as a shock, but the ADL’s Audit of Anti-Semitic inidents in the US recorded 2,100 anti-Semitic acts in 2019. This includes many physical attacks, vandalism, harassment, and other incidents. Here is a breakdown of these incidents.
1,127 accounts of harassment - a 6% increase from 2018 (i.e. anti-Semitic language or actions).
919 acts of vandalism - a 19% increase from 2018 (i.e. property was damaged in a harmful manner towards Jews, like spray-painted swastikas on synagogues).
61 cases of assault involving 95 victims - a 56% increase from 2018 (i.e. people were physically threatened with violence, such as with guns and knives).
The above incidents took place in every state except Alaska and Hawaii, with New York, New Jersey, and California housing the majority of these incidents. Since then, several anti-Semitic acts have already occurred in 2020, including the vandalism of a synagogue in Alabama and several accounts of assault. Here are a few examples of antisemitism that have occurred within the past month.
A white sheet with the message “Kikes* Lie Whites Die” along with the white supremacist 1488 symbol was hung on the Holocaust memorial at the Gordon Jewish Community Center in Nashville on June 13th. *Kikes is a disrespectful slur referring to a Jewish person.
In South Carolina, playground equipment was vandalized with a swastika and the words “may Hitler rise,” also on June 13th.
Anti-Semitic flyers that read “Jews will not replace us! The destruction of the White Race is engendered in Judaic world control” were distributed in a residential neighborhood in Wisconsin. This incident also occurred on June 13th.
An alt right group called Patriot Front put propaganda on light poles in a synagogue parking lot. This occurred on June 14th in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.
On June 14th, a Holocaust memorial was toppled over and in pieces at Santa Rosa Memorial Park.
A man who allegedly shouted “Heil Hitler” and raised his arm in a Nazi solute stabbed a Jewish man in the head. This occured at a bar in Carson City, Nevada on June 19th.
In a predominantly Jewish community, two locations in a residential neighborhood were vandalized with Swastikas on June 24th.
On June 25th, a drawing of a Star of David with a swastika in the center was spray painted on a bus stop in Chicago.
In Bangor, Maine, a swastika was spray painted on the street outside Congregation Beth Israel on June 25th.
A public service announcement sign was vandalized with a swastika drawing and the words “Fuck Israel” in the Georgetown neighborhood on June 27th.
A stone was thrown through a synagogue window on June 27th in Milburn, New Jersey.
Fliers were distributed with the words “no N-----s no Jews the Mexicans must go too help us stop racial mixing” in a residential neighborhood on June 29th by members of 14First, a white supremacist organization.
On June 20th, swastikas were scratched into a parked car in Boynton Beach, Florida.
Messages including “Heil Hitler”, “SS”, and “Honor blood soil” were graffitied in a neighborhood park in Modesto, California. This occurred on July 1st.
In Queens, New York, a parked car was vandalized with a carving of a swastika on July 3rd.
A few other anti-Semitic incidents occurred that were better publicized by the media. DeSean Jackson, wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, posted a quote from Hitler on his Instagram story. He has since apologized to the Jewish community, but only after intense scrutiny from the media. In addition, it became public knowledge that clothing store Shein was advertising a “Metal Swastika Pendant Necklace” to the international market. The store has since taken the necklace down, and many have claimed that nothing was wrong with it in the first place because swastikas represent peace in the context of Buddhism. However, many people still found the image offensive. Despite the publicity of these two occurrences, anti-Semitism is still widely dismissed, which is incredibly frustrating to me as a Jewish American considering the previously mentioned issues.
CONCLUSION:
If you feel the need to counter what you just read with some sort of justification about why it isn’t true, ask yourself why. Why do you think it’s still okay to make Holocaust jokes? Why do you think it’s okay to tease your Jewish classmates with insensitive jokes about the stereotypes surrounding money? As someone who has dealt with seemingly harmless jokes about my religion, I can assure you that it does bother me and my Jewish peers. Please be conscious of what you say to your peers, and keep in mind the historical oppression of the Jewish people before you make an insensitive remark or dismiss the issue.
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