Naomi Gould ’22
I need to tell you how much terror I felt on Wednesday, January 6. I shared many people’s fear over the threat to our democracy and the attack on the city I live right outside of. But, I was also terrified because, as I sat glued to the television and social media, I saw pictures of men in shirts that said “Camp Auschwitz,” the Nazi extermination camp that killed over 1.1 million individuals, and “6MWE,” standing for 6 Million Wasn’t Enough, referencing the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. I saw a man performing the Nazi salute on the steps of the Capitol building.
I saw a graduate of the Jewish day school I attend post on his Instagram story to say that Proud Boys were seen in the strip mall by my house. He urged Jews like me to take down anything that may mark our houses as Jewish, such as our mezuzot, a small compartment nailed to our doorposts containing a sacred Jewish text. I sat in fear and refreshed social media to see if they were staying downtown or moving out into the suburbs.
Considering my alarm, I hoped to see many teens calling out these displays of antisemitism on social media alongside their other activism related to the events. As a result, the utter silence of non-Jews on social media on this issue took me quite by surprise. Understanding that this is merely another occasion of silence from non-Jewish activists, the question is raised of why: Why don’t non-Jews advocate for their Jewish peers in the same way that they do for any other marginalized group?
In the past few months, I’ve seen quite a few excuses online, and not just from right-wing extremists like those we saw in DC. From the left, I’ve seen some cite how many Jews have enough white privilege and economic privilege that they are not truly harmed by our society. Some are more blatant with their antisemitism, referencing the stereotypes that Jews control the media and the banks to argue that they are a powerful people victimizing themselves for more control. Add this to the ever-present notion that American Jews are partially responsible for the plight of the Palestinian people, and the narrative of Jews being the oppressors rather than the oppressed comes into the limelight.
Want some proof? A poll on the seemingly now-deleted Twitter account @PoliticalPolls asked “Who’s America’s biggest threat to society?” and the responses were “The Right,” with 51 percent of the vote, and “Jews,” with 36 percent of the vote. “ANTIFA” and “BLM” only had seven and six percent, respectively.
I could spend the remainder of this article debunking the misinformation I referenced, like how the stereotype of Jews running the banks comes from the fact that medieval lords and kings asked merchant Jews for loans, knowing their Christian citizens could not loan with interest, and when their fiefdoms fell into economic turmoil, the Jews were scapegoated and accused of causing the ruin. I could spend it explaining to you that throughout history, despite appearing white, Jews have been treated as a separate race and persecuted as a result, rendering white supremacy a severe threat to Jews. I could spend it reiterating the pleas of countless American Jews to not blame world Jewry for the actions of the Israeli government, especially as many of us look at our American government with criticism and contempt.
Instead, I want to show you the consequences of not speaking up against antisemitism and countering this misinformation. The FBI reported in their 2019 hate crime statistics that, despite Jews making up only two percent of the US population, over 60 percent of all religious hate crimes were targeted toward Jews, hate crimes against them rising by 14% since 2018. The first nationwide survey of Holocaust knowledge among millennials and Generation Z found that 63 percent of those surveyed did not know that six million Jews perished in the Holocaust, and 10 percent of respondents either denied that the Holocaust occurred or were not sure.
There are real-world, dangerous consequences to the lack of attention antisemitism receives in the news and on social media, to the excuses of self-proclaimed “intersectional activists” who leave Jews out of said activism.
So, I challenge you to take action. Please research the history of antisemitism to better understand the strong historical connections to the antisemitic tropes of today– even Britannica or Wikipedia would be enough. Please listen to Jews when we tell you when we say something is antisemitic, rather than promoting the opinion that Jews are merely victimizing themselves. And, lastly, please include Jews in your activism. Raise awareness about occurrences of antisemitism and correct your peers when they make an insensitive comment or joke.
Antisemitism is pervasive throughout American society, on the right and the left, among the old and the young. We need all the support we can get to combat it.
the len(z) 