By Sadie Urtz
Anti Semitism is on the rise in America. A new survey was put out by the American Jewish committee earlier this year, and the findings indicate that four in ten Jews are more worried for their safety than they were a year ago.
We are seeing more and more celebrities expose their true colors when it comes to antisemitic behaviors. Most notable and recently, we have seen Kanye West (Ye) act extremely antisemitic on various podcasts and in various videos. Ye can be quoted saying “Jews run the world”, Jews control the money”, “I’m not going to say what kind of doctor but it was a Jew”, among other remarks.
However, it is not just Kanye. Professional athletes have been called out for using Jewish slurs in their personal life, recently, NBA player Meyers Leonard was re-signed into the NBA after being kicked out for using a Jewish slur during a video game live stream. The fact that he’s being allowed back into the NBA shows how much the NBA commissioners know about antisemitism and its effects. Former President Donald Trump has recently been seen getting dinner with various holocaust deniers as well.
Anti Semitism is surrounding us.
It is not just comments and slurs either, it is violence towards the Jewish community. In 2021, anti semitic incidents were at an all time high. In 2021, incidents reached over two thousand, totalling 2,717 incidents of violence, harassment, and vandalism. That is only the count of reported incidents, there are hundreds more that go unnoticed. The assault number was up 167% from 2020 to 2021, which is not to be taken lightly at all.
The reason for this is because uneducated people have a sense of distrust with the Jewish community. Jewish stereotypes indicate that Jews are constantly in control of the economy, and the money, of the country, and this causes people to worry. People who believe these conspiracies about Jews being all powerful are uneducated and it leads to violence and death, an unsafe country for Jews.
New York is the most Jewish state, with 7% of NY being Jeiwsh, and it is where Jews have reported feeling the most unsafe. Non-Jewish people must do their part to make Jews feel more safe in their neighborhoods, and in the country as a whole. It is normalized to not understand anti semitic words and images, but it shouldn’t be. Non-jews should be educated on what is and is not anti semitic so they can do their part and stand up for their Jewish neighbors.
As a Jewish woman living in New York, I can speak on behalf of Jews when I say please feel free to ask questions. Never be afraid to ask Jews about their culture, about anti semitism, or anything you might have a question on. The only way to combat acts of violence on Jews is to become educated.