THE PROBLEM:

Antisemtism

We are facing the alarming reality that antisemitism is on the rise. It is coming from the traditional far-right, far-left and Islamist sources. There is also mounting evidence that antisemitism is becoming more mainstream even in America. There are increasing numbers of attacks against Jews, including arson, vandalism, and direct physical violence in synagogues or other communal institutions. Jews are forced to adopt more and more security, living behind walls, metal detectors, and guards. Rabbis now regularly announce the location of synagogue exits, should the need to evacuate quickly arise.

We have witnessed antisemitism in the media, online, in classroom textbooks, in student interactions, in teacher training, by school administrations, by professors, in the halls of Congress, on billboards, in some churches, and even in our cemeteries. In our politically charged environment, antisemitic slurs, which would have been universally decried in the past, are tolerated . . . and then imitated. Extremists feel emboldened by each new instance of antisemitic activity. Who thought in America that Jewish people, including their children, would need to go through “active shooter” drills.

In the last few decades, antisemitism has been imported by outside sources. The government of Qatar, which owns the Al Jazeera media network, has donated over $1 billion to six U.S. universities to promote an anti-Israel and antisemitic agenda. In addition, the Saudi government has paid for Middle Eastern chairs at major U.S. universities while filling our public libraries with free anti-Israel books and videos for decades.

Antisemitic forces have aligned themselves with communities of color, which they work to manipulate in order to turn whole communities against Israel and the Jewish people. This is a coordinated effort on many fronts. Through lies, half-truths, and misinformation, they are able to distort and manipulate facts, replacing them with fictions that are widely accepted as truth. A recent study by the ADL shows that out of a population of 4.1 billion people on five continents, a stunning 26% (1.1 billion) harbor antisemitic attitudes. 

The message of antisemitic forces, although false, is clear, simple, and oft-repeated, which has allowed it to gain a foothold. By contrast, pro-Israel organizations and others seeking to combat antisemitism work in a silo. As a result, some issues go entirely unaddressed. Those that do receive attention are often addressed by multiple groups but with inconsistent—sometimes even directly contradictory—strategies and messaging. Consequently, even pro-Israel groups often serve to weaken the effort of combating antisemitism. 

Having been involved in the world of defending Jews and Israel for over 18 years, StandWithUs does not know of any groups consistently working together to tackle this problem. It is also clear that those that claim to be fighting antisemitism would benefit from a strategic, coordinated effort, but that currently does not exist.  Lets face it, because of limited funding, most organizations fighting in this space of controlling antisemitic incidents after the occur.  What is also needed is a proactive educational response to ensure it does not occur in the first place

THE SOLUTION:

Coalition

We are facing the alarming reality that antisemitism is on the rise. It is coming from the traditional far-right, far-left and Islamist sources. There is also mounting evidence that antisemitism is becoming more mainstream even in America. There are increasing numbers of attacks against Jews, including arson, vandalism, and direct physical violence in synagogues or other communal institutions. Jews are forced to adopt more and more security, living behind walls, metal detectors, and guards. Rabbis now regularly announce the location of synagogue exits, should the need to evacuate quickly arise.

We have witnessed antisemitism in the media, online, in classroom textbooks, in student interactions, in teacher training, by school administrations, by professors, in the halls of Congress, on billboards, in some churches, and even in our cemeteries. In our politically charged environment, antisemitic slurs, which would have been universally decried in the past, are tolerated . . . and then imitated. Extremists feel emboldened by each new instance of antisemitic activity. Who thought in America that Jewish people, including their children, would need to go through “active shooter” drills.

In the last few decades, antisemitism has been imported by outside sources. The government of Qatar, which owns the Al Jazeera media network, has donated over $1 billion to six U.S. universities to promote an anti-Israel and antisemitic agenda. In addition, the Saudi government has paid for Middle Eastern chairs at major U.S. universities while filling our public libraries with free anti-Israel books and videos for decades.

Antisemitic forces have aligned themselves with communities of color, which they work to manipulate in order to turn whole communities against Israel and the Jewish people. This is a coordinated effort on many fronts. Through lies, half-truths, and misinformation, they are able to distort and manipulate facts, replacing them with fictions that are widely accepted as truth. A recent study by the ADL shows that out of a population of 4.1 billion people on five continents, a stunning 26% (1.1 billion) harbor antisemitic attitudes. 

The message of antisemitic forces, although false, is clear, simple, and oft-repeated, which has allowed it to gain a foothold. By contrast, pro-Israel organizations and others seeking to combat antisemitism work in a silo. As a result, some issues go entirely unaddressed. Those that do receive attention are often addressed by multiple groups but with inconsistent—sometimes even directly contradictory—strategies and messaging. Consequently, even pro-Israel groups often serve to weaken the effort of combating antisemitism. 

Having been involved in the world of defending Jews and Israel for over 18 years, StandWithUs does not know of any groups consistently working together to tackle this problem. It is also clear that those that claim to be fighting antisemitism would benefit from a strategic, coordinated effort, but that currently does not exist.  Lets face it, because of limited funding, most organizations fighting in this space of controlling antisemitic incidents after the occur.  What is also needed is a proactive educational response to ensure it does not occur in the first place