Dear Activist,

Anti-Semitism is rooted in international history. While we look back on history to prevent the past from repeating itself, high numbers of Jewish people continue to face oppression today. Anti-Semitism, by definition, is any form of violence or discrimination that is geared towards the Jewish population. Those hostile acts consist of beating and attacking Jews, vandalizing synagogues, and painting swastikas on graves and in public bathrooms.

According to an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) poll, “more than one billion people worldwide hold antisemitic views.” The poll recorded information from 102 countries in 2014, and the rates of anti-Semitic violence have only escalated since then. Among the one billion people, 35% had “never heard of the Holocaust,” and 70% had “never actually met a Jewish person.” Additionally, 23% of those people claim that Jews should be blamed for inciting a majority of the world’s wars.

The Conversation states that there was a “visible upsurge” in the rates of anti-Semitism in 2017. Germany, France, the United States, and Canada, in particular, experienced numerous acts of violence geared towards Jewish populations that same year. In fact, Canada recorded a 16.5% increase in anti-Semitic attacks with 2,041 cases throughout the country.

In 2018, ADL conducted a survey to determine the severity of anti-Semitism and its impact on Jews. The survey found that “80 percent of European Jews feel that antisemitism in their country has increased over the past five years.” Within that 80%, 40% of Jewish people fear for their safety on an everyday basis.

The History of Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism has existed for centuries. Jewish oppression originates in the first century of the Common Era as a result of “Christians’ hostility towards their parent religion for refusing to accept Jesus of Nazareth as the long-awaited Jewish Messiah,” according to the Conversation. Since then, anti-Semitism remains prevalent and Jews continue to be discriminated against.

In Medieval Europe, Jews were repressed economically, socially, and politically. They were denied citizenship, restricted from enlisting in the military, barred from exploring several professions, and could not hold positions of power. As stated by Britannica, Jewish people, in the 12th-century, were forced into wearing a yellow badge that deemed them Jews. The yellow badges were also reinstated by Nazi Germany later on.

The Holocaust, one of the most well-known genocides in history, caused the deaths of more than six millions Jews. Britannica claims that “anti-Semitism reached a racial dimension never before experienced” in Nazi Germany. Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945, was dedicated to creating an “ideal” Aryan race. In doing so, he sent Jews to concentration camps where they faced death, harsh working conditions, gas chambers, and little food. Hitler thought that the murder of all Jews would act as the “final solution” in ridding the world of all its problems.

Anti-Semitic Acts on a Global Scale

The number of anti-Semitic cases has escalated within the past couple of months alone. In Paris, France, an Israeli student was on a subway and beaten for “allegedly speaking Hebrew on his phone,” according to ADL. The student was brutally beaten until he fell unconscious. Westhoffen, France also recorded an incident of anti-Semitism; more than 100 graves were vandalized with swastikas at a Jewish cemetery.

Additionally, a student in Berlin, Germany was “allegedly strangled by three peers while they yelled anti-Semitic abuse at him.” In Randers, Denmark, more than 80 Jewish tombstones were damaged in November of 2019: the anniversary of Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht, also known as the Night of Broken Glass, marked a day of mass attacks on Jewish property and people.

In the United States, an armed man yelled “all Jews must die” and opened fire on Jews at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The shooting resulted in 11 deaths and six wounded people, and the attack is deemed “the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the U.S.”

Another case of anti-Semitic violence took place in London, United Kingdom in 2019. ADL recorded the hospitalization of a rabbi, who was attacked on Shabbat “by two teenagers who yelled ‘kill Jews’ and other anti-Semitic remarks.” In Stockholm and Helsingborg, Sweden, yellow stickers that resembled the notorious Nazi yellow stars were “put on the Jewish community center in Stockholm, the Great Synagogue of Stockholm, and on Jewish institutions in Helsingborg.”

Activate Change

Anti-Semitic acts of violence cannot be accounted for. After generations of discrimination, minorities continue to live in fear and uncertainty. They have been stripped of their fundamental human rights and treated as outsiders. This can no longer be the case. We have come so far in progressing from the past, and yet we still see alarming rates of religious discrimination. We are capable of putting an end to the violence and oppression.

• Donate to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) by making a one-time donation or scheduled payments.
• Visit ADL’s “Tracker of Anti-Semitic Incidents” to stay up to date on Jewish oppression and violence. Education is the first step in alleviating international issues.
• Contact your elected officials to demand justice and push for new policies to be enacted to combat this problem.
• Call out anti-Semitic acts and spread awareness about this form of discrimination on all social platforms. You are capable of reaching a broad audience through technology!
• Look through the UK Jewish Charity Guide to learn about various organizations fighting anti-Semitism globally. The guide also provides links to donate to those organizations.
• Volunteer for and donate to the League of Jewish Women: an organization “working for the Jewish and wider community.”
• Read the stories of Holocaust survivors on the Holocaust Educational Fund’s website. Click here to read over 20 stories!

Discrimination is not justifiable. The remnants of the Common Era and the Holocaust exist today, and it is time for change. Change is well overdue, and it is imperative that we demand justice in response to the violence. It is our moral obligation to seek out international issues and fight for human rights. Differences can no longer divide us; we must embrace those differences and forge bright futures.

Cordially,

Nika Tarkian