Paige Rawiszer ‘22
"Anti-semitism is surely not new in America, or the world, but the ignorance surrounding the presence of modern-day antisemitism is astounding. It is shocking to see that there are many uneducated and blissfully ignorant Americans who believe that the Holocaust was the beginning and the end of prejudice towards Jewish-identifying people."
I have never been threatened by my Judaism. Growing up in Southern Florida, I went to an Episcopal-affiliated school, but my seventh-grade weekends were filled with extravagant bar and bat mitzvahs on Saturday nights. I never dealt with feelings of shame or vulnerability when it came to my identity; Judaism was simply intertwined into my upbringing and was demonstrated through numerous cultural events. It was never something I had to hide. Coming to Cate, my Judaism quickly shifted from the overwhelming majority to the minority. Though I never felt ashamed or frightened, I did endure minor indiscretions and small, yet piercing jokes. I have dealt with the moments that lack comfortability, like the stares while reading The Merchant of Venice in freshman year Humanities class. I have dealt with subtle remarks about stereotypes that propagate the idea that my Judaism is something to be ashamed of. These moments, though not fully accepting, have never made me feel unsafe. They are, however, always a gentle reminder of the danger that lies beyond my bubble of safety. This bubble breaks occasionally. It cracks when I read the headlines or recount the details of the Holocaust. It pops when I remember that as a Jewish person, there are places I am not safe to go in the Deep South, or even in the most urban of areas too, as anti-semitism is not generational teaching only confined to the South.
My bubble shattered on January 6th, 2021. I watched as hatred and vengeance took over a place that represents security and hope for the future. I watched as some of the people that took over, who, if given the opportunity, would kill me. And no, that is not an overstatement or an exaggeration--it is simply a fact. I saw the 6MWE social media posts--“6 million weren’t enough”--a reference to the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. They dressed in clothes with “Camp Auschwitz” on the front and “Counselor” on the back, declaring their wish to be the counselors of a place where over 1.1 million Jews had died. They wanted to be the ones to be “in charge” of the murders. Never once had it been more clear than at that moment that my bubble was merely a shield blinding me from the horrifying discrimination that lay on the other side. It defended me from the horrors that stood outside of my safety areas, but that did not mean they weren’t still there.
Anti-semitism is surely not new in America, or the world, but the ignorance surrounding the presence of modern-day antisemitism is astounding. It is shocking to see that there are many uneducated and blissfully ignorant Americans who believe that the Holocaust was the beginning and the end of prejudice towards Jewish-identifying people. The lack of teaching of historical events of anti-semitism and the Holocaust itself could be to blame. According to the Soufan Center, a research organization dedicated to “global security issues in the United States and around the world,” “...adults between the ages of 18 and 39 (spanning so-called Gen Z and millennials)...nearly one-quarter of respondents said that they believed the Holocaust was a myth, was overstated, or they were not sure.” This lack of teaching and understanding only further perpetuates events like what was witnessed in the Capitol. It is also important to note the presence of antisemitism that has recently appeared in popular cultures, arts, and film. Harmful stereotypes are pushed to audiences as harmless jokes when in reality, the real meanings behind these stereotypes are anything but harmless. It is these stereotypes: greedy, power-hungry, evil, good with money, etc., that sustain Neo-Nazism and White Supremacist ideologies and that further endanger the lives of Jewish members of America. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has a collection of over 500 years of antisemitism propaganda, The Katz Ehrenthal Collection, in which, “The same hateful stereotypes reappear throughout the collection, spanning centuries and continents.” Over 500 years of evidence in the collection prove that there has been little to no difference in the stereotypes presented. While the world has been advancing through technology and diplomacy, the same hateful and dangerous stereotypes about Jews continue to seep through, no matter the advancement. What happened to progress? These examples of lack of education and propaganda techniques genuinely lead to life-threatening events for Jews. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is an organization that works to stop the spread of antisemitism and report hate crimes that media outlets do not always report. Their ADL Tracker of Antisemitic Incidents that reports cases of anti-Jewish crime recorded “more than 2,100 acts of assault, vandalism, and harassment, an increase of 12 percent over the previous year. This is the highest level of antisemitic incidents since ADL’s tracking began in 1979.” This statistic, though shocking, is understandable, as antisemitism over the last couple of years has become, in a way, more acceptable. This was clearly demonstrated in what was witnessed in the Capitol. I, for one, have noticed that many are much more comfortable in openly projecting their anti-semitic views, on social media and in conversation, when compared to the past. This hatred leads to the increase in the real-life threatening and antisemitic events that we have become too comfortable with. In January 2021 alone, the Anti Degamation League’s Antisemeite tracker reported 24 antisemitic crimes in the United States. These are real statistics that the majority of the country is ignorant of. In fact, I was even ignorant of these events. We must as individuals make a point to teach antisemitism to stop the comfortability of hatred. At Cate, we can most certainly do better in this by incorporating antisemitism prevention and education into the forefront of curriculums.
The hatred and prejudice surrounding Jews are real. There is no denying the rise of neo-nazism and antisemitic events over the last couple of years in America or the ignorance and denials of the average American. The importance of combatting antisemitism and antisemitic ideas and propaganda can not be overstated. It is up to each individual to stop attacks against Jewish friends and family and to include dismantling threats against Judaism in their advocacy. If not, hate crimes and threats will only continue to skyrocket. Let us not allow another 500 years to progress while antisemitism remains the same.
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