Over the last few years,
many American Jews have realized that anti-Semitism is not a thing of the past.
Some people have blamed the rise in hatred on Trump.
But this is more than just a political problem.
Anti-Semitism exists throughout American culture,
and it will take more than a new president to fight hatred towards Jews.
After the shooting in the Pittsburgh synagogue in October,
I met students who were shocked to discover
that anti-Semitism is real and exists in their communities today.
They had heard about it in history class.
But they had never personally felt hated for their religion.
Other American Jews seem to be experiencing similar shock.
J-Street, a liberal Jewish advocacy group, took a poll on election night.
The group found that 78 percent of respondents believed
anti-Semitism has been increasing in recent years.
J-Street, along with other Jewish groups, argue that
the Trump administration has facilitated this rise in anti-Semitism
by refusing to condemn the white nationalists and anti-Semites at crucial moments,
like after that rally in Charlottesville that left a woman dead.
The question we should be asking is
whether the latest wave of anti-Semitism can be stopped with elections alone.
The problem of anti-Semitism is complicated, and it’s existed for a long time.
Jews have been the victims of the majority of religiously motivated hate crimes
in the United States every year since 1995,
which is the first year that the FBI began publishing these statistics.
In recent years, online communities have coordinated campaigns of harassment
against local Jewish communities, journalists, politicians and
celebrity figures like George Soros.
Networks of white supremacists and anti-Semites extend across national borders.
Individuals have been able to cause terror
with nothing more than bathroom graffiti or shouting at a theater performance.
The latest wave of anti-Semitism culminated in the deadly shooting in Pittsburgh,
which left 11 Jews dead, and a number of others injured.
But the alleged gunman apparently hated Trump.
He supposedly believed the President Trump didn’t go far enough
to keep immigrants and non-white people out of the country.
It’s not clear that having Hillary Clinton in office would have stopped him
from carrying out this awful attack.
And besides, political movements on the left
have also been accused of fostering anti-Semitism:
The Women’s March lost tons of support this year
because of the way its leaders allegedly treated their Jewish colleagues.
Violent hatred has always been a central part of America’s history--against Jews,
yes, but also against immigrants, against African Americans,
against LGBT people.
This is especially alarming in Europe, where anti-Semitism led to the Holocaust,
the largest slaughter of Jews in history.
Far-right parties have gained power in Austria,
Hungary, Poland, Germany, Italy, and more,
and terrorist attacks by groups claiming affiliation with ISIS
and other Muslim extremist groups have undermined
the Jewish community’s sense of safety.
A recent CNN poll revealed that a quarter of Europeans believe
Jews have too much influence in business, finance, and wars across the world.
So, how do we stop this?
Elected leaders absolutely have a role to play in stopping hate.
Trump’s actions and words have brought new attention to this problem,
and he has arguably made it worse.
But maybe there’s a silver lining in all of this.
Americans are talking about anti-semitism again.
And maybe all of this renewed energy and attention can be transformed into solutions.
Maybe that generation of students who felt all of that fear in Pittsburgh,
will be resolved to keep anti-Semitism out of America.