The recent escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas has produced a dramatic increase in anti-Semitism throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, and South Asia.
Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protestors clashed in Manhattan last Thursday despite the two sides have reached a ceasefire. Online footage shows fireworks being thrown from a vehicle into a crowd. Later that day, roughly 150 protestors stormed the Israeli consulate in New York.
“Stop telling me this is about Israel and Gaza,” said a local who was harassed while walking to his place of worship. “My people are being targeted across the United States in broad daylight. This is textbook anti-Semitism, and we will continue to live in danger until the public starts to recognize it for what it is.”
Others have been attacked simply for speaking Hebrew or wearing yarmulkes in public.
“It’s a very hard time to be a Jew in the United States right now and to see so many ignore the hatred we are seeing is incredibly painful – though nothing we’re not accustomed to,” says Jewish model Elizabeth Pipko.
Synagogues in Illinois, Utah, and Arizona have reported vandalism including broken windows, pro-Palestinian propaganda, and swastikas.
In New Jersey, a family walking home from synagogue was verbally harassed by a pro-Palestinian demonstrator who shouted, “Go back to where you came from!” The family’s three children no longer feel comfortable playing outside, said the mother.
Jewish families in Florida have also been the targets of anti-Semitism after leaving synagogue. One man claims protestors threw trash at his family and threatened to rape his wife.
In Los Angeles, a father of six was chased through a parking lot by a vehicle flying Palestinian colors as protestors chanted “Death to Jews” and “Allahu akbar.” The man now “hides behind trees” when vehicles approach if he is heading towards or away from synagogue.
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged support for the Jewish Community amid a 400% increase in hate crimes. The same trend has been identified on social media. According to the non-profit Anti-Defamation League, there has been a dramatic uptick in tweets containing the words “Hitler was right.”
Given the increased support for Palestinians in Congress (read more here), President Joe Biden is facing intense pressure to take action.
“When you have political leaders like ‘The Squad’ and those who agree with them including influencers and entertainers and the media that are giving a moral equivalency and parroting talking points of Hamas, a terrorist organization…it means that the usual people we would hope to bring down the level of the rhetoric and the hatred, it’s not going to be automatic,” said Abraham Cooper, Rabbi of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museums of Tolerance.
The increase in anti-Semitism comes after the longtime violence between Israel and Hamas escalated earlier this month after an effort was made to relocate Palestinian families living in East Jerusalem. More than 200 people have been killed in Gaza, including 64 children. At least 12 have been killed in Israel.
Sources:
US seeing wave of ‘textbook anti-Semitism’ amid Israel-Gaza tensions
LA Jewish man chased by 2 vehicles waving Palestinian flags: ‘They were yelling Allahu akbar.”