By Tara Thompson
According to a recent survey by the American Jewish Committee, nearly one out of every four Jews in the U.S. have been the subject of antisemitism during 2021. Seventeen percent of respondents in the committee’s survey said they had been the subject of an antisemitic remark in person, while twelve percent said they were the victim of an antisemitic remark online. Three percent of Jews who responded to the poll said they were the target of an antisemitic physical attack.
The report also found that, out of fear of antisemitism, 39% of American Jews changed their behavior in the course of 2021, such as by avoiding posting online content or not wearing items that would identify them as Jewish.
Just a few weeks ago in October, Governor Gavin Newsom and Congress allocated more than $150 million to support anti-hate programs that provide direct support for impacted communities and victims, and an additional $115 million for the State Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which helps nonprofit organizations that are targets of hate-motivated violence improve security at their facilities.
This has become such an issue that the Senate proposed a Bill to try and help this problem. The Bill, S.Res.252 (2021-2022), was passed on 06/14/2021 and states “the resolution (1) recommits to combating anti-Semitism in all forms; and (2) calls on elected officials, faith leaders, and civil society leaders to denounce and combat all manifestations of anti-Semitism.”
Sadly this hasn’t done much to eliminate the problem. Antisemitism is still on the rise around the world, especially in America. In the past year there have been 452 incidents reported, and 51 cases of alleged anti-Jewish vandalism, harassment and assault reported to or detected by ADL in the past month. Though this bill is a step in the right direction, there is still a lot more to be done in order to stop this terrible issue that’s sweeping the nation.
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