A snapshot of American Jew-hatred
Headlines reverberate with news of rising antisemitism. But how widespread is Jew-hatred in the United States? The Anti-Defamation League has queried Americans about antisemitism since 1964. Its latest survey captured changes, including the virtual disappearance of the gap between traditionally tolerant young adults (ages 18 to 30) and older Americans. Beyond that, 39% of respondents believed American … Continue reading
Harvard University ranks first in antisemitism
Harvard prides itself on ranking first in all things. And now they do—on three measures of campus antisemitism. The AMCHA Initiative, which tracks campus antisemitism, recently issued a report covering the 2021-2022 school year. It quantifies threats to Jewish identity, explained as the redefinition, denigration and suppression of Jewish identity. Amcha’s study shows a coordinated attempt to redefine … Continue reading
Sally Rooney’s nonsensical anti-Israel statement
The controversy surrounding Irish author Sally Rooney’s new novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You, appears to be on the downswing. Now that Rooney has clarified that she takes issue with Israel, and not the Hebrew language spoken by Israelis, the public discussion has morphed. At least in some quarters, there appears to be less heat and … Continue reading
The Troubling Prevalence of Antisemitic Attacks in Brooklyn
The FBI recently reported hate crime data for 2020 showing that Jews remain widely susceptible to attacks. Fifty-eight percent of religiously motivated attacks in 2020 involved Jewish victims, accounting for 9 percent of all hate crimes last year. While those numbers look grim for a group that makes up only about 2 percent of the … Continue reading
What Does It Mean To Be Jewish?
Ben M. Freeman writes that his new book, Jewish Pride: Rebuilding a People, isn’t about fighting antisemitism. But there’s no way to understand the Jewish Pride movement the Hong Kong-based Holocaust educator hopes to build without understanding both the history of Jew hatred and its multiple forms. Since Jew hate is what’s historically driven Jews to … Continue reading
Jews are under attack across the world
It’s time to speak out against rising antisemitism (nytimes.com). While Israelis hunkered down in bomb shelters to avoid Hamas’s missiles, Diaspora Jews encountered an antisemitic storm. The sort of antisemitic chants, threats, and attacks Jews have become accustomed to seeing in Europe went global. Anti-Zionist fueled antisemitism has very clearly migrated to the New World. … Continue reading
EU court prioritizes animals over Jews and Muslims in backing ritual slaughter ban
What a way to bookend a year. In January, the world marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. World leaders gathered and solemnly promised, “Never again.” Here we are in December, and while there is no new Holocaust, Europe is making Jews and Muslims feel remarkably unwelcome in their own homes. On Thursday, the Court … Continue reading
HOLOCAUST ANALOGIES AND TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY VICTIMHOOD
Food Network chef Alton Brown recently starred in his own Holocaust-related Twitter controversy. After angering some fans by sharing that he has voted for Republicans in the past, Brown wrotein since-deleted tweets, “Do you think the camp uniforms will be striped, like the ones at Auschwitz or will plaid be in vogue?” Someone responded, “Depends on … Continue reading
Quasi-Religious Parenting
Nearly a decade ago, long before I was the mother of four, I was a pregnant woman preparing for motherhood. Having learned about mission statements in a graduate school class, I thought my husband and I should have one for the massive parenting project we would shortly undertake. I can still picture us standing in … Continue reading
melissa langsam braunstein 
Why a black DEI director wasn’t woke enough for her campus
Posted by melissa braunstein on April 19, 2023 · Leave a Comment
Diversity, equity, and inclusion offices theoretically exist to foster welcoming campuses. But too often, where Jews are concerned, those offices are dismissive, exclusionary, and insensitive, leaving Jewish students , staff, and faculty feeling stigmatized. Black DEI professional Tabia Lee wrote about such hostility on her now-former campus for Compact magazine: “When I brought Jewish speakers to campus to address anti-Semitism and the … Continue reading →
Filed under Clips, Cultural Commentary, Judaism, Politics · Tagged with Antisemitism, Jews