Anti-Semitism is on the rise today. In October 2018 the deadliest antisemitic attack happened in the U.S. The crime occurred at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue. Robert Bowers, a white supremacist, entered the synagogue during worship. He opened fire killing eleven congregants and wounding others. Bowers allegedly told police that "he wanted to kill Jews." On his social media, he reportedly condemned Jews for bringing immigrants into the country.Incidents continued in 2019 ending with a week of antisemitic attacks in New York City. The attacks started on Monday of the last week of 2019 where a 65-year-old man was punched and kicked near Manhattan by another man who was yelling ""F*** you, Jew," On the same day, a 67-year-old man in Brooklyn reported that a group of teenagers approached two young boys, striking them from behind. On Tuesday a 25-year-old man in Brooklyn reported that a group of people began yelling anti-Semitic slurs at him as he walked. One of them also threw their drink at him. Also in Brooklyn, a 56-year-old man said a group of people approached him and one of them punched him. On Christmas, a 40-year-old man dressed in "traditional religious clothing" walking home was approached by an individual who blocked his path. That individual allegedly punched the victim in the face when the man tried to let him pass. On Thursday a woman was charged with assault as a hate crime after she allegedly attacked a 34-year-old Jewish woman in front of her child. On Friday Tiffany Harris, 30, was arrested and charged with harassment as a hate crime after she allegedly slapped three women in the head and face. In another incident, a black man walked into the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters and allegedly threatened to shoot and kill people in the center. Lastly, on Saturday, December 28, 2019, in Monsey, NY, during a Hanukkah celebration at the home of a Hasidic Rabbi, an intruder armed with a knife burst into his home and stabbed and wounded five people.
These events that happened less than a month ago show that Antisemitism is very much an issue today and is on the rise. The annual audit of reported incidents compiles data on assaults, vandalism, and harassment. In 2018, ADL recorded "1,879 anti-Semitic events in 46 states and the District of Columbia. The 2018 total number of incidents was the third-highest number recorded since ADL started tracking this data. While the 2018 incidents decreased by 5% from the previous year, 2018’s total is 48% higher than the number of incidents in 2016 and 99% higher than in 2015.
What can be done to stop antisemitism?
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/29/us/jewish-attacks-week-new-york-trnd/index.html
https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/anti-semitism-today
Antisemitism is a complex issue that may never have the ability to be solved. People have all of these crazy conspiracies that they make up in their minds that don't make any sense. And people will believe what they want to believe. And it is hard to change people's mind when they're so far into a conspiracy that they believe that Jewish people rule the world and for what reason we should hate them. So, while I think that violent hate crimes against Jewish people can be reduced. I do not know if the overall mindset that people have toward Jews will change anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mia; I’m not sure if there is a way to solve anti-semitism because the conspiracy theorists will not listen to logic. They believe the Jews control everything by proxy. This means that even in places where Jews are a minority, Jews run society because they use other people in order to maintain control. Of course, there is no proof of this. Nonetheless, conspiracy believers respond by explaining the fact that you can’t see the Jewish plot to control the world is all part of their master plan. Then, when there is proof that debunks their theories, like all the times The Protocols of the Elders of Zion has been disproved, conspiracy theorists won’t listen. They once again think it is all part of the Jews’ plan for world domination. I predict this will continue to get worse, not better, as social media brings them together with a degree of anonymity and allows them to egg each other on.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure if there is a way to solve anti-antisemitism because the conspiracy theorists will not listen to logic, people will believe anything about something that they don't like.
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