Rise in antisemitism requires access to resources to respond with education and advocacy for human rights

Rise of overt antisemitism in Jersey Shore towns: An Asbury Park Press investigation by the Asbury Park Press staff
Asbury Park Press and other sources:

Editor's note: Antisemitism isn't just on the rise in the Lakewood area. It's becoming more aggressive and it's happening out in the open. The Asbury Park Press spoke to community leaders, residents old and new and analyzed hundreds of police bias incident reports to get a sense of how antisemitism has become a part of daily life in several Jersey Shore towns. Here's what we found:

The Atlantic: Most people do not realize that Jews make up just 2 percent of the U.S. population and 0.2 percent of the world’s population. This means simply finding them takes a lot of effort. But every year in Western countries, including America, Jews are the No. 1 target of anti-religious hate crimes. Anti-Semites are many things, but they aren’t lazy. They’re animated by one of the most durable and deadly conspiracy theories in human history. (Yair Rosenberg)

According to published reports, New Jersey recorded the third-highest level of antisemitism in the nation in 2022, the most recent year of data. This was a 25% increase over the previous year, which at that time had been the highest ever recorded.

Wikipedia report:  The history of Antisemitism in New Jersey dates to the establishment of the Province of New Jersey. Prior to the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, Jewish people were excluded from living in many white Christian neighborhoods throughout New Jersey due to the use of restrictive covenants and quotas. Between the 1920s and 1950s, quota systems were instituted at universities in New Jersey to limit the number of Jewish people, including at Rutgers University and Princeton University. During the 2010s, and 2020s, New Jersey has seen an increase in reported incidents of antisemitic vandalism and violence.

New Jersey isn’t alone:

• A Brooklyn teacher told CBS News New York that students called her a dirty Jew and drew swastikas on her desk and bulletin boards. She notes Jewish students have left the school as a result of antisemitic incidents.
• A parent of a student in Westport, Connecticut wrote in Newsweek that his son was subjected to ongoing antisemitic harassment from other students, shouting at him phrases such as, “We must exterminate the Jews!” and pointing a squirt gun at him while yelling, “Shoot the Jew!”

There is a marked increase in desecration of Jewish ritual items such as mezuzot and menorahs, in antisemitic messages blaming Jews for 9/11 and either cheering or denying the Holocaust and in threats of violence and murder against Jews at colleges and universities—including posting the names, faces and faculty positions of Jewish professors.

This rise in hatred is a state and national problem. Education plays a key role in reducing hatred and building safe, inclusive environments for all students. Schools must help students deal with the fear resulting from highly publicized news stories involving antisemitism, such as the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. The story was again recently in the news following the sentencing of the perpetrator.

Knowing how best to deal with antisemitic incidents is only part of the solution. The best time to address antisemitic acts against students and staff is before they happen. Learning more about how to recognize and address evidence of antisemitism can prevent such incidents from occurring. That is critical because even the best-addressed incident of antisemitism leaves a lasting mark on the students and staff who experience it.

Below are several resources to help NJEA members counter antisemitism in their schools and communities.
Resources to combat antisemitism

NJEA (New Jersey) Review
“Connecting educators with Holocaust education resources”
njea.org/connecting-educators-with-holocaust-education-resources

National Education Association
Resources to Counter Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial
nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/resources-counter-antisemitism-and-holocaust-denial

“Taking on Antisemitism on CollegeCampuses”
nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/taking-antisemitism-college-campuses

New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education
Curriculum guides and materials for the Holocaust, genocide and human rights
nj.gov/education/holocaust/curr/materials

U.S. Department of Education
Resources for Preventing and Addressing Antisemitism in Schools
sites.ed.gov/cfbnp/resources-for-preventing-and-addressing-antisemitism-
in-schools