As the war between Israel and Hamas continues, so too does the wave of antisemitism (hostility or prejudice towards Jewish people) that has crashed through the nation.
According to an article by voanews.com, “The Anti-Defamation League, an American Jewish advocacy group, documented a staggering 832 antisemitic incidents of assault, vandalism and harassment between October 7, the day Hamas attacked Israel, and November 7[2023].”
While most of these 832 antisemitic incidents did not result in physical harm, hundreds of them were hate speech and other hate crimes (a prejudice-motivated crime, which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their physical appearance or perceived membership of a certain social group).
While most of these antisemitic acts were out in public areas, many incidents were also recorded on campus’ across the country. One of the hate crimes seen on campus was an incident at Drexel University where students lit a Jewish student’s door on fire. This incident was a prime example of the hostility currently being shown to Jewish people across the U.S. through hate crimes.
The Israel – Palestine conflict has been in existence for a long time. Antisemitic actions based on the conflicts have also been existent for a long time, but are now reaching a high with the spike in conflict between the two groups.
Jumps in antisemitism have been seen multiple times in the last century, often resulting from a similar reason.
“‘Our data across three decades clearly show huge percentage spikes in anti-Jewish hate crime in the U.S. when there is war in the Holy Land,’ said Levin (an expert who has researched the link between antisemitism in the U.S. and overseas conflicts),” according to an article on voanews.com.
While the U.S. has been hit hard by antisemitism, so too has the rest of the world. One of these places is the continent of Europe, whose people have taken to the streets to express their opinions on the matter.
“Marchers at the Brussels Rally held up signs reading ‘You don’t have to be Jewish to march against antisemitism,’ ‘antisemitism kills,’ and other slogans. Police said at least 4,000 people attended.’ said in an article by apnews.com.
If you encounter any forms of antisemitism within the community you must report these incidents to your local Jewish community or law officials. You can learn more about antisemitism and how to prevent it at adl.org.
Christoph Bach • Mar 20, 2024 at 11:44 am
Hollon did well at addressing this topic in a respectful manner, explaining each part of the problem and how it has affected the U.S., as well as other parts of the world. He used multiple, credible sources to add to his claims and did well in comparing his findings from one source with another. He did well in explaining words and topics that may be confusing to some readers, which allowed easier digestion of the article’s message. I also appreciate how he added a website for readers to learn more about antisemitism and how to prevent it.
Though I value the content of this article, if anything were to be added,I’d suggest adding more background of when antisemitism started and began to rise in the U.S. I think it would create a more urgent atmosphere if the readers could understand how much it has grown and how much of a problem it has become. Adding accounts from peers and their families could also help in exemplifying the urgency of this issue. Inputting more background on the Israel – Palestine conflict could also help readers understand the cause of this spike in antisemitism.
Simone Jackson • Feb 14, 2024 at 9:35 am
Liam Hollon wrote an article titled “Anti Semitism Throughout The U.S.”. This article does a very good job of informing readers on the devastating wave of antisemitism going on in the United States currently. The writer explains the current ongoing global events that are influencing antisemitism by introducing the war going on between Israel and Hamas. The writer made a great choice to begin with this piece of information because it makes sure all readers understand the context behind the surge of antisemitism. The author then goes on to share a quote that a publication published about the staggering amount of harassment and hate crimes that have occurred during the month after the Hamas attacked Israel. The article then goes on to note a specific event that happened on the campus of Drexel University, where a student lit a Jewish students door on fire. This incident serves as a prime example of how the Jewish community is being the target of anti-Jewish hate crimes very blatantly, right here in our communities. A suggestion I would make to the writer, for further perspective would be to provide more specific examples of hate crimes here in the US, so that the article uses both sufficient amounts of both statistical data and examples. The author then goes on to note that historically, Palestine and Israel have always had conflict, however hate crime rates are undeniably spiking. There is a well-established pattern in the US, that anti-Jewish hate crimes rise whenever there is a war in Israel. This helps to show the audience that we as Americans must do better to stand up for religious intolerance in our own communities, and not to let the actions of other countries dictate how we treat entire groups of people. The article ends with sharing how Europe is another hot spot where antisemitism is on the rise, and encourages all people to stand up for the Jewish community. This well-written article does an excellent job of bringing awareness to this pressing issue, enabling and empowering readers to be aware of antisemitism and do their part to stop religious discrimination and acts of hate.
Simone Jackson • Feb 14, 2024 at 9:31 am
Liam Hollon wrote an article titled “Anti Semitism Throughout The U.S.”. This article does a very good job of informing readers on the devastating wave of antisemitism going on in the United States currently. The writer explains the current ongoing global events that are influencing antisemitism by introducing the war going on between Israel and Hamas. The writer made a great choice to begin with this piece of information because it makes sure all readers understand the context behind the surge of antisemitism. The author then goes on to share a quote that a publication published about the staggering amount of harassment and hate crimes that have occurred during the month after the Hamas attacked Israel. The article then goes on to note a specific event that happened on the campus of Drexel University, where a student lit a Jewish students door on fire. This incident serves as a prime example of how the Jewish community is being the target of anti-Jewish hate crimes very blatantly, right here in our communities. A suggestion I would make to the writer, for further perspective would be to provide more specific examples of hate crimes here in the US, so that the article uses both sufficient amounts of both statistical data and examples. The author then goes on to note that historically, Palestine and Israel have always had conflict, however hate crime rates are undeniably spiking. There is a well-established pattern in the US, that anti-Jewish hate crimes rise whenever there is a war in Israel. This helps to show the audience that we as Americans must do better to stand up for religious intolerance in our own communities, and not to let the actions of other countries dictate how we treat entire groups of people. The article ends with sharing how Europe is another hot spot where antisemitism is on the rise, and encourages all people to stand up for the Jewish community. This well-written article does an excellent job of bringing awareness to this pressing issue, enabling and empowering readers to be aware of antisemitism and do their part to religious discrimination and acts of hate.
Ethan Barnhart-Ross • Feb 13, 2024 at 1:12 pm
On January 29, 2024, Liam Hollon wrote an article titled Antisemitism Throughout The U.S. This article discusses the rise in antisemitic incidents throughout the U.S. as of late. As a Jewish person that has experienced antisemitism on campus it is nice to see people writing about and trying to spread awareness of the topic. Many gentiles are often unaware of or sometimes even purposely ignore antisemitism which only makes the issue worse, making articles like these important. One thing I think this article could have benefited from is interviewing some of the Jewish people here at Millikan about their experiences to show that these issues also happen here in our community and mentioning the Jewish Student Union club as a good place to learn about Judaism and antisemitism. I like how the article mentioned that jumps in antisemitism often occur when Israel is attacked and also how it is an issue in the whole world, not just the U.S. However, I do think the article could have been improved by mentioning ways antisemitism is often disguised. Dog Whistles such as triple parentheses/echo and the numbers 14 and 88 are often used to hide antisemitism in plain sight while providing the antisemite plausible deniability. Overall I think this is a good article that is about an important topic in today’s world that people are often unaware of.
Francesca A. • Feb 13, 2024 at 10:54 am
Hollon did well at addressing this topic in a respectful manner, explaining each part of the problem and how it has affected the U.S., as well as other parts of the world. He used multiple, credible sources to add to his claims and did well in comparing his findings from one source with another. He did well in explaining words and topics that may be confusing to some readers, which allowed easier digestion of the article’s message. I also appreciate how he added a website for readers to learn more about antisemitism and how to prevent it.
Though I value the content of this article, if anything were to be added,I’d suggest adding more background of when antisemitism started and began to rise in the U.S. I think it would create a more urgent atmosphere if the readers could understand how much it has grown and how much of a problem it has become. Adding accounts from peers and their families could also help in exemplifying the urgency of this issue. Inputting more background on the Israel – Palestine conflict could also help readers understand the cause of this spike in antisemitism.
Alma Perez • Feb 2, 2024 at 10:47 am
Great article Liam, I think you took a very difficult topic and expressed the facts without being disrespectful in any way. Great Job! Keep up the good work.