Confronting & Combating Antisemitism

Confronting & Combating Antisemitism

Yesterday, our partners at the ADL released their Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2022, revealing deeply troubling national and local numbers. In Northern Virginia, incidents of anti-Jewish hate and bias increased by nearly 50% from 2021 to 2022. And while incidents in Washington, DC thankfully decreased by 30%, in Maryland, they increased by nearly 100%.

As hatred and the propagation of conspiracy theories against Jews increase, we have seen historic public and societal constraints on anti-Jewish hatred diminish. But even as we have witnessed antisemitic graffiti, hate speech, and other incidents firsthand, seeing the statistics in this way is alarming. We have clearly reached an inflection point as a Jewish community and must continue to channel our frustration into collective action.

Just this week, Federation’s Board of Directors approved an initial $2 million in funding to combat antisemitism over the next three years; an important step in a large-scale communal initiative.

This funding will support ongoing and new efforts as Federation, our Jewish Community Foundation, and our partners, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), Anti-Defamation League (ADL), American Jewish Committee (AJC), Secure Community Network (SCN), and others work collectively to address the growing scourge of hatred against the Jewish community and other groups across American society and secure our community for the long-term.

To learn more about our efforts, I invite you to explore Federation’s Framework to Confront and Combat Antisemitism.

We present this framework with deep gratitude to the community members, leaders, organizations, and synagogues working to combat destructive conspiracy theories and all bigotry and hatred. Federation is committed to fighting for our community’s safety and security, and to partnering with all those seeking to work together in this vital effort.

Thank you for being part of this crucial work.

Shabbat Shalom,
Gil

P.S. Federation has partnered with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism on a national campaign designed to raise awareness about antisemitism. Tune in to NBC’s The Voice on Monday, March 27th at 8:00 PM ET for the official launch of the #StandUpToJewishHate campaign.