Historians have pushed back on the narrative that immigration officials anglicized the names of Jews upon their arrival at Ellis Island. In fact, it wasn’t until later, when Jews were trying to get jobs, fit into their communities, and avoid discrimination and bullying that they opted to obscure their Jewish heritage.

I was thinking about this history as I followed the news this week about a group of American Jewish educators that canceled their trip to an international conference in Italy after being asked to undergo a political and ideological litmus test.

Of course, the Reggio Emilia conference is not the only one discriminating against Jews. Institutions are excluding Jews in ways obvious and subtle across a variety of contexts that go unseen and unchecked with increasing regularity. Professional organizations are coming out with statements on Israel thus sending a message that those who disagree with the statements are not welcome. Students are calling for walkouts and using social pressure to isolate those who disagree.

I worry that in this context, Jews will start hiding who they are. If the price of belonging becomes denying our identity, it may feel like we have no choice but to pay.

So, while I hate what our educators had to face, I am glad this story is unfolding in public. If sunlight is the best disinfectant, we need all the rays we can get pouring over such overt acts of antisemitism. No Jew should be singled out, held to a different standard, and expected to answer for the actions of others simply because they’re Jewish. We do not ask this of any other group.

At Federation, we are calling attention to these incidents whenever they arise. We are working through our national partners to maintain pressure on civic and political leaders to upend this kind of discrimination—toward us and toward anyone else. And we are continuing to build a sense of Jewish pride and push back against antisemitism from a position of strength, conviction, and love for Jewish peoplehood.

At the turn of a previous century, Jews had to learn to keep their heads down and blur their identities to get by. But they didn’t stop there. Jewish leaders and organizations went on to fight for laws prohibiting discrimination in employment, helping secure protections not only for Jews but for everyone, to ensure that those who followed didn’t face the layers of discrimination that they did.

We must harness this same instinct. There are clear parallels between the antisemitism of yesterday and what we see unfolding today. It’s becoming acceptable among more institutions and more people to single out Jews. We must push back not only for our own benefit but on behalf of the Jewish and universal values we have long fought to protect.