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Dear Friend,
The FBI just released their hate crimes data for last year: 2023
represented the highest number of reported hate crimes for nearly
every category — including antisemitism — since the FBI first began
tracking this data in 1991.
There is much to critique about how hate crimes data is collected
and used, but it does give us a moment of reflection — truly
seeing how many communities are targeted right now solely because of
their identity, especially since the 2016 presidential
election.
To explore solutions together, we gathered hundreds of Jews
and allies last week to hear from experts on antisemitism, safety, and
solidarity. Here are three ways you can help carry this work
forward:
🎥 Watch
the panel recording of How We Fight Antisemitism Now
⬇️ Download
our Dismantling Antisemitism messaging guide
❤️
Power
this work to fight antisemitism in solidarity with a
donation
Scroll below to read wisdom and insights from last week’s expert
panel:
Rachèl Laforest, Bend the Arc
“It took 200 years for us to build what
is actually democratic and inclusive about our country so far. Let's
not kid ourselves that there's any magic wand out there. So in terms
of how Jews can respond to antisemitism: we do it by choosing one
another within and far beyond the Jewish community, so that we are
safe together, even when it feels really hard to do that. That is an
activity, it is choiceful, it is intentional.
These
are not empty words. Safety in solidarity is not a catchphrase. It's
actually a way to build out our lives and our organizations and our
relationships and community.”
Ben Lorber, co-author of Safety in
Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting
Antisemitism
“The way to uproot antisemitism is to end inequality — to build a
world where people aren't alienated and there isn't astounding,
unprecedented wealth inequality or people getting thrown out of their
homes.
And there are steps we could take to
get there: The movements that we build now are like the world in
miniature. We prefigure the world we want to live in by building our
movements for liberation, by taking care of each other, by mutual
aid.
Putting forward that vision of
a better world is really at the heart of Tikkun Olam. It's at
the heart of Jewish religious teaching for thousands of years, and
it's also at the heart of Jewish progressive movements.”
 Shane Burley, co-author
of Safety in Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting
Antisemitism
“When we silo antisemitism away
from other forms of oppression, we give up our ability to do anything
about it. Instead, we can only mitigate it: maybe get more
police, maybe a new piece of legislation that limits speech we find
threatening, something like that. But we don't actually go at the
fundamental core roots anymore.
Safety through solidarity has been on
the Jewish left and the left more broadly for years. But it's the idea
of walking away from nationalism or excessive policing or Draconian
laws as the solution for antisemitism, and instead bringing it
back to the community.”
Graie Hagans, Bend the Arc
“So much of this work is about being
able to recommit time and time again, in a place that allows for the
wrestling, fumbling, and coming back together — not in the places of
what hurts us and in the pain, but in the ‘Where are we going?’ I
often think about Michael Walzer, who says, ‘Wherever you are
is probably a narrow place.’ And the only way forward is actually
together through the wilderness.”
Maya Berry, Arab American
Institute
“We're in this together in a very real
and meaningful way…actual joint liberation means that we're
not going to be safe if one community continues to be targeted with
hatred.
Arab Americans share that perspective.
We did our polling in October, immediately after October 7th (and
we've been polling Arab Americans since the mid 90s). ‘Were you
concerned about an increase in anti-Arab bigotry?' 78% said that they
were, and when we asked them if they were concerned about an increase
in antisemitism, 67% said they were. These are not
binaries. There's an important community that comes together
on these issues.”
Join us in continuing this important work — we can’t do
it without you:
🎥 Watch
the panel recording of How We Fight Antisemitism Now
⬇️ Download
our Dismantling Antisemitism messaging guide
❤️ Power
this work to fight antisemitism in solidarity with a
donation
L'Shalom,
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