February 10, 2026 — Detroit
The following column appeared in the Detroit News.
When my teenage son asked for a silver chain for his birthday a few months ago, I gladly took him to a jewelry store. I suggested we could add a Jewish star pendant. Instantly, his demeanor changed. He grew visibly nervous and uncomfortable.
After we left the store, I asked a question that I already knew the answer to. Although my son is proud of and deeply connected to his Jewish identity, he was afraid to wear something that would visibly identify him as Jewish in public.
He told me about friends who wear Jewish star necklaces, but tuck them under their shirts in public, and about the antisemitic content that floods his social media feeds blaming Jews for society's ills.
What my son struggled to articulate that afternoon is now reflected clearly in data.
American Jewish Committee’s State of Antisemitism in America 2025 Report captures the depth of the crisis facing American Jews. It found that nine in 10 feel less safe as a Jewish person in the U.S. because of attacks on American Jews over the last 12 months. Those attacks include the burning of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home, the firebombing of Jews in Boulder, Colo., marching in support of hostages held in Gaza, which resulted in the death of 82-year-old Karen Diamond, and the murders of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky outside an AJC event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
Like the content my son scrolls past on his phone, antisemitism has found fertile ground online. AJC’s report shows that 73% of Jews in the U.S. have seen or heard antisemitic content online or on social media or have been personally targeted there at least once in the past 12 months, a new high in the report’s seven-year history. Among respondents who experienced online antisemitism, 54% encountered such content on Facebook, 40% on Instagram, 38% on YouTube and 23% on TikTok.
This is not merely offensive rhetoric. It is dangerous. These messages reach millions of users and investigations into perpetrators of antisemitic violence frequently reveal deep engagement with online extremist content. Digital hate does not stay online. It shapes attitudes, emboldens actors and spills into the real world.
There are efforts underway to confront this threat. AJC has worked with social media companies to curb the spread of antisemitism. As a result, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, updated its policies on "Zionist" as a proxy to hate speech. AJC, along with other stakeholders, contributed to Meta’s 2024 policy to remove content targeting “Zionists” when the term is used to refer to Jews and Israelis with dehumanizing comparisons, calls for harm or denials of existence. These steps matter, but they are not enough.
Combating antisemitism requires a whole-of-society approach and something more powerful: relationships.
Americans who know someone Jewish are more likely to recognize antisemitism, understand it and respond when they encounter it. In my work as AJC’s Detroit community director, I have seen firsthand the impact these relationships and conversations make in helping the broader community understand the fear and vulnerability many American Jews face today.
In the end, I returned to the jewelry store and bought the Jewish star pendant. The Jewish community has become accustomed to heightened security protocols, guards, bag checks and metal detectors at synagogues, schools and cultural events. It is only after passing through these security measures that my son feels comfortable wearing his Jewish star openly.
I look forward to the day when Jewish teenagers can wear a simple symbol of identity without calculating risk, when Jewish pride does not have to be hidden beneath a shirt.
Amy Sapeika is Detroit Community Director for American Jewish Committee.
