Antisemitism is rising in America, both in our everyday interactions and online. The anti-Jewish discourse and violent incidents we have witnessed have been horrifying, and I, for my part, refuse to sit on the sidelines.
Sometimes the rest of the world feels far away here in San Diego. We watch the crises across the globe and would like to think “no, not here, we’re not affected.” If only that was the case with antisemitism, which knows no boundaries. And in communities where antisemitism has been left to rage unchecked, all of society suffers.
As has been the case for over a hundred years, women around the world will take to the streets this March 8th to draw attention to their rights and the gender discrimination that still exists. Even if women's demands vary greatly across the globe due to their respective realities, it has so far been assumed that the rejection of misogynistic violence unites everyone.
American Jewish Committee (AJC) is calling on the Alameda County District and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct criminal investigations into an anti-Jewish riot that occurred at UC Berkeley on Monday evening at an event featuring an Israeli speaker. News reports describe a siege of the building, with the mob attempting a break-in, breaking a door and window in the process. Attendees were spat at while being bombarded with antisemitic hate speech.
From a large swastika being burned into a picnic table outside Steamboat Springs High School, to Jewish symbols being ripped off the doors of student housing at the University of Denver, to bomb threats of synagogues and Jewish institutions, it has become apparent that antisemitism is a Colorado problem.