Hello Everyone -
Combating antisemitism in the US is a huge issue and discussion point for me and this podcast. How can we all lean in and work towards reducing the vitriol and harmful rhetoric that, at times, has led to physical violence against the Jewish community?
I sat down with U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) along with past guests Dan Reich and B.A. Van Sise to get their perspective. Perhaps a lot of the hate and animus towards the Jewish community is rooted in an education, or lack thereof, about Judaism, its culture and traditions.
Congressman Gottheimer is a co-sponsor of legislation, The HEAL Act (Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons) in the US House of Representatives, that if signed into law, will standardized Holocaust education across the US. We’re used to communities with large Jewish populations — like NY/NJ/CT, LA and Chicago — to understand the Jewish experience. What sort of education and exposure does the rest of the country, especially more remote parts of the country, receive and then need?
To put the dangerous rise of antisemitism into perspective, the Anti-Defamation League reported to NPR that 2022 saw the largest increase of anti-Jewish attacks since it began its tracking and that’s on top of a sharp increase the year before.
It will take an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach, both Jews and non-Jews to collectively stamp out all forms of hate, especially antisemitism where the Jewish community is a disproportionate victim of all race-related hate crimes despite being 2.4% of the total US population. Thanks to Robert Kraft and his team for launching the #standuptoJewishhate campaign to drive necessary awareness to the issue which is helping get all communities involved.
Cautious optimism
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