ANTISEMITISM RESOURCES

 

As president of the Jewish Federation and Foundation of NE Florida, representing a consensus of our board of directors, I am voicing our support for the statement issued by the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations last week (see below). The Conference of Presidents is the central coordinating body representing 50 national Jewish organizations including our own umbrella organization, the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Unions, AIPAC, ADL, Hadassah, Hillel, JCC Association of North America, JNF, JDC, ORT, and the World Zionist Organization and more than thirty others. Their statement is as follows:

 

“Congressional leaders must hold their members accountable for their words and deeds. It is unacceptable for Members of Congress to spread baseless hate against the Jewish people. We are outraged by the statements, past and present, of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. She routinely traffics in unfounded conspiracy theories that are often anti-Semitic in nature. Representative Greene espouses anti-Semitic canards, such as placing blame on "the Rothschilds" for recent wildfires in California and declaring that "Zionist supremacists" are behind supposed nefarious plots….” Anti-Semitism and hateful, false conspiracy theories cannot be tolerated. This is a humanitarian, bipartisan issue and hate must be condemned whenever it occurs and from whomever is its source.

 

Antisemitism Learning Resources

Millions of Jews in the United States and around the world are confronted with various forms of hate and vitriol. Antisemitism today looks both the same and different than in generations past but its scourge and sting are just as painful.

The ADL’s most recent Audit of Antisemitic Incidents in the United States recorded more than 2,100 acts of assault, vandalism and harassment, an increase of 12 percent over the previous year. This is the highest level of antisemitic incidents since ADL’s tracking began in 1979.

Assault, harassment and vandalism against Jews remain at near-historic levels in the US. The deadly attacks in synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway have made American Jews feel more vulnerable than they have felt in decades.

The campaign to delegitimize Israel is being waged across the globe: The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), which rejects Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, is the most prominent effort to undermine Israel’s existence. The BDS campaign is rampant with misinformation and distortion. ADL responds to BDS threats through advocacy and education, and recently partnered with Reut Institute to develop in-depth analysis and strategic initiatives to marginalize and expose the illegitimacy of the BDS movement.

Advocates of BDS target multinational companies, college communities and well-known institutions, meaning it touches almost everyone. College and university campuses have become battlegrounds.

The following resource list and webinars provided by the ADL and the Israel Action Network (IAN) are to help you educate yourself and others about these topics.

Should anyone learn of acts of antisemitism or hatred targeting our Jewish community or individuals in the community, please contact our Executive Director, Alan Margolies at 904.448.5000 ext. 1207 or alanm@jewishjacksonville.org.