A consortium of Jewish organizations designated Thursday, May 27, as a “Day of Action Against Anti-Semitism” as a response to the ongoing attacks and threats happening to Jews worldwide.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, during the two weeks Hamas was battling Israel, anti-Semitic activity rose more than 60 percent than in the previous two weeks. That activity has included physical attacks on individual Jews, vandalism of synagogues, harassment and more.
In the cybersphere, attacks have also grown with some 17,000 tweets were of “Hitler was right,” a reference to the murderous attempts to kill the entire Jewish people.
“We are tracking acts of harassment, vandalism and violence, as well as a torrent of online abuse,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said recently. “It’s happening around the world—from London to Los Angeles, from France to Florida, in big cities like New York and in small towns and across every social-media platform.”
Throughout the day, participants will receive tips and strategies to combat anti-Semitism and are urged to let elected officials know they will not tolerate the ongoing climate of hate.
The event will culminate with a virtual rally at 4 p.m. EST to hear from government officials, Jewish community leaders and representatives from various civil-rights and other groups.
A “Day of Action Against Anti-Semitism” is being sponsored by the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, Hadassah, the World Zionist Organization of America, Jewish Federations of North America and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.
The American Jewish Committee has additionally started a campaign using the hashtag #WheresTheOutrage.
“For more than two decades, anti-Semitism has been on the rise—first in Europe and other regions and, more recently, here in the United States. Yet too many have been inclined to look away or only call out anti-Jewish hate when it aligns with their political agenda or fits a certain narrative,” said the agency’s CEO, David Harris, in announcing the initiative. “But anti-Semitism doesn’t lend itself to pithy soundbites and mustn’t be instrumentalized for partisan purposes.
“It is the world’s oldest hatred, and it has morphed and modernized, plaguing society in new and insidious ways,” he continued. “Indeed, the history of anti-Semitism shows that left unchecked, it threatens Jews and non-Jews alike. While the sources of anti-Semitism may be varied, the reaction from the world should be simple: outrage and action. But the silence is deafening. We want to know #wherestheoutrage?”
