Is there room for another entity to grapple with anti-Israel, anti-Jewish hate on the U.S. East Coast? The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore thinks so.
Its new Center to Combat Antisemitism and Hate will be able to tackle issues in a more targeted way than national organizations, Larisa Spirt, senior vice president of marketing at the Associated, told JNS, because it’s “deeply embedded in the fabric of Baltimore.”
“That means we can respond quickly, leverage trusted relationships with schools, law enforcement and civic leaders, and directly support those impacted by hate in real time,” Spirt said.
Andrew Cushnir, president and CEO of the Associated, told JNS that “our goal is not only to confront antisemitism with facts but to lead through education, bringing people together to build understanding and mutual respect.”
According to Spirt, the center—effectively a department at Associated Headquarters—allows for the Associated “to go further and faster” and deploys a “dedicated staff, new partnerships and increased investment to elevate the urgency and scale of our response.”
The center’s executive director, Rebecca Krasner, formerly served as education director at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. In Baltimore, she and the center will focus on education, security, coalition-building and countering misinformation, according to Spirt.
It will also create education tools, including at the college level, focused on the Holocaust and Jew-hatred, and construct an online platform to dispel misinformation,” she said.
“Local action is essential to achieving national outcomes,” Spirt said. “Each community is different. What works in one place doesn’t always translate to another.”
She added that “this center positions us with more resources to lead on this issue, not just for Jewish Baltimore but for our broader community. We want to drive real change.”
On Wednesday, the Anti-Defamation League filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education alleging “egregious and persistent discrimination and harassment” against Jewish students in the Baltimore public school system.
