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Every time I see displays of anti-Semitism towards Jews in the news, I think: “that’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?” A swastika was spray painted outside of a preschool and it doesn’t deserve more than 5 minutes of airtime? An NFL player quotes Hitler and you brush over it?
The number of hate crimes against Jews has been increasing, and is grossly underreported by the media. I know, because I work in the media. I’d like to see more coverage from bigger outlets. I’d like to see more from influencers. From everyone. From you.
If you have a platform & you use it to educate others, to promote equality, to fight injustice, why are you not infuriated by injustice towards and discrimination against Jews? What’s stopping you? This is an opportunity to get involved, to start a conversation. Will you take it?
Jewish people represent 0.2% of the population. We can’t fight this fight alone. Just like you can’t fight your fight alone. Let’s join forces. The silence from people who claim to stand with the Jewish people has been deafening. Especially when anti-Semitism is so rampant.
Stop calling the Jewish people your “brothers and sisters” if you’re putting up images that inspire hate towards Israel and Jews. There’s a reason Instagram removes these images when we report them. They’re wrong, and they make us feel unsafe. And oh, btw, they’re anti-Semitic.
If you don’t know about what’s happening in the Middle East, don’t make insensitive comments or blindly get behind an “influencer” who appears to be standing for a cause you know nothing about. It’s okay to stay quiet when you aren’t informed enough to formulate an opinion.
When you see Corey Fleischer ( @erasinghate) devoting his time to hosing down swastikas on the streets, and repurposing tattoos of swastikas daily, this is an indicator of just how prevalent anti-Semitism is. He’s fighting. We all are. Against any and all forms of hate.
When Pittsburgh Steeler Zach Banner called out the misconceptions about the Jewish community on Twitter, and acknowledged the hatred we face, we felt that. He built a bridge. Please, come to our Shabbat dinners, we’ll come to your cookouts. Or brunches. Or picnics. Let’s unite.
Don’t buy into false narratives about Jewish people, or any people for that matter. Stand with us. We stand with you. Spread love, wherever and whenever you can. Eli Wiesel said: “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.” Are you indifferent? I hope not.
At the end of the day, the fight against racism, bigotry, sexism, homophobia is really a fight against hate & discrimination towards any & every group. So if your fight doesn’t include the fight against anti-Semitism, don’t pretend for a second that you care about fighting hate.
