Rise in antisemitism

America has seen an increase in antisemitic attacks at levels not seen since World War II and the Jewish community at Northview has something to say.

Sydney Mulford, Features Editor

Natalie Damer-Salas, Staff Writer & Anya Biswas, Staff Writer

In the past five years, America has witnessed a marked increase in antisemitic sentiments and attacks at levels that have not been present since World War II. While such incidents cannot be attributed to a singular origin or cause, the impacts they have had on the Jewish community are irreversible. 

“Historically, a lot of the “isms” (racism, antisemitism) come from a place of blaming to explain my circumstance: it's not my fault- point my finger over theirs, they’re the bad people,” Zone 6 Superintendent and former Northview Principal Brian Downey said. 

While many may assume that the rise in antisemitic incidents encompasses only physical events of violence, a considerable amount of the antisemitism the Jewish community in America experiences is via hate speech. One of these incidents occurred in early October of 2022. Rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye, posted a tweet stating that he would “go death con 3” on Jewish people. With 18 million followers on Instagram and over 51 million listeners on Spotify, his tweet blew up overnight.

“I know tons of high schoolers listen to Kanye West; I used to listen to him,” junior Brooke Hartman said. “When he says these things to these impressionable teenagers, it's going to have some effect.” 

In the 21st century, antisemitic hate has spread rapidly through social media. Jewish representation in the media has also been a leading factor in the current flare of antisemitism. Certain movies and television shows like “New Girl” and “You People” exaggerate Jewish stereotypes.

“I can think of several times where on the internet I've received hate comments talking about my religion or something with my culture,” Hartman said.

Unfortunately, most attacks are outside of the sphere of the internet. West’s comments were just one of many antisemitic acts and are relatively mild compared to other attacks reported in the past few months. The majority of attacks are in large cities like Los Angeles and New York and have ranged from graffiti around college campuses to violent acts of murder. 

“If levels of antisemitism keep rising since people aren’t doing enough about it, the number of attacks and levels of severity will increase as well,” Andrew Amelchenko, president of the Jewish Student Union, said.

Recently, on Feb. 15 and 16, two different men shot and murdered two Jewish men in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Los Angeles. The first shooting happened as the victim was leaving synagogue services in a drive-by incident, and the second took place the following day half a mile away. On the other side of the country, the repercussions of these attacks have been received.

“The superficial change is the amount of security that we have at our synagogue. At every event that we have, there's a police officer with a gun,” Downey said. “Even as I take my kids to Sunday school.”

If not from a first-hand account, there are also second-hand accounts of witnessing the direct impact of increased antisemitism. Hartman knows someone close to her whose synagogue had a shooting. Luckily, her friend and friends’ families survived, but other people in the building did not. 

“It is so unfortunate that we have to worry about stuff like that in somewhere that is supposed to be a very safe space for us where we can go and pray and be with other people,” Hartman said.

Although the outskirts of metro Atlanta are considered to be diverse, Hartman does not view Northview as an exception to the rise of discrimination towards the Jewish community. 

“I’ve seen [swastikas] drawn in the bathroom, and I’ve had to talk to admin about covering them up. Either they aren’t covering them up, or it keeps happening,” Hartman said. “I think that [admin] don’t see it as a big problem when people are drawing hate symbols in bathrooms, on the desks, under the desks, on the walls, [and] on lockers, and it’s terrifying. How am I supposed to feel safe at my school when [the administrators] won't even do anything about [antisemitism]?”

Hartman expressed that she often feels lonely because she has observed that administrators in the building don’t care enough about religious prejudice. With students constantly having to fear for their safety physically and mentally, Downey expressed the importance of building relationships of trust and respect with adults in the building.

“If students don't feel safe, valued, heard, seen, cared for, how can we expect them to learn? If something is happening to a student, that is now a distraction, that is now a stressor,” Downey said. 

Amelchenko remarks that students use antisemitic slurs under the pretense of joking around. However, this leads to a cycle of other students repeating what they hear, thus perpetuating antisemitism. In order to prevent further influence and feeding into discriminatory ideas, Downey proposed for education on antisemitism to start at a young age.

“Education is always the key to solving these issues. A lot of the time people do these things, especially at a younger age, just out of ignorance,” Downey said. “And exposure, they don't have a Jewish friend or a Black neighbor, they haven’t been exposed so therefore they might not appreciate the impact of what they do.”

As students have voiced concerns about lack of support from administrators, The Messenger interviewed Assistant Principal LeMetra Dismuke to gain insight into administrators’ perspectives.

Dismuke recognizes that Northview is a reflection of the outside world and community, and, therefore, hate and prejudice exist inside of the walls of the school. However, she and the other administrators are actively trying to combat them.

The procedure for reporting any instances of harmful language, symbols, and other behavior of hate is for a student to go to any adult that they trust, or they can report it anonymously on the Northview website. After the report is brought to the attention of the admin team, the admin launch an investigation in which they both support any students affected by the instance as well as bring consequences against the transgressor. If the instance is a physical symbol within the building, the custodial staff are instructed to remove it as quickly as possible in order to have as few students hurt by it as possible.

“Our students want to be heard when something has happened, and they want to know that you are going to follow up and do something about it,” Dismuke said. “We will protect them in the way they need.”

The Northview United team also discusses instances of prejudice that occur in the school and in the community and work with a board made of teachers, parents, students, and administrators on how to address them as well as support students being impacted by those instances. The team then puts in place lessons or support resources as a way to bring awareness as well as prevent such occurrences from happening again.

“We want all our students to feel like they are included and represented. It’s hard for students to achieve goals or learn if they don’t feel welcomed. Northview United is really about making everyone feel safe and welcome,” Dismuke said.

Currently, there are many organizations and people trying to stop the increase in antisemitic hate crimes. For example, the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish on Campus, student-led organizations created by a Northview alumni, is currently endeavoring to combat antisemitism by tracking antisemitic incidents, raising awareness, and advocating for policy solutions through social media and conferences. At Northview, the Jewish Student Union works to spread awareness of and find pride in Judaism through the celebration of religious holidays.  

“It exists for Jewish people of our high school to come together and explore their own culture, be together with people of their own culture, and for people who are not Jewish, to come and learn about what Jewish culture is,” Amelchenko said.

Amalchenko urges people to educate themselves and follow along with the current news in order to prevent, as Downey put it, ignorantly blaming circumstances, leading to increased hate and discrimination towards minority groups because individuals have not learned to appreciate diverse cultures.