Antisemitism is racism, and we cannot be truly anti-racist unless we acknowledge it as such. Antisemitism
As many Jewish people pointed out on social media in the last few months, antisemitism is often misunderstood – some people just don’t like to talk about it, while others believe it simply does not exist. Antisemitism is the belief or behaviour that shows hostility to Jews just because they’re Jewish. It may take the form of religious teachings that proclaim the inferiority of Jews, for instance, or political efforts to isolate, oppress, or otherwise, injure them.
By 1945, across German-occupied Europe, 6 million Jews had been systemically murdered by the Nazis. That was two thirds of Europe’s Jewish population. In a recent global survey 90 per cent of Jews worldwide thought that antisemitism was rising in their country.'Hilary Freeman Now is not the time to shrink away from the conversation. Now is not the time to shift the narratives around ourselves or to focus on our own feelings of discomfort. Now is not the time to post a performative social media post with no intention to follow through. Now is the time for all Jewish allies to listen, to change and to learn.
Progressing our own authentic allyship means conducting our own research and reading, but as a starting point, these are some helpful educational resources on antisemitism and the Jewish experience.