New report sheds light on the state of antisemitism in America

A new report Tuesday morning is shedding light on the state of antisemitism in America.

Western Washington saw many different acts of antisemitism across the region after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in the wake of a terror attack in southern Israel launched by Hamas from Gaza.

The American Jewish Committee released the state of antisemitism report and there are some jarring numbers on how American Jews feel about safety and antisemitic acts nationwide.

Rabbi Will Berkovitz of Jewish Family Services, which does work in the community supporting those in need, says that he didn’t need to read the report to guess what might be in it, especially in our region.

“We’re also seeing a culture of antisemitism being allowed to propagate in our community,” Berkovitz said.

He has seen too many acts of antisemitism at the end of 2023:

• Vandalism at a Mercer Island Synagogue.
• Suspicious powder sent to a temple in Seattle.
• Vandalism in Edmonds.
• Slurs hurled during a Lynnwood Council meeting.

Berkovitz believes the conflict in the Middle East coupled with local activism has created some areas of concern when it comes to antisemitism.

“There’s a bleeding over on what would be reasonable critique of the war with Hamas into antisemitic events…it’s a conflation of issues,” he said.

Holly Huffnagle is with the AJC working as Director of Combating Antisemitism in the US. She says the size of the numbers is not the most important thing when it comes to stats on antisemitism.

“The numbers are only big when you compare them to something else something’s changed over time… we have a 30% increase in just two years of American Jews Feeling less secure,” Huffnagle said.

A report from the AJC found that 63% of American Jews say they feel less safe living in the U.S. than a year ago.

Almost half of American Jews have changed their behavior out of fear.  

Some good news, according to Huffnagle, is that more than nine in 10 Americans say everyone is responsible for combating antisemitism.

“This is a whole of society all level approach that’s needed this can’t just be left up to the government or law enforcement,” Huffnagale said.

The ADL of the PNW also said the group received more than 250 requests for help on antisemitic incidents to end 2023.

Rabbi Berkovitz says extremists have already spoken out, but he believes more people need to take responsibility to combat antisemitism.

“I’m talking very specifically (about Seattle) when our center of our community gets off the sidelines and starts using their voices as much as the extremes use them,” Berkovitz said.

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