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AJC CEO, Philadelphia Leaders Meet to
Address Antisemitism
Community and AJC leaders at the antisemitism press conference
Sasha Rogelberg | Staff Writer
Photos by Christopher Brown
P hiladelphia leaders, Jewish and not, came together
last week to address growing antisemitism.

American Jewish Committee Philadelphia/Southern
New Jersey hosted a press conference on Feb. 22 at
City Hall to review its “2022 AJC State of Antisemitism
in America Report” and address how to build solidarity
with the Philadelphia Jewish community.

AJC CEO Ted Deutch spoke at the event and was
accompanied by AJC Philadelphia/Southern New
Jersey Regional Director Marcia Bronstein, city council
members and other local leaders. Deutch plans to
gather with community leaders and AJC regional offi ces
across the country to discuss the report’s fi ndings.

“Nobody should have to make decisions about how
they feel, where they go, or if they feel secure because
of who they are, as Jews or as members of any commu-
nity, and too often that’s the case,” Deutch said.

The AJC report, released on Feb. 13, confi rmed
Jewish leaders’ concerns about growing anti-Jewish
hate in the U.S., with the survey reporting that 89% of
surveyed Jews believe that antisemitism is a problem in
the U.S. One in four American Jews surveyed reported
that they were personal targets of antisemitism over
the past year, and 67% of those surveyed reported
having seen antisemitism online or on social media.

Most alarming to AJC was the 10% increase — from
about 30% to 40% — from 2021 to 2022 of respon-
dents saying that the status of Jews is less secure
than a year ago.

AJC reported that in the Northeast, 46% of Jews
surveyed reported that the status of Jews was less
secure, fi ve points above the national average.

However, among the stark numbers were a couple
of silver linings. According to Randy Duque, deputy
director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human
Relations who spoke at the press conference, of the 111
reported incidents of hate in 2022, 7% were antisemitic.

These numbers are down from the previous year, even
with more reported incidents in 2022, Duque said.

“It’s the opposite trend of what we saw nationally,”
he said.

However, these reports are confounded by underre-
porting of all instances of hate, Duque admitted.

“It might look like it’s trending downward here in the
city, but chances are people just are not reporting,”
he said.

According to Bronstein, though about 90% of survey
respondents, both Jewish Americans and the general
public, reported antisemitism as a problem in the
country, which also means there is a growing aware-
ness of anti-Jewish sentiments.

“The glimmer of hope is that the majority of Americans
are understanding what antisemitism is,” Bronstein
said. “They can see it. They see it online; they see it
when people say things, so they’re aware of it, and the
awareness gives us a chance to make sure that we can
crush it.”
Leaders outside of the Jewish community were inter-
ested in how to address antisemitism in Philadelphia in
the future.

City Council member Michael Driscoll, who drafted
the council’s resolution against antisemitism which
passed unanimously in November, renewed his
commitment to address hate.

AJC CEO Ted Deutch speaks at AJC
Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey’s press
conference on the “2022 AJC State of
Antisemitism in America Report.”
“We have to use educational opportunities. We have
to use community outreach. We have to use advocacy,”
Driscoll said.

Pennsylvania state Sen. Sharif Street and
Pennsylvania Asian Pacifi c American Jewish Alliance
co-founder Stephanie Sun spoke of the importance of
other racial and ethnic groups allying with the Jewish
community to combat antisemitism. Circle of Friends,
Philadelphia’s Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council chapter
of which Street is a part, as well as PAPAJA, are both
organizations partnered with AJC.

“Those who hate and who are looking for scape-
goats because of all the problems in their lives invari-
ably will come from all of us if we don’t stand together,”
Street said.

“We as a minority need to band together and work
together,” Sun added. “Those of us who oppose hate
and bigotry are the many. We, as a group, can build
bridges to educate the majority and discourage tacit
acceptance of hateful rhetoric of the few and build a
better world for the many.”
In the AJC’s report, the organization outlines next
steps and ways to address antisemitism for local govern-
ment offi cials, including unequivocally condemning
and depoliticizing antisemitism, encouraging reporting
of hate crimes and investing in security for the Jewish
community. The AJC’s Call to Action also provides
resources for law enforcement, social media compa-
nies and educational institutions on how to address
antisemitism. “Everyone has a role to play,” Deutch said. ■
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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