H eadlines
Fears of Antisemitism Change Jewish Behavior
L OCA L
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
ANTISEMITISM CONTINUES
to impact many American Jews,
according to the American
Jewish Committee’s “State
of Antisemitism in America
Report” released on Oct. 25.

In its third annual and largest
antisemitism report, AJC found
that 39% of American Jews have
changed their behavior at some
point due to fears of antisem-
itism; 25% concealed their
Jewish identity online; 22%
stopped wearing anything that
would identify them as Jewish;
and 17% avoided attending
events or visiting certain areas
that would make them feel
endangered as Jews.

“In some ways, it’s very
grim,” said Marcia Bronstein,
the AJC Philadelphia/Southern
New Jersey regional director.

Bronstein attributed the
persistent antisemitism and
consequent fear of antisemi-
tism to the recent flare-up of
Israel-Hamas violence and
ignorance around comparing
events to the Holocaust, such as
the use of yellow Star of David
patches as a symbol against
COVID vaccine mandates.

“We see, a lot of times,
the use of Nazi imagery that
emboldens antisemitism,”
Bronstein said. “If someone
says a policy is like a Nazi
policy and is talking about a
public health issue and relating
it to a mass genocide — it’s just
unacceptable, yet we’ve seen it
happen over and over.”
Elana Burack, who lives in
University City, is one of the
four in 10 American Jews who
has changed behavior for fear of
becoming a target of antisemi-
tism. She stopped wearing her
Hamsa necklace from Israel
after hearing about a few men
approaching an Orthodox
Jewish woman in Philadelphia.

Though the men were
actually three Jewish men
going to wish the woman a
Shabbat shalom, Burack saw
posts on social media saying
that these men were not Jewish,
had knives and were planning
to attack the woman.

“It scared me enough to
make me think twice about
wearing something that would
be an obvious sign of my
Judaism,” Burack said.

Antisemitism fears are far
more sinister than just hiding
an article of clothing, Bronstein
argued. “It constrains who we are
and what we do,” Bronstein
said. The pervasive role of fear
in Jewish life can be seen in
the increased security of
synagogues after the Pittsburgh
Tree of Life shooting, she said.

According to the AJC survey,
the Northeast region of the U.S.

seems to be home to as much
antisemitism as other parts of
the nation. Forty-one percent
of national survey respondents
reported witnessing antisem-
itism, online or in-person,
over the past month; 46% of
Northeastern respondents
reported the same.

However, results may differ
in Philadelphia, and numbers
for specific cities were not
available. Though Burack thought of
a handful of friends in other
parts of the country who were
concerned about attending
synagogue for fear of antisem-
itism, none of her other Jewish
friends in Philadelphia have
changed their behaviors like
she has.

Bronstein attributed poten-
tial regional differences in
part to the area’s larger Jewish
population. While 64% of
the national sample of the
AJC study reported person-
ally knowing a Jewish person,
75% of the Northeast sample
reported “Yes” to the same
statement. Antisemitism may be a
result of ignorance about
Jewish people, Bronstein said.

If one knows more about
Judaism, they may be less likely
to hold antisemitic biases.

To address antisemitism,
Bronstein believes addressing
ignorance is key. The AJC has
spoken with Facebook and
Twitter executives to ensure
antisemitic posts aren’t spread
by the social media sites’
algorithms. They are working
with corporations to ensure
diversity, equity and inclusion
initiatives include Jews and,
especially, Jews of color.

Bronstein said groups such
as the Circle of Friends, the
Philadelphia chapter for the
Muslim-Jewish Advisory
Council, are key in creating
solidarity movements to
mitigate antisemitism.

Circle of Friends co-chair
Mohamed Bakry noticed
that increases in antisemi-
tism correlate with jumps in
Islamophobia and racism.

“That’s why I think allyship
is significantly more important
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Est.1988 JEWISH EXPONENT
AJC and Circle of Friends
leaders at a past advocacy trip
to Harrisburg. From left: Marcia
Bronstein, AJC Philadelphia/
SNJ regional director; Mohamed
Bakry, co-chair, Circle of Friends/
Philadelphia Muslim-Jewish
Advisory Council; Majid Alsayegh,
Circle of Friends member and
MJAC member; Michael Fabius, co-
chair, Circle of Friends/MJAC; and
Hilary Levine, AJC Philadelphia/
SNJ associate director
 Courtesy of Hilary Levine
nowadays than ever before,
because one group alone can’t
combat all of the hate that’s
coming our way,” Bakry said.

Mike Fabius, the chapter’s
other co-chair, argued that
his involvement with Circle
of Friends and his friendship
with Bakry has made him
better equipped to address
Islamophobia when he encoun-
ters it in conversations with
“well-intentioned” individuals
who are prejudiced or ignorant.

“We’re never going to eradi-
cate hate and ignorance, but
if we can go back to margin-
alizing it, that would be good
progress,” Fabius said.

With efforts on the horizon
to address antisemitism,
Bronstein was heartened by
the overall survey results about
support for Israel and increased
awareness of antisemitism.

Eighty-five percent of
respondents felt that the state-
ment, “Israel has no right to
exist,” was antisemitic; 73% felt
the statement, “American Jews
are loyal to Israel and disloyal
to America” was antisemitic;
and 82% felt the statement,
“The Holocaust has been
exaggerated” was antisemitic. l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM