In my line of work, I see a lot of antisemitism.As the Jewish Community Relation Bureau | American Jewish Committee’s (JCRB|AJC) director of education and programs, I am likely more familiar than most with the history of antisemitism and various contemporary manifestations of it.
Show me a photo of swastika graffiti at a school or a screenshot of a social media post perpetuating anti-Zionism — I’ll shake my head, but you won’t catch me by surprise. For nearly five years in this role, I have worked to educate and support community members and external partners, including in the handling of antisemitic incident reports. It is heavy work but, for the most part, there isn’t too much that catches me off guard. That is, until the morning of Oct. 7.
The pogrom that constituted the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks completely caught me by surprise. To be quite honest, ever since, one of the only ways I can even begin to comprehend what happened that day is in the context of having studied the horrors of the Holocaust in graduate school. Which makes sense, because Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 was the worst massacre of Jewish people to occur in a single day since the Holocaust.
The surge of antisemitism we have witnessed since that day, however, did not wholly surprise me. In the year since, the Jewish community has had to endure the justification, distortion and minimization of the attack, as well as rising antisemitism and an overwhelming amount of disinformation and inflammatory rhetoric regarding the ongoing war in Gaza. Sometimes, I am taken aback by the intensity and callousness of those who perpetuate Israel-related antisemitism and harbor such intense hatred for Israel, but overall, I am not surprised.
Even as I watched the news and endlessly scrolled on social media on Oct. 7, I was already thinking about how JCRB|AJC was going to respond to this moment, knowing that in that dark moment, JCRB|AJC’s role in the community would be vital.
Our world and the Jewish people were forever changed on Oct. 7. But for JCRB|AJC, much of our work remained the same; it just took on a new sense of urgency and intensity. It has sometimes felt like we went into hyperdrive to meet the needs of the Jewish community and to ensure that our community is understood and supported by our allies and partners in the greater Kansas City community.
As early as the evening of Oct. 7, I was already sending emails to school partners, alerting them that their Jewish students would need their support when they came to school on Monday, and that, unfortunately, we must be prepared for antisemitism to rise, as it has in the past when war breaks out in Israel and Gaza. Over the past year, I have had dozens of conversations with school partners about how to best support Jewish students and families in this moment, and I am grateful to work with so many educators who deeply care about their Jewish families.
Time and time again, my heart has hurt to hear about the challenges that young Jewish students are facing, all while processing their own grief and feelings around Oct. 7 and fears of rising antisemitism. In our monthly Leaders for Tomorrow (LFT) sessions from November to May, student leaders would come to each session sharing experiences they had with peers who had shared virulently anti-Israel content or dangerous misinformation about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on their Instagrams, or had made insensitive, biased or antisemitic comments in person or via text messages. I did my best to provide education and support, to validate their feelings and walk them through how to handle each unique situation if they chose to respond.
A year later, I am still having those conversations about the ongoing war and rising antisemitism with students, families and community partners. But now, I am urging partners to continue to be on alert and prepared this fall as we will be experiencing the convergence of a trifecta of key events around which we historically see antisemitism spike: election campaigns and elections results; Jewish holidays; and when there is an uptick in violence in the Middle East. Any of these three events on its own can trigger increases in antisemitic incidents both globally and locally. All three merging together in the fall of 2024 present a critical moment for our community.
Not much surprises me in this work anymore, but Oct. 7 and its aftermath have continued to send shock waves through our community. As we near the anniversary of this devastating event, I will find additional strength and comfort in the two pieces of art by Israeli street art activist Morgane Koresh (@yiddishfeminist on Instagram) that I have added to my office walls since Oct. 7. Each are photos of the street art she has posted in Tel Aviv, one declaring, “OUR WOUNDS ARE CENTURIES OLD BUT SO ARE OUR RESILIENCE AND STRENGTH,” and the other, “WE WILL DANCE AGAIN. JEWISH JOY IS RESISTANCE.” I hope these messages will bring you comfort as well.
Am Yisrael Chai.
