Call for Cross-Communal Cooperation to Fight Antisemitism, Anti-Asian and Pacific Islander Violence
NEW YORK (Press Release)– Human rights icon and former Soviet refusenik Natan Sharansky, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, Malcolm Hoenlein and Prof. Susannah Heschel, daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, were among the leading figures who participated in a special online symposium marking Jewish American Heritage Month. Speakers emphasized that the Free Soviet Jewry campaign’s successful blending of grassroots activism and political advocacy can be a model in today’s fight against the dangerous growth of antisemitism.
Organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), the National Museum of American Jewish History and the National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry, the event highlighted the importance of cross-communal and interfaith partnerships. It also explored how to mobilize a new generation to defeat antisemitism and bigotry. The symposium came following the recent explosion of antisemitic incidents, which has seen Jews targeted both online and physically in the streets of cities and towns in countries across the world.
Natan Sharansky described himself as having been “a typical assimilated Soviet Jew, which meant that there was nothing Jewish in our life,” but that American activists, “this army of students and housewives who defeated the army of the KGB” and US Jewish organizations provided “a bridge, a living connection with world Jewry.”
Meanwhile, Malcolm Hoenlein outlined his involvement in the Free Soviet Jewry campaign, saying “we built this grassroots movement, but merged it with the establishment… Soviet Jewry became the vehicle to bring the whole community together,” adding that “young people can learn a lot and be inspired.”
Comparing to today, he said “we see more and more divisiveness, which has always been the danger to the Jewish community, more than any external danger” and called for more education among the young generation. He said, “we want to have the diversity, but there has to be some common values, common purpose, that unites us and enables us to work together.”
Natan Sharansky concurred, saying “When people lose sight that we are one family, with a mutual past and a mutual future, this is where the problems begin.” He added, “the issue that united us is being lost today. Our political polarization is so strong, it is making us blind.”
The event also paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King’s support for the Free Soviet Jewry campaign. Prof. Sussanah Heschel recalled her father, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s relationship with Dr. King. She said, “My father spoke out, and Dr. King spoke out for Russian Jewry. Their voices were so important. Dr. King brought support for the free Soviet Jewry movement… and made it so clear that freedom for one is freedom for all, we all have to live in freedom and justice.”
Providing contemporary analysis, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) Co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, opened by saying “My heart is with the Jewish community this week as we’ve seen a dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents.” She added that “it has been a particularly difficult year for the Asian-American community across the U.S. as we have been living in terror and fear” and said that the Free Soviet Jewry campaign is a model for communities. Rep. Meng commented, “The legacy of the Jewish community’s work during the Soviet Jewry movement, has created a playbook that so many of us that suffered discrimination on the basis of race or religion, have continued.”
Emphasizing the importance of cross-communal relations and the way in which the Free Soviet Jewry movement galvanized all of American society, the symposium also highlighted the crucial support for the Free Soviet Jewry movement from non-Jewish activists, including former U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Sister Ann Gillen and Father Robert Drinan.
Majid Alsayegh, Chairman of the Board, Dialogue Institute spoke of the need to find common ground to build understanding and partnership between different communities. He emphasized how Jews and Muslims have worked together to promote hate crime legislation, adding “We must help our communities humanize the other, not demonize the other. We still obviously have a lot of work to do.”
Underscoring the importance of political activism to help achieve the goals of the Free Soviet Jewry campaign, which crucially enjoyed widespread bipartisan support, the symposium also paid tribute to the indomitable work of former US Senator Henry Jackson and former US Secretary of State George Shultz. Mark Levin, Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO of NCSEJ, called them “Two giants of American politics, who had a profound impact on the lives of American Jews and Jews living in the former Soviet Union.” Levin also described the landmark Freedom Sunday Rally in December1987, which has become a seminal moment in American Jewish history.
From tomorrow (Friday 28 May), the entirety of today’s symposium can be viewed here.
(Preceding provided by Combat Antisemitism Movement)
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With Passage of Time, Holocaust Becomes Less Real to Students
SYRACUSE, New York — President Biden is under growing pressure to take action amid the rise in violent attacks targeting the U.S. Jewish community. Biden has condemned the surge in disturbing incidents but Democratic lawmakers and outside groups are pushing for more, calling for the president to take more steps to stop antisemitism. Education may be part of the answer.
According to the study of millennial and Gen Z adults aged between 18 and 39, almost half (48%) could not name a single concentration camp or ghetto established during the second world war. Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) said they believed the Holocaust was a myth, or had been exaggerated, or they weren’t sure. One in eight (12%) said they had definitely not heard, or didn’t think they had heard, about the Holocaust.
Zachary Braiterman works in the field of modern Judaism. His research and teaching explore shifting aesthetic canons as they shape Jewish thought and culture from the 17th century until the present. Research and teaching interests touch upon the impact of enlightenment, modernity, modernism, and postmodernism upon Jewish ideas about God, ritual, text-interpretation, and community life –with special emphasis on Jewish philosophy, theoretical aesthetics, and classical Jewish sources.
Dr. Braiterman Says: “Reports about young American adults not knowing anything about the Holocaust or having weird ideas about the Holocaust are not surprising. Each passing decade puts more and more cognitive distance between people today and the historical past about which they know only thru platforms like Hollywood movies and social media platforms, now including Tik Tok. The Holocaust becomes more and more unreal, especially in a culture like ours that seems untethered from reality. Educators can only do so much in this current context.”
(Preceding provided by Syracuse University)
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UC Santa Barbara Students Reject BDS
SANTA BARBARA, California –StandWithUs congratulates students at UC Santa Barbara for defeating a discriminatory divestment resolution. The resolution was promoted as part of the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks the elimination of Israel. The Associated Students of UC Santa Barbara (ASUCSB) Senate defeated the legislation indefinitely with a vote of 12 in favor, 13 against, and 0 abstaining the morning of May 27, 2021.
“We are incredibly proud of all the UCSB students who came together and defeated divestment for the seventh time since 2013,” said Max Samarov, a UCSB alum and the Executive Director of Research & Strategy at StandWithUs. “With comments such as ‘Israel is an illegitimate state,’ supporters of BDS at UCSB made clear that they are part of the problem. We commend the majority of senators who stood on the right side of history and opposed this campaign of hate.”
This vote ensured that the voices of UCSB students would not be used to promote the BDS movement. The purpose of BDS is not to protest Israeli policy, but to isolate Israel until it collapses as a Jewish and democratic state. Furthermore, BDS dehumanizes Israelis and actively harms peace efforts by opposing Israeli-Palestinian cooperation. This was evident in multiple comments made by BDS supporters during the ASUCSB Senate meeting, including “Israel is an illegitimate state,” and “Israel is not a real state… F*** Israel.”
StandWithUs applauds Santa Barbara Hillel, Students Supporting Israel, and all UCSB students who stood up for their community in the face of hate. We will continue to work with ICC, Hillel International, and all of our partners to empower student activism at UCSB and beyond.
(Preceding provided by StandWithUs)
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Christians United for Israel Pledge to Fight Global Antisemitism
SAN ANTONIO, Texas –On Wednesday, May 26, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), the nation’s largest pro-Israel organization, joined the Virtual Rally Against Antisemitism organized by America’s largest Jewish organizations including the American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Jewish Federations of North America, Orthodox Union, Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbinical Council of America, Reconstructing Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Union for Reform Judaism, and United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
“At CUFI, we believe it is vital to stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters during this challenging time. Antisemitism is an unacceptable evil, and America’s Christians will not stand by while our Jewish friends and neighbors are attacked. The recent surge of antisemitism must not be tolerated, and CUFI is committed to confronting this abomination in all its forms. All people of conscience have a responsibility to speak out and stand up to rid our society of this abhorrent bigotry,” said CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee.
With more than 10 million members, Christians United for Israel is the largest pro-Israel organization in the United States and one of the leading Christian grassroots movements in the world. CUFI spans all fifty states and reaches millions with its educational message.
(Preceding provided by Christians United for Israel)
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Union of Orthodox Congregations of America Supports Legislation to Curb Antisemitism
NEW YORK — The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (Orthodox Union), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, expressed strong support on Thursday for introduction in the U.S. Senate of a bipartisan resolution recommitting the Senate to combating anti-Semitism in all forms and standing in solidarity with those affected by anti-Semitism.
The Resolution Condemning the Recent Rise in Antisemitism, introduced today by Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.), co-chairs of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, further urges President Biden to take specific actions to address anti-Semitism, and calls on elected officials as well as faith and civil society leaders to denounce and combat all manifestations of anti-Semitism.
Orthodox Union President Moishe Bane stated: “The American Jewish community is facing an unprecedented situation. While anti-Semitism is an ancient hatred, the current surge in the United StateS is a deeply disturbing turn for the worse. Israel has had conflicts with her enemies since the founding of the Jewish State. But those conflicts did not result in street violence against American Jews across the United States. This moment demands that leaders respond clearly and strongly to repudiate this wave of anti-Semitic assaults.”
Orthodox Union Executive Director for Public Policy, Nathan Diament stated: “The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America is very grateful to U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen and James Lankford for crafting and introducing the bipartisan Resolution Condemning the Recent Rise in Antisemitism and to the more than 30 bipartisan Senators who are original cosponsors.
“The resolution ‘unequivocally condemns the recent rise in anti-Semitic violence’ and, importantly, calls on the Biden Administration to take concrete steps – including filling the post of State Department Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism and to allocate significant funds to the Department of Homeland Security’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program administered. This Resolution is a very important step in pushing back against those spreading hate against Jews in the United States.”
(Preceding provided by the Orthodox Union)