Page 9 - Jewish News_March 2021

FEDERATION NEWS March 2021 9A

Standing up to antisemitism

By Mary Collier, Heller CRC Chair, and Bette Zaret, Heller CRC Vice Chair
nyone with access to media ton Post, The Times of Israel, The Jeru- the ADL’s Hate Symbols Database at Executive Director of the Combat
and keeping up with national salem Post and other news outlets list a adl.org/hate-symbols and the Southern Anti-Semitism Movement, “You can
Aheadlines can feel the rising great number of antisemitic hate sym- Poverty Law Center Extremist Files at stay informed about the latest trends in
tide of hatred in our country. It comes bols exhibited on signs, flags and sweat- splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist- antisemitism and learn about practical
in many forms, and for our communi- shirts worn by extremists during the files to learn more. steps you can take to fight back.”
ty, antisemitism is the constant concern storming of the Capitol on January 6. Report it when you see it. Our Also, the recently launched ADL
that follows our thoughts. The Acting Secretary of Homeland Jewish Community Security Director, Protect Plan to Fight Domestic Terror-
As has been reported by the Anti- Security issued a National Terrorism Jeff Solomon, has created an incident ism (adl.org/protectplan) was created
Defamation League (ADL) and numer- Advisory System Bulletin in late Janu- report you can fill out at jfedsrq.org/ in response to the attack on the U.S.
ous news outlets, including NPR, The ary due to a heightened threat environ- srqsafe. Please report any incidents of Capitol and in an effort to address the
Times of Israel and The New Yorker, ment across the United States, which antisemitism, such as seeing a swasti- overall increase in domestic terrorism
over the last few years there contin- DHS believes will persist. Information ka spray painted in a public or private while protecting civil liberties. You can
ues to be a wave of overt aggression, suggests that some ideologically mo- area, or antisemitic content, including sign on to encourage policymakers to
harassment, vandalism and assault to- tivated violent extremists could con- Holocaust denial, on websites or social take action against extremism.
ward Jews in the United States in their tinue to mobilize to incite or commit media. Jeff is also working on creating We can be successful together.
places of worship, cemeteries, schools violence. a school incident report for families to Recently, thanks to a tip from one of
and universities, demonstrations on the Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry report any antisemitic incidents that our community members, we were
street and, most recently, even our fed- has recently said that “the rising rates occur at our local schools. able to work in partnership with Com-
eral buildings and our seat of govern- of antisemitic sentiment are expected to You should also report antisemitic bat Anti-Semitism to have a video with
ment. lead to a significant increase in violence content, including Holocaust denial, antisemitic conspiracy theory content
According to the Homeland Threat against Jews and Jewish sites in 2021. directly to social media platforms and removed from YouTube. It only took
Assessment from the Department of This is expected to challenge commu- request removal. a few moments for someone to reach
Homeland Security (DHS) in October nities around the world, especially the Take Action. Sign up for ADL’s out and help us score a win against
2020, “White supremacist groups are American Jewish community.” Florida Hate Crime Coalition at p2a. antisemitism.
the single most dangerous domestic We must all be vigilant and have a co/K2Kzr4L. You can sign onto a pe- There is no quick answer to solv-
extremist threat to the nation.” Many heightened awareness of how to recog- tition to strengthen state Hate Crime ing antisemitism but we can work to-
members of these groups are Domes- nize an expression or act of antisemi- legislation with the passing of House gether as a community to balance out
tic Violent Extremists (DVEs) and are tism, and what to do about it when we Bill 43 and Senate Bill 194. the hate. For more information on the
motivated by a range of issues, plotting see it. Here are some things you can do Sign up to join Combat Anti- Heller Community Relations Commit-
and, on occasion, carrying out attacks now to help fight antisemitism. Semitism at combatantisemitism.org. tee, visit jfedsrq.org/hellercrc.
against government facilities. Many Educate yourself. Although an- According to Sacha Roytman Dratwa,
have exhibited overt antisemitic say- tisemitism has existed for thousands
ings and symbols on their clothing and, of years, there are phrases and sym-
have at times, chanted expressions bols that have gained recent popu-
reminiscent of Adolf Hitler and the larity through social media and the
Nazi regime. rise of openly vocal white supremacy A concierge practice devoted to internal medicine and wellness.
Editorials found in The Washing- groups and conspiracy theories. Visit

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