The Fight Against Anti-Semitism | Teen Ink

The Fight Against Anti-Semitism

March 30, 2017
By JackDeMartino BRONZE, Duxbury, Massachusetts
JackDeMartino BRONZE, Duxbury, Massachusetts
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, anti – Semitism is defined as discrimination and hatred toward active members or the entire community of the Jewish Religion.  Over the past years, the concept of anti-Semitism has received more attention than usual, as more acts representing the ideology have increased in repetition. Acts of anti-Semitism includes the use of hate speech targeted at Jews, damaging of Jewish property, or defiant acts such as threats toward the Jewish Community. Anti-Semitism dates back to the birth of Christianity, or in other words, Jesus’s death. During the Early Roman Empire, the government had persecuted anyone who had controversial views on religion compared to the state’s perspective. This led to the crucifixion of Jesus, the Messiah of Christianity. As the Romans caught on to Jesus’s teachings, the administration began using the Jesuits as a scapegoat for his death. As life continued on, the Jewish Community were outcasts and nomads, with other nations rejecting their presence and deciding that their occupation was detrimental to the well being of their prosperity. Ultimately, the long history of anti-Semitism built up to the Holocaust of World War II.  After this tragic event, governments have been careful in terms of regulating hatred toward the religion and it’s participants in order to avoid an echo. However, modernly, these deeds have received partial growth and have been diminishing the confidence of Jews and disrupting the social peace of society involving diverse cultures.


Throughout the previous years, acts of anti-Semitism have received substantial growth in numbers. According to the Anti Defamation League, acts of hate crime against Jewish Individuals rose by 3% across the country in 2015.  This number is concerning, since one of the society’s main goal is to end hatred against groups of people. Since society has been partially flooded with anti-Semitic acts, education environments too have recognized the expansion. For example, the Anti Defamation League has also declared that incidents involving antagonism toward Jews has doubled on college and university campuses . This statistic is extremely alarming since the concept is now interfering with the learning industry of the nation. The CEO of ADL, Jonathan Greenbalt, has stated, “We are disturbed that violent anti-Semitic acts are rising…”.  Ultimately, the statistics representing the growth of the deeds promotes the fact that they need to be resolved and halted at once.


In order to solve the conflict, a congressional plan needs to be designed in order to provide more strict penalties for acts of anti-Semitism and other hate crimes against other religions. In addition, it is easy to assume that most of society is unaware of the details of the concept and what actions are associated with it. To support this claim, congress has taken in consideration a bill labeled, “Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2016,” which if passed, would clearly express a governmental definition of acts of anti-Semitism within educational environments.  Ultimately, people need to be more educated about the notion and how it affects the environment of society. After putting these plans in place, hopefully numbers of these hate crimes and acts of cruelty will diminish and victims will be able to decrease their anxiety levels.


In conclusion, the continuation of anti-Semitism will only result in more social conflict and further division. The government needs to work together in order to find a solution to reduce the abundance of these acts, while also maintaining unification. It is vital to consider the perspective of the individuals being violated in order to gain an insight of what needs to occur. For example, one can conclude that no one wants to experience any act o hate crimes.



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