Rabbi Michael Beals, Temple Beth El
The statistics are grim.
According to the latest annual State of Antisemitism in America Report released by American Jewish Committee (AJC) on February 12, 2025, online and on social media continue to be the places where American Jews encounter the worsening trend of antisemitism from a variety of sources including white supremacists on the far right and anti-Israel extremists on the far left.
Roughly seven in 10 (69%) Jewish adults report experiencing antisemitism online or on social media—including those who say they have been personally targeted and those who say they have seen or heard antisemitic incidents. This increases to eight in 10 (83%) among young Jewish adults.
Of the U.S. adults who witnessed antisemitism in the past 12 months, the majority (70%) say they saw it online or on social media.
Roughly three-quarters (77%) of American Jews said they feel less safe as a Jewish person in the U.S. because of the October 7 attacks, with nine in 10 saying that antisemitism in the U.S. has increased since that fateful day
In honor of the Jewish Living Delaware “Outdoors” Issue, I say let’s get REALLY outdoors—let’s get “out of the box” when it comes to addressing antisemitism! But how?!
To quote my favorite USS Enterprise Captain: “ENGAGE!”
We simply cannot afford to slink into our echo chambers and silos where everyone echoes our own views and validates our points of view. I admit it’s comforting to retreat there. It’s like going back to your old room when you were a kid, and things were safer. But it is not healthy to stay stuck in the room of your youth. To grow means to experience discomfort with new people in new experiences.
First things first. We ALL need to be better educated Jews. Start with our own Jewish Living Delaware, but don’t end there. Include the Jewish Forward, HaAretz, The Jerusalem Post, Join Izzy and Stream Israel for $6/month, attend Jewish Federation briefings or anything Yuval Moha—our shaliach—is planning, read books on Israel, learn Hebrew. Also read books from the Palestinian perspective. Maybe start with something safe, like The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew and the Heart of the Middel East by Sandy Tolan or Letters to my Palestinian Neighbor by Yossi Klein Halevi. BBC and NPR can be maddening on their Israel coverage, but if you only listen to Fox, you won’t understand where the anger against current Israeli policy is coming from—although even if you do understand, it won’t explain antisemitism.
Next—reach out. Invite your non-Jewish co-workers, your kids’ teachers, principals, coaches, directors, heck even your senators and congressperson to your kid’s bar or bat mitzvah. Make sure your rabbi is good at explaining stuff because it’s a LONG haul. And just because you invite this interfaith crew to the service and kiddush lunch does NOT mean you also have to invite them to the party—they’re different events.
With the seders now safely in your review mirror, did you invite anyone new to the seder? How about somebody new to your table who was NOT Jewish, who perhaps never attended a Passover meal before, with the rich retelling of our collective experience with 400 years of slavery, all designed to make us more empathetic to the marginalized living in our society today? Or what about inviting some non-Jewish leaders to the informative programming hosted by our JCRC, headed by Rabbi Ellen Bernhardt? Or maybe you could pen a helpful Op-Ed to The News Journal on an issue dealing with Israel or antisemitism?
And when was the last time you attended an interfaith Iftar to end one of the fast days of Ramadan with your local Islamic Center? Or what about a lecture at your neighborhood church? It’s important to not only invite people IN, but to be willing to reach OUT and experience other people’s home religions too. And whenever possible, it is vital to be good allies to those experiencing marginalization. I can think of no better place to start than our Delaware Ukrainian community who are feeling terribly abandoned by the United States at the moment. But there are also many interfaith volunteer activities going between most of our synagogues and churches within our communities—spending time volunteering with people from different faith communities is a wonderful way to build new friendships with people unlike ourselves, as we join in common causes to address shared concerns.
Social media is a very tricky place to build bridges as people are not very accountable for what they write on a computer—I have seen some really nasty material on other people’s posts. Sometimes I gently challenge, especially when I read a comment I know to be incorrect from personal experience. But in general, Facebook, Instagram, X are not healthy places to go for information or to combat antisemitism. However, I still take a look at the repugnant stuff just to see how our detractors frame their attacks. I know I began by suggesting to engage, but sometimes you can learn more by simply observing.
What do “Going Outdoors” and “Going Out of the Box” share in common? Both activities suggest moving from the comfortable to the uncomfortable—all for the sake of experiencing something new and hopefully growing. Even more basic, “Going Outdoors” and “Going Out of the Box” both demand MOVEMENT. You can’t get stuck, you can’t be complacent as you “Go Outdoors” or “Go Out of the Box.” And perhaps that’s the final point: BE EMPOWERED. You needn’t be housebound. You needn’t be a victim. Keep moving. Keep growing.
Chazak v’amatz! Be strong and of good courage!
