What makes each of us different? Is it the color of our skin? Our height? The number of people in our family? Our religion? These questions may seem inconsequential, but as the world around us becomes more diverse the ways we choose to segregate ourselves from others and who we include and exclude from groups become important relevant issues. People do, in fact, choose to be with those who are like them, it’s always been that way. People feel more comfortable with those who are “similar” and tend to shy away from others who are “different”. Personally, I have felt this in school because I am Jewish, yet you may have felt it for another reason.
As an active, young, Jewish girl the recent increase in antisemitism is baffling. Until recent years, many Jews in America believed that the worst of antisemitism was in Europe. Both of my parents were born in The Netherlands were antisemitism is a typical part of life, because of this fact, my parents decided to move to America in 1999 in order to allow us to live a more open, free, Jewish life. American Jews today are accepted in all universities, neighborhoods, and are even allowed to hold elite business positions that once ostracized their ancestors. Jews have reclaimed their right for equality and in the year 2000, the first Jew even ran for vice president on a major party ticket. I have personally witnessed antisemitism in, online insults, threatening social media posts, and the occasional remark I receive when I try to explain why I cannot go out on Friday nights. I am just one of the teenagers around the world giving voice to the challenges that Jews, and Jewish children specifically, all over the world are facing daily. It is important that we use the threats against us to make us stronger and that we don’t back down out of fear of being different.
On October 27, 2018, eleven people were brutally murdered in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by a man who told the police that he “wanted all Jews to die.” These are horrible, ugly words, but are not unfamiliar to any Jewish person who has grown up defending themselves from antisemitic slurs. However, this incident did not appear unexpectedly, Swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti have been increasing to surface on synagogues, cemeteries and Jewish homes around the country in the last decade. The Anti-Defamation League logged a 57 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in the United States from 2016 to 2017.
Another incident that severely affected me occurred late on March 2nd as I was completing my daily scroll through Instagram when I first saw it. At first, even I thought it was a joke. I continued scrolling but then I scrolled back up as quickly as my scrawny fingers could. Numerous teenagers, from my hometown, were surrounding one of the most prominent images of hate. Their faces read faces of ignorance and stupidity. A group of highschoolers surrounded numerous red solo cups deliberately and systematically put into the shape of a swastika. A swastica for Jews represents Adolf Hitler’s goals of the Holocaust. In Hitler’s book Mein Kampf, he writes, “In red we see the social idea of the movement, in white the nationalistic idea, in the swastika the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan man.” Following the posting of these images, the school which most of these students attended held a meeting, and a student, as well as one of my friends, said, “The blame is on all of us really. This environment allowed them all to feel comfortable enough to do that…”.
In this day and age many people say things and do things without thinking, and scorn the effect it may have on others. We live in a world with many diverse cultures and it forces you to be open-minded and considerate of other people and their beliefs. When comparing characteristics between different groups of people, people tend to believe that their beliefs and customs are superior to others. From when I was a toddler my parents have raised me to be proud of who I am, what I look like, and most importantly of my religion. My great grandmother, Meta Benninga, was twenty years old when World War Two started. The wrinkles, and scars around her body show how strong and powerful she is. Without knowing that she would even survive the war, she fought for her life. She was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau at the age of twenty and was forced to endure the hardships and cruelty of the Nazis. My great grandmother, Oma Oma as we like to call her, survived although the odds of survival were minimal.
Social media is a platform where people feel as if they can say or post anything without any repercussions. Recently this ideology has officially been tested. Today the impact of posting something out of hate can result in being publicly disgraced, losing a job, and even in some cases, facing criminal charges. In the end, Nazi Salutes and Swastikas are never a joke. The Anti-Defamation League and the Council on American-Islamic Relations commented that “ When such actions are considered jokes, hate and bigotry become normalized”.
Taking a stand is not easy. We sometimes worry about what others may think, or even worry about our own safety. I am a current university student, and I have thought to myself, “will I stand with Israel and show my support when campuses across the globe have become so outwardly anti-Israel and anti-Semitic?” It would be much easier to simply remain quiet and not take a stand. We live in a country with an abundance of freedom, but that freedom can be questionable and elusive. In the age of rising antisemitism and anti-Zionism, we are constantly faced with the option of being a bystander or an upstander. Do we watch from the sidelines and continue to let our people be belittled, or do we stand up and speak out? As I said earlier I have always been a firm believer in standing up for what I believe in. I am lucky to be surrounded by friends who support my beliefs and don’t make me feel embarrassed about who I am, but others aren’t so lucky and often find themselves suppressing their true identity out of fear of being judged.
Anyone can be prejudiced, but that does not mean that everyone is. I believe that in every society there are ‘shades’ or levels of prejudice. Bullying is often caused by prejudice against people who are different. For example, the ‘cool kids’ who are wearing a certain brand of clothing felt as if they are superior, so they pick on the one kid who is wearing a dress that was handed down to her by her older sister. Just because she’s different doesn’t mean she should have a target on her back. Adolf Hitler came into contact with antisemitic ideas at an early age, which fueled his prejudice against Jewish people. During his rise to power, he became obsessed with the idea of ethnic purity in Germany and ultimately in the entire world. Hitler’s position allowed him to spread and act on his prejudices against “inferior peoples,” leading to the death of millions in the Holocaust.
It is vital that we understand the power that our words and actions hold, and stand up for ourselves when we feel belittled. I ask all you who are scared of standing up for your beliefs to challenge yourself and stand up and speak out because together we can not only fight antisemitism, but all types of racism, prejudice, and discrimination.
Anne Berg's Blog 