Thursday 27th January marks this year's Holocaust Memorial Day, 76 years since Auschwitz was liberated. It marks a tragic event for those all over the world, where 6 million Jews were murdered within 4 years by the Nazis and their allies. Yet still, antisemitism – the marginalization or oppression of Jewish people - continues to present itself in the 21st Century.
Antisemitism has remained most prominent within Western Europe and Islamic countries. Yet even within the United States (long viewed one of the safest places for the Jewish community), many still face discrimination and prejudice. Organisations and websites held by extreme right-wing or anti-Israel groups alongside extreme left-wing activists who associate Israel with fascism, make the streets of states such as New York and Washington unsafe for many Jews. Abraham H Foxman, Anti-Defamation League’s national director warned “The combination of Jew hatred and the accumulation of weapons of mass destruction by hostile governments makes the threat of this antisemitism the greatest since the Holocaust” in a December 2003 newspaper column – nearly 20 years later, the issue has only increased.
Less than a month into 2022, there has already been an antisemitic attack in Texas, US. On January 15th, during a Saturday morning Shabbat service, a gunman entered a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, capturing 4 hostages (including the Rabbi). After a 10 hour standoff with local, state and even federal authorities, the gunman died during a shooting at the scene. Luckily all 4 hostages escaped and were unharmed. This is only one example of many attacks within America – supposedly one of the safest places for Jews. Within those areas in Europe or Muslim countries that antisemitism is highly prominent, the list is longer, more dangerous, and much more fatal.
Hate and discrimination escalates through bias, prejudice and oppression. If these things go unchecked, it can become normalised and contribute to an ongoing pattern of accepting violence, discrimination and injustice in society. Challenging biased attitudes within ourselves and others van interrupt this escalation and make it more difficult for discrimination and hate to take place. If we as a society have not learnt over 76 years to simply not make the world dangerous for groups of people to live, then we have a long way to go.
