Our congregation has created this Fighting Antisemitism page in order to serve our community as a resource to discuss what we are doing to tackle this problem. We are addressing this issue in the following three ways:
- Raising Awareness
- Education
- Taking Action
What B’nai Israel is Saying (Raising Awareness)
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Jews Must Speak Up Against Israel's Antisemitism (February 14, 2024) by Margery Smelkinson and Lisa Miller, Washington Jewish Week
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Opinion: MCPS must combat antisemitism in its schools (Feburary 2, 2024) by Margery Smelkinson and Lisa Miller, Moco360
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MCPS sees rise in antisemitism from staff, students (January 18, 2024) by Claire Lenkin, Managing Editor, Wootton High School Common Sense
- Opinion – Montgomery Schools Followed Policy On Suspending Teachers (January 1, 2024) by Lisa Miller, Washington Post. You can also view directly on Washington Post website here.
- Israel Solidarity Shabbat Sermon (Shabbat Breishit 5784, October 14, 2023) by Rabbi Michael Safra
- Antisemitism in Schools: A Student's Perspective by Rae Weinstein, as part of our Summer Speaker Series 2023. Click here for the video.
- Allies in the Fight (p. 139), Bethesda Magazine July/August 2023 Issue; Rabbi Safra quoted discussing recent antisemitic events in Montgomery County
- Alert, Not Afraid (Parshat Chayei Sarah, November 19, 2022) by Rabbi Mitchell Berkowitz
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Lekh Lekha (October 31, 2020) Click here for the video.
From B'nai Israel students (submit additional articles here): -
"Tulane Students For Palestine spews hateful rhetoric" (November 15, 2023) by Ethan Lenkin in the Tulane Hullabaloo
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"The Israel-Hamas War, Explained" (November 19, 2023) by Claire Lenkin, in the Wootton High School Common Sense
What B’nai Israel is Doing (EducatION)
- ADL’s Kulanu program: Our congregation is participating in “Kulanu”, hebrew for “All of Us,” a program dedicated to empowering congregations to address antisemitism and hate in their communities through education, community engagement, and advocacy. Nine local synagogues joined this program in 2022. Learn more about Kulanu in the Washington Jewish Week.
Interested in joining B'nai Israel's efforts with the ADL's Kulanu program? Let us know! - L.I.F.E. Lecture–A Footnoote to History: German Jewish Fugitives in Canada with Howard Isaac (Sunday, January 21, 7:30 PM, B'nai Israel Congregation)
What You Can Do (TAKING ACTION)
- Sign the JCRC Petition: Support MCPS' Efforts to Combat Antisemitism
Over the past few years, children and families in Montgomery County have experienced an unprecedented surge of antisemitic incidents — and today MCPS is facing growing public pressure to reinstate MCPS educators who have been placed on administrative leave for sharing antisemitic images and messages.Please join the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington by signing a petition to thank MCPS for its swift intervention to temporarily remove these teachers from classrooms; support MCPS' ongoing efforts to thoroughly investigate each situation prior to making any decisions on reinstatement; and urge all MCPS educators to ensure students of all backgrounds and faiths are treated with dignity, fairness, tolerance, and respect.
Click here to learn more and sign the petition.
- Monitor and respond to antisemitic events:
- Have you experienced bias, hate, or a discriminatory incident? Please report it to the ADL. You can do so by clicking here.
- Reports of bias, hate and discriminatory incidents at Montgomery Country Public Schools can be submitted to the JCRC.
- Connect with our clergy if any students, both local or away at college, need support or would like a B'nai Israel representative to attend at JSU or club meeting. Please be in touch with us.
- Speak up against antisemitism:
- USCJ: Five Stategies to Interrupt Antisemitism in Everyday Conversations
- Have any of our students written an op-ed, speech, or article regarding antisemitism? Please share it with us so that we can share it on this page.
- Attend events: COMING SOON
Resources
White House Report–The U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism
We are not in this on our own. In May 2023, the White House released a National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.
Click here to read the official report.
Additional Reading
- Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of ADL: It Could Happen Here: Why America is Tipping from Hate to the Unthinkable and How We Can Stop It
Purchase the Book - Deborah Lipstadt, United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism: Antisemitism: Here and Now
Purchase the Book
Teens
- Samantha A. Vinokor-Meinrath: #antisemitism Coming of Age during the Resurgence of Hate
Purchase the Book
Children
If you have suggested resources and events for this page, please email them to info@bnaiisraelcong.org.
