Fighting Antisemitism

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:

1. Raising Awareness
2. Education
3. Taking Action

upcoming events

Meet, Greet, Eat, and Organize: Addressing Antisemitism in Montgomery County Public Schools 
Sunday, November 2
10:00 AM–12:00 PM
at B'nai Israel Congregation
Parents, guardians, and caretakers with Jewish children in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) are invited to a breakfast and organizational meeting with the leadership team of the Montgomery County Jewish Parents Coalition and the B’nai Israel Fighting Antisemitism Committee. Share how being Jewish is affecting your children at school. Learn how local groups are advocating with MCPS on behalf of Jewish children and the Jewish community. Discover how you can help. Click here to register.

L’Chaim in Challenging Times: A Monthly Gathering for Reflection and Resilience
Wednesdays, November 19, December 10, January 21
7:30–8:30 PM
Zoom Event
A drop in session for sharing, reflections, and discussions. Hosted by the Fighting Antisemitism Committee. Click here to register.

Past Events

ADL D.C.'s September Webinar
Championing Advocacy and Relationships in K-12 Schools
Thursday, September 18
5:00-6:00 PM
ADL D.C.'s Back to School Series for parents and caregivers continues with a focus on K-12 schools. Start the 2025-2026 school year off right with positive relationship building and tools for empowered advocacy. Join us on Thursday, September 18, 5:00-6:00 PM to hear from regional and national education experts leading efforts against hate and antisemitism.
Participants will:
Learn about ADL resources for supporting Jewish students and advocating for meaningful change in K-12 schools.
Gain tips for building positive relationships with K-12 school administrators and leaders.
Hear insights on K-12 advocacy successes in the D.C. Region and how you can be empowered to advocate for your student. Register here.

ROSH HASHANAH BREAKOUT SESSION

Decoding Antisemitism with Arno Rosenfeld
Tuesday, September 23
12:00 PM
Arno Rosenfeld, who covers antisemitism for the Forward, the nation's most influential Jewish newspaper, will discuss how to understand contemporary debates around Jewish safety, the landscape on college campuses, what has changed since both the October 7th attacks and the start of President Donald Trump’s second term and the contrasting approaches to addressing the problem taken by different segments of the Jewish community. In advance of Arno's session, sign up for the Forward's Antisemitism Decoded newsletter here.

YOM KIPPUR BREAKOUT SESSIONS

How We Remember So As To Never Forget: Reflections On March Of The Living with Neil Jacobs
Thursday, October 2
12:30 PM
Traveling to Poland and then to Israel on the International March of the Living reshapes one’s understanding of the phrase “Never forget.” Hear more about the experience and its impact from our community member Neil Jacobs.

Jewish Life on Campus: Before & After with Jay and Jennifer Feldman 
Thursday, October 2
1:15 PM
Before October 7th, Jewish university students were encountering alarming levels of campus antisemitism. At the same time, Jewish pride on campus is flourishing. Join us for a panel discussion on the ever-evolving campus landscape and hear from people who help shape and support the Jewish student experience at universities across North America.

L.I.F.E. LECTURE: Film Screening of OCTOBER 8 with Jonathan Schanzer
Sunday, October 19
7:00–9:15 PM
OCTOBER 8 offers a look at the explosion of antisemitism on college campuses, social media and in the streets of America beginning the day after the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas. Through meticulous investigation, the film also uncovers how over decades, Hamas created sophisticated networks in America to permeate U.S. institutions and examines the tsunami of online antisemitism, propaganda, and disinformation unleashed by Iran, China and Russia—with the sole purpose of dividing American society.

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer is Executive Director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Formerly a terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Treasury, he has held research roles at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Middle East Forum. Schanzer has authored four books on terrorism, Hamas, and Palestinian politics, including Gaza Conflict 2021. He testifies regularly before Congress and appears frequently on CNN, Fox News, BBC, and MSNBC. His articles have shaped discourse on the Middle East and U.S. national security. Click here to register.

LATEST RESOURCES

July 14, 2025  Tell Teacher Unions to Put Students First and Fight Antisemitism 
In schools across America, Jewish children are being called “baby killers,” taunted with Hitler jokes, and have had to sit in classrooms defaced with swastikas. When Jewish educators and families speak out, they're too often met with silence—or worse, hostility.

Now, the National Education Association (NEA) has voted to cut ties with ADL, sending a chilling message: that the marginalization of Jews is acceptable. By severing this partnership, the largest teachers' union in the country is stripping schools of trusted, time-tested resources that help educators teach about the Holocaust, address antisemitism, and combat all forms of hate.

At a time of rising hate, when students are increasingly exposed to extremist content online and in their communities, educators need more tools, not fewer. Holocaust and antisemitism education help students understand history, recognize warning signs, and build empathy that protects all vulnerable communities. Take Action Here

July 10, 2025 In partnership with the co-leaders of the Montgomery County Jewish Educators Alliance, Rebecca Schnitzer Kotok and Brenda Lubell Green wrote an op-ed addressing NEA delegates' vote last week to cut ties with the ADL. 

"The NEA’s move to cut ties with the ADL doesn’t just reject an organization; it sends a message to Jewish students and teachers across the country that their safety and belonging are somehow less important, or worse, politically inconvenient.

Jewish families are watching this unfold and asking whether their children are still welcome in our public schools.

Many of us — Jewish educators included — are asking whether the organizations that are supposed to represent us still do.

The ADL has long understood something that every teacher sees firsthand: hate may start with Jews, but it never ends there."   linked Here: https://nypost.com/2025/07/09/opinion/teachers-union-vote-vs-anti-defamation-league-hurts-us-all/

 
June 5, 2025 A weekly wrap of ADL’s reports, updates and analysis on antisemitism around the world. Click here to read. 

June 2, 2025 AJC CEO Ted Deutch Op-ed in Newsday: We Will Not Move on After Attacks in Washington and Boulder
Click here to read.

August 26, 2024 JCRC Resources for Jewish Parents Back to School
During the past two weeks, six schools in Montgomery County were vandalized with anti-Jewish and anti-Israel messages and symbols, bringing back the familiar feelings of fear and anxiety that has gripped our community. In a new op-ed for MoCo360, JCRC Chief Operating Officer Guila Franklin Siegel addresses those incidents and what local leaders and policymakers must do to ensure that schools remain safe for Jewish students and educators. 

The JCRC is pleased to provide the following programs and resources for Jewish community members:

1. Montgomery County Board of Education Candidate Forum Sunday, October 13, 7:30-9:00 PM, Congregation Beth El, Bethesda
2. Local school systems’ hate bias and anti-bullying protocols and forms for reporting antisemitism 
3. Religious absence policies by school system

June 29, 2024 Podcast: Call me Back with Dan Senor, Noa Tishby and Emmanuel Acho 
Since October 7th, many of us have had uncomfortable conversations we could never have imagined having. October 7th sparked debates and discussions that got very awkward very quickly. But what’s unique about our guests today is that they were having these conversations prior to October 7th. Not only were they having these conversations, they were working on a book that chronicled these difficult conversations. Their book is called Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew. It’s by Noa Tishby and Emmanuel Acho.

June 2024 In the News: Addressing Rising Antisemitism in Local Schools
Federation CEO, Gil Preuss, spoke this week with Fox 5 DC on our efforts to support teens as they face antisemitism in schools and on college campuses. Watch the full interview here.

What B’nai Israel is Saying (Raising Awareness)

• Jews Must Speak Up Against Israel's Antisemitism (February 14, 2024) by Margery Smelkinson and Lisa Miller, Washington Jewish Week

• Opinion: MCPS must combat antisemitism in its schools (Feburary 2, 2024) by Margery Smelkinson and Lisa Miller, Moco360

• 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

• 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

• "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!

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

In the News: Addressing Rising Antisemitism in Local Schools
Federation CEO, Gil Preuss, spoke this week with Fox 5 DC on our efforts to support teens as they face antisemitism in schools and on college campuses.
Watch the full interview here.

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

• Children’s Books That Tackle Anti-Semitism And Difference

If you have suggested resources and events for this page, please email them to info@bnaiisraelcong.org.