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April 26, 2023 Features D1/D2
gainst rise in antisemitic incidents dia, including tweets declaring “death con 3 on Jewish people” and posting a symbol of a swastika inside a Star of David. Ye also declared on a radio show hosted by far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones that “we got to stop dissing the Nazis all of the time,” remarking, “I see good things about Hitler.” Though public backlash widely condemned Ye’s statements and cost Ye his estimated $1.5 billion Yeezy contract with Adidas, his words have influenced many. Winkelman believes that major celebrities set an example for the general public, and can normalize antisemitic behavior. “I think that a lot of big, prominent people are making anti semitic state-
Story by Talia Egnal and Sophie Yohannan Art by Eliza Cooke Design by Caleb Plank and Haley Carter In their 2022 report, the ADL wrote that “several left-wing candidates have adopted the idea that Israel and Zionists inordinately and nefariously influence or even control the government or media through the leveraging of funds. These ideas play into long standing antisemitic tropes about Jewish lust for money and control over public affairs.” The organization went on to name several prominent left-wing politicians. One listed politician, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” suggesting Jewish people control the government’s decisions through money. Omar was later subject to a rare house resolution condemning her speech.
People that might not have felt like that was socially acceptable to say five years ago now feel like they have license to do things that are
SARA WINKELMAN
ments like Kanye West, like Kyrie [Irving]... [and] there’s a lot of copycat going on. So people that might not have felt like that was socially acceptable to say five years ago now feel like they have license to do things that are antisemitic,” she says. The ADL has documented 30 antisemitic incidents that directly reference Ye’s rhetoric. The organization has also noted an increase in antisemitic social media content and the surge of a “Ye is right” movement. The influence of Ye’s outbursts hit close to home as well; the Whitman debate students referenced Kanye’s music during their diatribe. In Gaithersburg, a Jewish man was assaulted by a group of young men in a Giant grocery store, and court documents allege the assaulters shouted, “Yeah, do it for Kanye.” At Blair, Grossman points out that Jewish students have been approached by other students making agitational Ye-related comments towards them. “There are students going up to Jewish students, saying things like, ‘I like Kanye, what do you think about that?’ It’s just aggressive,” Grossman explains. “It’s super rude and mean-spirited.” Antisemitism is not exclusive to the far-right end of the political spectrum; it can take many forms, from both sides of the aisle. Though antisemitism may be more subtle on the left, it can leave Jewish students feeling unwelcome and harassed in leftist spaces, particularly when it comes to discussions of Israel. In 2021, the D.C. chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led, left-leaning climate activism group, refused to march with three Jewish organizations due to their support of Israel. Sunrise later apologized for their actions. “A lot of students who are not Jewish will say, in a very accusatory way, ‘What do you think about Israel? You’re Jewish, what do you think?’” Grossman says. “I think probably most Jewish students do feel some connection. But… a lot of them are very uncomfortable with the government… [and] they should not have to speak for a country that they are not a citizen [of].” Antisemitism associated with the Israel-Palestine conflict is widespread.
Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib shared false information alleging Israelis had kidnapped and killed a seven-year-old, when the child had in fact drowned. Tlaib’s tweets were denounced by the ADL as blood libel—a millennia old conspiracy that Jews murder children to ritually use their blood. Historically, false rumors of this nature swept through countries whenever a child was found dead, and the ensuing panic spawned massacres that left hundreds of Jewish people dead over the centuries.
Social Media
Online discussion platforms and so-
cial media sites such as Twitter can be ideal places for hateful groups to meet and share posts, which often contain misinformation. Social media algorithms also expose new viewers to antisemitic content and have been accused of radicalizing site users. One 2020 TikTok trend was the #holocaustchallenge, wherein users would pretend to dress in concentration camp garb. In a recent Haifa University study into TikTok, there was a 41 percent increase in antisemitic postings, 912 percent increase in comments, and 1375 percent increase in antisemitic usernames between the period of February to May 2020 and the same period in 2021. To address misinformation on social media, MCPS is implementing new policies in schools. Aronin thinks such education is essential to combat antisemitism. “I think Whitman just needs to start really cracking down on education,” Aronin says. “[The girls who made those comments] just don’t know the full story and how bad [antisemitism] really is. Winkelman does not believe there is one clear solution to combat antisemitism. “I want to have a magic wand and just be able to [wave it] and have [antisemitism] all disappear, but I don’t,” Winkelman says. However, she believes the ongoing development of educational policies can help mitigate the issue. “I know that MCPS’s whole office is increasing some of their education around antisemitism and Judaism. So they’re going to add a curriculum for middle school around antisemitism… that will be helpful.”