Lack of Jewish Identity Among Young Jews May Fuel Antisemitism

It pains this writer to say this but the pride I have in being born a Jew is perhaps not as common in other Jews in my age demographic as I would like for it to be.

Perhaps this has something to do with the rise of antisemitism in America.

Many young Jews in America are growing up with a much different version of Judaism than the one I grew up with and also many young Jews are not as religious as my generation is and the generations before us.

In some facets of today’s Judaism, there is more of an emphasis on being a social justice warrior than being a G-d fearing Jew who observes "The 10 Commandments."

Side note — when you see Jews write out G-d like this, it’s not to be disrespectful in fact it’s the ultimate respect because following the Torah’s instruction to "obliterate the name" of idolatry in the Land of Israel, the Torah warns us not to do the same to G‑d.

We thus learn that there is a prohibition to erase G‑d’s name.

Writing G‑d’s name could lead to erasing or disrespecting G‑d’s name, as will be discussed.

Back to the topic at hand, while I would never write out G-d, I’m willing to bet that many young Jews would because they were not taught the Torah or Jewish customs the way I was.

This is a major disconnect for my people.

And when we look at the sharp rise of antisemitism aka Jew Hatred over the last 10 years, perhaps we, Jews, need to take some ownership of this as well.

For far too long, Jewish organizations have been telling Jews in America that antisemitism isn’t so bad and not to worry.

They also said the same thing about Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., — don’t worry about them, they represent a small minority and will never have an impact. Well, now when anti-Israel resolutions are introduced in Congress they gain support from plus 25 Members of Congress — a major increase from just a small handful 5 years ago.

I can recall a situation back in 2017 when I was walking on a river trail in my hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when I looked down and there was graffiti on the sidewalk that said "F**k Trump and F**k the Jews."

When I saw this, I took a picture, sent it out on Twitter and tagged local Philadelphia City councilmembers.

Thankfully, these city councilmembers sprung into action immediately by dispatching a City of Philadelphia cleaning crew to the trail to power wash away the hateful remarks.

What happened next was truly mind-boggling and I didn’t realize until a couple years ago that this is what many Jews in America have been told to do and this is why I think perhaps we have to take more ownership about the rise of Antisemitism in America.

So after sending out the tweet and working with local elected officials to get it resolved, I received a phone call from the local Executive Director of the ADL (Anti-Defamation League).

This individual proceeded to shame me and yell at me for tweeting out the image. I recall this individual saying something along the lines of  "Why couldn’t you handle this quietly so no one would know."

At the time, I suppose I didn’t think anything of it but as I reflect on this moment in time, it’s apparent to me that what this individual said to me is the mindset of many young Jews in America.

They are being taught by our own people to ignore Antisemitism and treat it like it doesn’t exist. They are being taught to assimilate and shed their centuries old Jewish traditions and customs.

This is a major problem.

Adding onto this, this writer recalls that during the peak of the BLM riots, many reform and conservative synagogues in America were holding shabbat vigils for the BLM movement.

I want to circle back to a point I made earlier in this piece. Jewish organizations are still telling their constituencies, Jews, that antisemitism should just be ignored and that it’s not that bad.

Not that bad?

Jews are 2% of the population in America yet we are the target of over 60% of the religious based hate crimes in America.

It’s time for the Jewish community to take some ownership regarding the rise of antisemitism in America and all of us.

Jewish Democrats and Republicans, observant or non-observant Jews, better start projecting some strength and leading with Jewish pride at every turn in our society before it’s too late.

Bryan E. Leib is the Executive Director of CASEPAC, the nation's only Federal PAC dedicated to combating Antisemitism everywhere. Formerly, he served as the Executive Director for Iranian Americans for Liberty and in 2018, he was a GOP Endorsed Congressional Candidate (PA-03). He tweets at @BryanLeibFL. Read More Bryan E. Leib Reports — Here.