By Michelle Mazal Yosopov. On November 7, 2024, an attack against Jewish soccer fans was held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Hundreds of Maccabi Tel-Aviv football club fans traveled to the Dutch city to see the team play against AFC Ajax. Video evidence shows the graphic violence that took place after the match. According to the New York Post, 20 to 30 people were injured, including 5 that had to be hospitalized. Sixty-two suspects were arrested, however only four remain in custody.
Only a few weeks earlier, a 39-year-old orthodox Jewish man was shot on his way to a synagogue in Chicago, Illinois. Several days later, the perpetrator was arrested and charged with numerous crimes, such as attempted murder and hate crimes. The attack took place in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of West Rogers Park in Chicago, many of whom are orthodox. According to NBC Chicago, the victim was wearing a kippah, a skullcap worn by orthodox Jewish men, during the attack.
These are just a few of the many examples of this new wave of antisemitism that has swept communities worldwide. In New York City, antisemitism is still the leading hate crime.
According to newly released NYPD statistics, antisemitic hate crimes have increased 78% from September 2023 to September 2024, with 117 new crimes reported. New data published in August 2024 from the Office of the New York State Comptroller, states that “in 2023, nearly 44 percent of all recorded hate crime incidents and 88 percent of religious-based hate crimes targeted Jewish victims, the largest share of all such crimes.” (The complete statistics for 2024 for have not yet been released at the time of this article’s writing.)
In a 2024 survey conducted by the American Jewish Committee, 93% of the 1,001 Jewish people surveyed said that antisemitism is a problem in the United States.
Antisemitism drew a dramatic increase in the United States, and across the world, following the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, 2023, when 1,000+ Israelis were killed, and 200+ kidnapped. Following the attack, Israel launched its retaliation against Hamas, by attacking the Gaza Strip.
Twenty-three year old college student, Hannah, has been taken aback by the massive uproar on antisemitism across college campuses. “I grew up listening to stories that my grandparents would tell me about their encounters with the Nazis and the holocaust, how they always warned me about antisemitism. Living in America, I never thought that I would see and feel exactly what my grandparents have, especially going to such an accredited school in New York City, and having to hide my Jewish identity just so I can ensure my safety on my campus.”
However, it isn’t just in school where Hannah feels unsafe. “Some extremist who found out I’m Jewish started flooding my comment sections with hateful messages and threats. People DM me wishing horrible things upon me and my family, and they do it because they see that I am a Jew, and it feels as though I become ‘less than’ as soon as anyone learns that about me” says Hannah.
When asked how her Jewish identity has affected her this past year, Violetta, a 33 year old nurse living in NYC, says, “After October 7th, I realized that the world has so much hatred towards the Jewish people. And it really had me thinking as to why. It really does bother me because I think that people are just people, I don’t like judging a person based on anything other than their character, and it frightens me that so much of the world doesn’t operate that way.” When asked if she has ever felt the need to hide her identity, Violetta says, “Yes, I have…because at the time, I was in a certain environment right after October 7th, and I realized that I could not be as open as I once used to be, and especially working in healthcare, being a wife and mother, I decided that it would be best to refrain from disclosing my religious background to anyone.”
Violetta has also been a victim of antisemitic hate speech. “I went to a restaurant in Queens, and I was targeted as being a ‘genocide supporter’ by people screaming in my face. I was just walking with my husband and I guess someone saw my Star of David bracelet and they came up to me and started screaming at me and not letting me walk away until my husband interfered. At the time all I could do was laugh, but inside it hurt because people don’t know the truth.”
Jon, a 30 year old barber working in Manhattan, was also involved in an altercation. “This was back in February or March, there was a huge rally going on. I’m working in the shop between 4-5 PM and I work on Park Ave, a really big street. There’s like a thousand or two thousand people walking. And I see one guy standing outside the door of my shop and he is just screaming “F* the Jews!’— he didn’t even know we were Jewish — and my clients were too afraid to leave the store because this guy was just outside chanting these awful things. I decided to go outside and tell the guy to move it along, and he was just screaming horrible things to my face, wishing death upon my people, and it made my top blow off and I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I just started yelling at him to leave. There were a few people huddling around taking videos and pictures, and eventually they just kept walking and I got an earful from my boss.”
When asked if they think New York City is addressing this issue properly, the answer from all was a resounding, no.
“People should not be allowed to cover their face, and they do it because if they are identified, they will most likely lose their jobs, especially if they work in a corporation and they’re going against all corporate anti-discrimination laws,” said Jon. “Secondly, you can have freedom of speech, but if you are threatening someone or getting violent, immediate arrests must be made. As far as the campuses go, Jewish students, in fact, NO student should feel as though they need to hide who they are to get the education they deserve. We live in America.”
