Combating Antisemitism: A Framework for Action
While antisemitic incidents have increased nationally over the last decade, the past year marked an inflection point in the willingness of public figures and individuals to espouse antisemitic tropes. As hatred and the propagation of conspiracy theories against Jews increase, historic public and societal constraints on anti-Jewish hatred have diminished.
This baseless venom begets violence. We have seen it firsthand.
The Jewish community is concerned – and angry. It is time to channel our frustration into collective action.
We are grateful to the community members, leaders, organizations, and synagogues working to combat destructive conspiracy theories and all bigotry and hatred. Working together exponentially increases our effectiveness and impact.
We have a plan to confront and combat this trend.
Join us.
Federation, our Jewish Community Foundation, and our partners, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and American Jewish Committee (AJC), are working to combat hatred and continue to secure our community for the long-term. In March 2023, Federation’s Board approved an initial $2 million in funding to combat antisemitism over the next three years: an important step in a large-scale initiative.
Federation commits to:
- Convening Jewish communal leadership to work in concert against antisemitism. We must continue to harness our proven capacity for collaboration, partnership, and transformational change in the face of virulent hatred of Jews.
- Empowering community members to address antisemitism. Federation is committed to disseminating critical tools to community members and organizations to effectively address antisemitism whenever and wherever it arises.
- Advocating for increased education on antisemitism. Building early and ongoing comprehension of the link between conspiracy theories and hate is crucial.
- Building Coalitions with Faith, Ethnic, and Other Allied Groups. Intergroup relations are essential not only to combating antisemitism and other forms of prejudice, but to strengthening the Greater Washington community as a whole.
- Strengthening communal security. Through our security initiatives, Federation is investing in and expanding security efforts across the community to ensure that our communal ecosystem is well-protected.
- Bolstering American democracy. Essential American democratic institutions are fraying and even perceived as illegitimate by many across political divides. Through our Jewish Community Foundation and with key partners, Federation – home to the Jewish community of our nation’s capital – is poised to help safeguard and bolster American democracy now and for the long-term.