Antisemitism is on the rise in Durham and worldwide
By: Hannah Posner & Sadie Irby
Photos Courtesy of: Beth El Synagogue and Tate Gasch
“When I was in middle school, we were going through World War II Jewish propaganda,” Senior Ranon Greyber said. “And I swear half the class turned around and looked directly at me.”
Uncomfortable conversations surrounding the topic of antisemitism, or anti-Jewish prejudice, are a common predicament for American Jews.
Durham’s small but active Jewish community, and the experiences of Jewish Riverside students, reflect broader national trends relating to how American Jews build community and deal with the threat of antisemitism.
From seemingly-harmless microaggressions to violent hate crimes, antisemitism’s nuanced history can make it difficult to identify in a contemporary context.
What is antisemitism?
“Antisemitism means prejudice against or hatred of Jews,” according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM).
The Holocaust– or the murder of six million Jews by Nazi Germany– is modern history’s most extreme and well-known form of antisemitism. However, antisemitism did not start or end with the Holocaust. Antisemitic beliefs can be traced back as early as ancient times, lingered through the twentieth century and appear to be on the rise again in the modern day.
“The longest hatred”: the history of anti-Jewish prejudice
Though there was no official start to antisemitism, it is commonly traced back to the misconception that Jews were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, who was actually crucified by the Romans.
As a religious minority in Europe, Jews were considered outsiders and pressured to convert to Christianity. In 1492, all Jews in Spain were forced to either convert or leave the country they had lived in for over a thousand years.
Starting in the Middle Ages, false allegations of blood libel– or the use of the blood of Christian children for ritual purposes– led to violent riots against Jews called pogroms. Pogroms continued in Europe into the 20th century. Nazi propaganda often included accusations of blood libel.
Antisemitism did not start or end with the Holocaust.
Jewish people have been used as a scapegoat throughout history, blamed for events such as the Bubonic Plague and the German loss of World War I. According to the USHMM, “[The Nazis] exploited the general population’s readiness to scapegoat Jews by enacting laws that targeted the freedoms of the Jewish people.”
Through their propaganda, the Nazis depicted Jews as a greedy people who had infiltrated German society. They viewed Jews as racially inferior to the German race, or the “Aryans.”
The perception of Jews as an inferior race originates in Social Darwinism, or the pseudo-scientific theory of “survival of the fittest,” that some people are innately better than others.
“To Hitler, survival of the German ‘Aryan’ race depended on its ability to maintain the purity of its gene pool,” according a History.com article about Social Darwinism. “The Nazis targeted certain groups or races that they considered biologically inferior for extermination. These included Jews, Roma (gypsies), Poles, Soviets, people with disabilities and homosexuals.”
Contemporary American antisemitism
According to the ADL, antisemitic incidents in the US are at their highest levels in 40 years.
From extreme examples, such as the murder of 11 worshippers in a Pittsburg synagogue in October 2018 and the holding of four hostages in a Texas synagogue in January 2022, to minor examples, such as graffitied swastikas or hate speech, these incidents can make Jewish Americans feel unsafe.
In the past decade, security has increased at synagogues due to the fear of violent antisemitic attacks. It has become common for one or more police officers to stand outside of synagogues during weekly services and other events.
According to FBI director Christopher Wray, 60% of all religious-based hate crimes in the US are directed against American Jews, even though the group represents only about 2.4% of the population.
The ADL has observed a nearly 400% increase in antisemitic incidents in the US such as harassment, vandalism, and assault since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Many of these incidents, such as an individual shouting “I am Hamas” and making death threats to a group of Jewish people in Los Angeles, are fueled by the misconception that American Jews are responsible for the actions of the Israeli government.
In 2020, the ADL found that 24% of Americans agreed with the statement “Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America.”
In a 2019-2020 Pew Research Center survey, 82% of American Jews said that “caring about Israel is essential or important to what being Jewish means to them.” However, this connection to Israel does not mean disloyalty to the United States, and it should not be assumed that all American Jews are connected to or support the actions of the Israeli government.
Zionism, or the belief in the right for a Jewish state to exist, is believed to be common among American Jews, though there is not sufficient data on how many American Jews self-identify as Zionists.
“It’s very easy for people to confuse criticism of Israel with antisemitism.”
A 2019 Gallup poll found that 95% of American Jews have favorable views of Israel. However, this data was obtained from a subsample of 128 Jews out of all Americans, and there has not been further research into American Jewish opinions on Israel since the war.
Not all Jews are Zionists, and not all Zionists support Israeli policy relating to the Israel-Hamas war.
Though antisemitism is commonly associated with the political right, it has become more common on the left, guised as criticism of Israel and as ‘anti-Zionism.’
“I think it’s very easy for people to confuse criticism of Israel with antisemitism,” says Greyber. “The media and general discussion don’t give enough attention to separating those two things. Whenever there is a rise in criticizing Israel it opens more room for antisemitism unrelated to Israel.”
According to Zioness, an organization that believes in progressivism and zionism, “It is inherently antisemitic to suggest that an American Jew is not sufficiently progressive unless they qualify their Zionism––or, in many circles today, declare themselves to be ‘anti-Zionist’––by criticizing/demonizing Israel or its government.”
“Criticism of the policies of Israeli governments is not necessarily antisemitic,” according to the Anne Frank House museum. “However, denying the State of Israel’s right to exist does constitute antisemitism… Comments such as, ‘What Israel is doing to the Palestinians now is the same as the Nazis’ systematic extermination of Jews during the Second World War’ are not only inappropriate and inaccurate but also antisemitic.”
This new flavor of antisemitism has become especially common on college campuses.
The organization Jewish on Campus has reported over 2,000 instances of antisemitism on college campuses since 2020. The most common forms were microaggressions, hate speech and vandalism.
On November 2, the House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the support of Hamas and other terrorist organizations on college campuses.
In a December 5 congressional hearing on campus antisemitism, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and MIT presidents evaded questions on whether calling for the genocide of Jews would be against the university’s code of conduct. University of Pennsylvania president Elizabeth Magill resigned four days later, and Harvard president Claudine Gay resigned on January 2.
Preserving tradition and adapting to change
There are approximately 5,000 Jewish people in Durham County, or 1.15% of the total population, according to Jewish For Good (the Jewish Community Center for Durham and Chapel Hill).
Jewish For Good expects another 1,000 Jewish households to move to the Triangle in the next 15 years.
“The Durham Jewish community traces its origins to the 1870s when German and Eastern European immigrants arrived to peddle and open stores in the growing tobacco town,” according to the Beth El Synagogue website.
“In the early 1880s tobacco magnate James B. Duke contracted with a young Ukrainian immigrant, Moses Gladstein, to bring more than a hundred East European proletarians from New York to roll cigarettes in his factory,” according to the Jewish Virtual Library. “These Jewish rollers formed a chapter of the Cigarmaker’s Progressive Union and later an assembly of the Knights of Labor.”
In 1884, the growing Durham Jewish community founded a cemetery on Morehead Avenue. They began holding services on the second floor of a Main Street shop.
Beth El was founded in 1892 as an orthodox congregation, originally located near the current downtown library. A Jewish neighborhood of mostly East European immigrants grew around the synagogue, home to a kosher bakery, grocery and butcher shop.
“[North Carolina’s] Orthodox Jews maintained regimens of daily prayer with a quorum [minimum group] of ten men,” according to NCPedia, an online encyclopedia of North Carolina. “The early immigrant rabbi was often an unordained, self-proclaimed ‘reverend’ who served as a religious master of all trades. As one Durhamite recalled, ‘He circumcised you, married you, buried you, and killed your chickens.’ ” (animals like chickens need to be slaughtered in a specific manner to be considered kosher, and thus acceptable to be eaten.)
Until the late 1930s, the Orthodox leaders gave sermons in Yiddish, a language spoken by European Jews that combines German and Hebrew.
In the 1940s, more Jewish Americans relocated to Durham to work at Duke and UNC. These newcomers were not as inclined toward Orthodox Judaism.
“Many in the congregation judged that a more modern liturgy and a new synagogue close to Duke would attract professional newcomers,” according to the Museum of Durham History. “Despite significant internal tensions, the congregation shed its dominant orthodox ethos by the mid-50s, buying land on Watts Street in 1954 to build a contemporary designed ‘American’ synagogue – the home of Beth El since 1957.”
Though Beth El has been a conservative synagogue since the 1950s, they do have a small Orthodox kehillah (congregation) that has separate services from the main congregation.
“In 1961, a handful of local Jewish families dreamed of a Reform congregation for the Durham and Chapel Hill, NC area,” according to the Judea Reform Congregation website. “They combed the telephone directories, university faculty lists and community rosters to spread the news. They held services in their basements.”
Judea Reform was officially founded in 1971. It is located on Cornwallis Road, near Jewish For Good.
In addition to Judea Reform and Beth El, there is also a Hillel and a Chabad house at Duke. These branches of national organizations provide religious and cultural opportunities for Duke students, as well as the local Jewish community.
Rising antisemitism in North Carolina and Durham
According to WRAL News, antisemitic acts were up 78% in 2023 in North Carolina compared to 2022.
Antisemtic incidents include Jewish children being bullied and harassed at school, swastikas being painted at different locations and propaganda being distributed.
On October 3, Jewish for Good and Judea Reform received a fake bomb threat and had to evacuate their occupants.
On November 11, three Starbucks stores in Durham were vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti including crossed-out Stars of David.
Riverside students navigate Jewish identity
Despite Durham’s small Jewish population, Riverside students have managed to cultivate a Jewish community at school through shared experience, culture and connection to local synagogues and Jewish youth groups.
Senior Rachael Ades and junior Ella Cohen founded a Jewish Student Union (JSU) this year. Its first meeting was a Hanukkah celebration on December 11. Students ate latkes (potato pancakes traditionally eaten on Hanukkah) and created dreidels (spinning tops) out of candy.
“We both felt that there was a necessity to create a space that welcomed Jewish people and our cultures, where we could share, connect and celebrate who we are,” said Ades. “I think [JSU] is very important because I, and many others, feel the lack of understanding and recognition from our non-Jewish peers.”
At the JSU’s second meeting on January 24, students celebrated the holiday of Tu Bishvat. The club plans to celebrate the upcoming holiday of Passover, as well as hold meetings geared towards sharing and discussion.
According to the JSU Instagram page, the club is “Open to anyone who identifies with Judaism! (Religiously, culturally, or curious!)”.
“What makes up my Jewish identity is really the community,” said Cohen. “Especially growing up in an area that doesn’t have a lot of Jewish people… there’s so few of us that having that shared cultural connection and that similar way of being raised just makes me feel already closer to someone.”
Many Jewish students stress the importance of the community aspect of Judaism.
“My community is what I feel like makes me Jewish,” said sophomore Shana Gordon. “Going to services or doing things with my youth group, that’s when I feel most connected to my Judaism.”
“The kind of cultural aspect [of Judaism] is probably more important to me than the actual religious aspect,” said junior Elijah Foster.
Students usually do not get school off for the high holidays, which are the most important Jewish holidays of the year, and take place yearly around September.
“Lack of school days off in respect of Jewish holidays is still extremely disappointing,” said Ades.
On September 25, Durham Public Schools had an optional teacher workday for Yom Kippur, one of the Jewish high holidays.
“I think culturally as a school district, they’re starting to acknowledge and becoming more welcoming, understanding, and embracing [of Jewish holidays]” said English teacher Emily Ericson.
How welcoming is Riverside to Jewish students?
Last May, eight Riverside students got suspended for antisemitic hate speech after group chat messages were leaked.
“There wasn’t a lot of acknowledgement about it,” said an anonymous student. “It was kind of news for a little bit, and then people just brushed it off their shoulders.”
“People were so nonchalant about it,” said junior Samuel Ostrovsky.
Was this an isolated incident, or evidence of an unsafe environment for Jewish students?
Jewish students have had diverse experiences in navigating antisemitism at Riverside. Some have dealt with microaggressions or hate speech, while others find that no one treats them differently due to their religion.
“There are a lot of different people at Riverside, and I feel like in general, people are pretty accepting,” said Foster.
Greyber has never personally experienced antisemitism. “I count myself very lucky that pretty much any community I’m a part of is filled with very inviting people and has a lot of room for open discussion… I’ve very rarely seen antisemitic things that have been said.”
However, Greyber did see swastika graffiti on a bathroom stall in November.
“I’ve had a bunch of microaggressions at [Riverside] and my elementary school,” said an anonymous student. “My brother went here 4-5 years ago and faced antisemitism. It was really bad.”
This student has received insults for wearing openly Jewish clothing, such as shirts from Jewish for Good.
“With the exception of isolated incidents, I don’t necessarily see Riverside being hostile [for Jewish students] by any means,” said Ericson. “And also, I’m not sure really if there’s any school in DPS that is specifically making space for Jewish students.”
Ostrovsky has found Riverside to be more welcoming compared to his previous schools.
“I was literally the only Jewish kid in my elementary school,” said Ostrovsky. “People were often not understanding of what Judaism was… a lot of people constantly telling me I was gonna go to hell.”
When Ostrovsky was in fifth grade, two students– one from his school and one from another– logged into his DPS account and put several swastikas onto a school presentation.
“If that happened here [at Riverside], there would’ve been a complete outrage. It could’ve made news stories… but they really wanted to keep it a little bit on the down-low,” said Ostrovsky.
The student from his school was not allowed to use his Chromebook for the rest of the year.
“They’re like, ‘Well, okay, so the solution is taking away your hacking device, not maybe telling you why that was wrong,’” said Ostrovsky.
Ades has also had a better experience at Riverside than her previous schools.
“I went to a charter school for elementary and middle school, and was basically the only practicing Jew,” said Ades. “So compared to that, RHS’s Jewish community feels very whole and welcoming to me.”
“The Christians that go to [Riverside], in my experience, are not people that want to isolate other religions. They’re typically more progressive, nicer people,” said Ostrovsky.
