As a community, we have long been invested in addressing Antisemitism through various means.
And yet, particularly in these past weeks Antisemitism has been at the forefront of our minds. In October 2019, Humanity in Action selected eleven projects for funding through our 2019 Grant Competition and hosted a conference entitled “Time to Act. Addressing Antisemitism in our Societies” in Berlin, Germany.
We are starting this Web Conversation series with addressing Antisemitism. For the next two months, we invite all of you to weigh in with reflections on Antisemitism as it relates to your communities, work and lives.
Scroll down for a selection of our community’s talks, projects and news focused on Antisemitism. Are you a Fellow or Senior Fellow wanting to weigh in on the issue? Please get in touch with us as we look for reflections on the issues in question.
Photo by Davide Ragusa on Unsplash
A Culture of Heavenly Argument: My Jewish Response to Senseless Hatred
Humanity in Action Senior Fellow Helen Kramer (2017 Berlin Fellowship) shares her thoughts and feelings about being fearlessly Jewish in a moment of rising polarization, hatred and antisemitic violence in the United States.
“The lesson here is that we should do more than tolerate opposing views; we should seek to study and understand them as well as we understand our own. In the face of murderers and terrorists who wish to extinguish people who are different from themselves, I feel immensely proud to be part of a tradition that not only tolerates differences, but actually lauds earnest, humble argument with our intellectual “others” as a mechanism through which divine truth is revealed.”
Humanity in Action Fellow Jacob Fertig (2019 Warsaw Fellowship) shares very personal reflections on being Jewish in Warsaw in an article they published in our knowledge section.
“I didn’t find any real remnants of home in Poland; but I tried to prepare the ground for those who come after me, hoping to rediscover home in this nation. Dominika assured me that she would paint “We Are Here” on walls all across Poland.“
The Truth of the Future: Reflections on Antisemitism
Humanity in Action’s Executive Director Judith S. Goldstein delivered this speech at our Conference in Berlin in October 2019.
“Israel, Germany and Poland are not alone in their torturous pursuit of defining who deserves to be inside and who should be cast outside. One need only look to the United States where the current President and his political party espouse ideas and policies that evoke despicable parts of the country’s past.“
Humanity in Action Senior Fellow Zachary Kaufman (1999 Copenhagen Fellowship) delivered these remarks at the University of Houston Law Center’s event on Anti-Semitism for the Diversity and Inclusion program in September 2019.
The increase in anti-Semitism in the United States occurs alongside a surge of bigotry against other minorities. Anti-Semitism is part of a broader trend in our country toward division and hate. The odious scourge of white supremacy doesn’t discriminate much among the groups it discriminates against.
For years, our community has taken civic action against Antisemitism:
Humanity in Action Publications addressing Antisemitism
Ever since our founding, Antisemitism has been one of the intellectual cornerstones of Humanity in Action. Learn about some of our publications addressing Antisemitism by clicking on the images below.
From Hungary to Poland to Denmark, our community raises awareness on Antisemitism
Current community projects addressing Antisemitism
All of the projects are funded through our latest grant competition for Fellows and Senior Fellows. They are made possible through the generous support of the Foundation EVZ.
