Report findings show strong antisemitism in American South

Local, national Jewish community leaders encourage residents to speak out against Jew-centered hate

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — According to a report from the American Jewish Committee, antisemitism throughout the country has been found to be the strongest here in the South.

The AJC’s State of Antisemitism in America report is meant to survey the nation’s stances on antisemitism, both from Jewish and non-Jewish Americans.

According to the AJC’s report, “more Jews in the South experienced antisemitism than in other regions” throughout the country

Additionally, Southerners reported seeing more antisemitism while also believing it to be a greater problem.

“60% of religious hate crimes are against the Jewish community — the Jewish Community makes up less than two percent of the population in the United States,” said Michael Dzik, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga. “Antisemitic incidents [are] on the rise by 35% in this country. 75% of the increase is actually here in the South.”

AJC Southeastern Regional Director Dov Wilker says that in larger, Southern cities Americans are less likely to know anyone in a local Jewish community.

He says as more Jewish Americans leave those cities, it creates a lack of awareness of who Jewish people are and what antisemitism really is.

“We need the continued support of our non-Jewish community members to speak out,” Wilker said. “We need politicians, we need business leaders, we need religious and ethnic community leaders. We need everybody who has a voice in the community, which is everyone, to say something that denounces antisemitism.”

Both men believe that attention brought to the public through awareness campaigns is helping communities fight back against antisemitism.

Wilker says combating it can be handled in three steps — educating neighbors, saying something if you see something wrong, and speaking out.

“We’ve got these wonderful postcards that we’ve been handing out throughout the community — thousands of them,” Dzik said. “That is stirring dialogue, that is stirring conversation. The more we talk about it, the more that we’re asking people to stand up and call it out, the better we’ll be as a community.”

“We need to know that we’re not alone,” Wilker said. “We are a small percentage of the community, especially in Chattanooga. We are a super minority and yet, when a super minority is targeted and attacked, then we need to feel supported just [like] anybody else.”

Wilker says that he recently spoke with a group of over 30 Jewish high school sophomores in the metro Atlanta area.

They all said that, at some point, they’ve been on the receiving end of some type of antisemitic activity … but only 20% actually spoke up about it to an adult.

He says antisemitism isn’t just damaging to Jewish Americans, but to our society, as well.