December 21, 2023, Washington, D.C. – The Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) today released two factsheets documenting the unprecedented surge in anti-Semitic incidents since October 7, 2023 — one devoted to the United States, and the other to the UK and France. Nathaniel Hurd, Director of RFI’s North America Action Team, stated:

“Horrifyingly, the number of anti-Semitic incidents is exploding in the western world. The data is clear and alarming.

“This persistent, ancient bigotry is rightfully called the world’s ‘oldest conspiracy theory.’ Today, however, it is not only neo-Nazis on the fringes who are peddling it. Anti-Semitic attitudes are gaining traction, for example, at many of America’s colleges and universities. Students are subjecting their Jewish peers to harassment, death threats, violence, and even calls for genocide, and in some cases their professors and school administrators are encouraging or enabling them. 

“Targeting fellow students for being Jewish reflects the latest Harvard CAPS / Harris poll, in which 67% of 18-24 year olds think that ‘Jews as a class are oppressors and should be treated as oppressors.’  

“We see administrators and faculty failing in their most basic responsibility of helping students distinguish what is true from what is false, and what is good from what is corrupt. A Member of Congress recently asked the president of one of the world’s most prestigious universities whether calls on campus for genocide against Jews violated the university’s harassment policy. Stunningly, the president testified only ‘If the speech crosses into conduct.’

“Anti-Semitic attitudes, assertions, and actions must be recognized for what they are: a scourge on society, un-American, dehumanizing, and a grave offense against religious freedom. Making matters worse, ideologies pervasive in the West today are making young people more susceptible to anti-Semitism. Parents, educators, and culture-forming leaders must repudiate the noxious lies that sustain anti-Semitism and renew our unwavering commitment to equal human dignity and religious liberty for everyone.”

Read the fact sheets here:

• Unprecedented Surge in Anti-Semitic Incidents in the United States
• Unprecedented Surge in Anti-Semitic Incidents in the UK and France 
  

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The Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) works to secure religious freedom for everyone, everywhere. RFI is a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, D.C.

Media Contact: Nathan Berkeley
media@religiousfreedominstitute.org
202-838-7734
www.rfi.org
@RFInstitute