Photo courtesy Roberta Clark
Roberta Clark
Roberta Clark
According to a new report by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), antisemitic incidents rose again in Wisconsin in 2023, with a 257 percent increase in harassment and assaults. 2023 marked the eighth consecutive year of upticks in antisemitic incidents in the state.
The actual numbers might even be higher. “The report is based on what’s reported and confirmed. We don’t know what’s not reported, and we take accuracy seriously. We need to know what really happened, so that we can better focus our resources,” says the JCRC’s executive director, Roberta Clark.
While antisemitism has never been entirely absent from Western society, the targeting of Jews and Jewish organizations in the U.S. and elsewhere rose in the final years of the last decade in a general atmosphere of social tension and animosity. The response of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 has only encouraged antisemitic hate speech and actions.
For some people, antisemitism is a fallback position for assigning blame for the state of the world. Clark refers to the “long-standing antisemitic canards: 'If X is going on, it’s because of the Jews. Jews control money, the media, the world.’” The ignorant always seek answers in the wrong places.
Clark attributes escalating incidents of antisemitism in large measure to the internet. “It has allowed people to wear a mask, to make threats and calls to action anonymously,” she explains. Lone wolves are behind many of the incidents in the JCRC’s report, but far-right organizations are also discernable.
Among the incidents tracked in the report are vandalism of property, physical harassment in public and in schools and phone and messaged threats. “It’s a form of terror,” Clark continues. “It raises fear in the whole community. People ask, ‘Am I next? Is my organization next?’ Jewish organizations for a long time in most of this country can’t hold events without heavy-duty security. We have to be ready every day, 24/7. The bad guys only have to get it done once.” She adds that the local Jewish community “has strong relations with law enforcement. We are grateful.”
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In a press release, Miryam Rosenzweig, president and CEO of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, spoke of the need to support schools, businesses and organizations “to help educate on the shape-shifting antisemitism and how it looks today” and provide “tools for businesses and schools to respond to their employees and students when addressing antisemitic incidents.”
Clark looks forward to a time when “civility will return, and we can have passionate discussions and disagreements. We need to create respectful, inclusive environments for all.”
Mayor Cavalier Johnson will attend the JCRC’s annual meeting on June 27.
