Today, on the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht and the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism, Amnesty International USA reaffirms our profound condemnation of antisemitism in all its forms.
Amnesty International USA stands firmly against all forms of hate, racism, white supremacy, and discrimination.
As a human rights organization, we are committed to building a world in which every person can enjoy the full range of their human rights, free from hatred and discrimination. We are deeply concerned about the recent surge in hate – antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab racism – in the U.S following the recent escalation in violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Antisemitism is, once again, manifesting as violence, threats, harassment, vandalism and physical and verbal assaults against the Jewish community. Levels of hate and discrimination are rising on campuses across the country and on social media in particular. At Cornell University in New York State, hateful messages and violent threats targeting the school’s Jewish students were posted on the Cornell University section of a discussion board. At Drexel University, a Jewish student’s dormitory door was reportedly set on fire. In Utah, multiple synagogues received emailed bomb threats during service. Antisemitic and hateful graffiti was spray-painted on public spaces and homes in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, the city’s largely Jewish community and site of the mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018. Swastikas and antisemitic messages were spraypainted on businesses in Montauk, New York. Suspicious packages with an envelope containing white, powdery substances were reportedly received by two synagogues in Seattle requiring removal by Hazmat teams. A third suspicious package was reportedly received at Hillel at the University of Washington.
This is the politics of hate. And it is the politics of ignorance. This latest wave of hate in the U.S. follows an already concerning pattern of increased antisemitism in this country in recent years.
We must hold accountable — in our personal interactions, in our workplaces, in our communities, and in our activism — those who commit, encourage or acquiesce in antisemitic abuse and violence, whenever and wherever it is inflicted. Antisemitism is hatred. The right to be free from discrimination is a fundamental principle of human rights law, and all governments are obliged to combat discrimination in all its forms.