We Need to Talk About Antisemitism

In this impassioned debut, Fersko, the senior rabbi at the Village Temple in New York City, examines recent manifestations of antisemitism in American culture, with the intent to provide accessible guidance “to identifying and combating Jew hatred today.” Fersko cites recent examples of blatant celebrity hate speech, such as antisemitic talking points promoted by Kanye West and Kyrie Irving, and recounts horrific incidents of antisemitic violence carried out by gunmen who subscribe to “replacement theory” (the spurious belief that Jews and other groups are conspiring to replace white people), including the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue mass shooting in Pittsburgh. Also examined are such controversial incidents as the 2021 decision by the D.C. chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a group fighting climate change, to withdraw from an event because Jewish groups who supported the state of Israel were participating. Some will disagree with Fersko’s tendency to conflate anti-Israel political sentiment and antisemitism, and Judaism with Zionism and pro-Israel politics. (In a segment condemning political organizations that have tried to make a pro-Palestinian statement by declining to work with pro-Israel groups, Fersko does identify some evidence of bias; however, when mentioning a Council on American-Islamic Relations official’s advice to members not to work with “Zionist synagogues,” she writes, “I’ve never been to a synagogue that is not a Zionist synagogue,” unhelpfully conflating Judaism as a religion and Zionism as a political position.) Still, this is a fervent and heartfelt call to combat antisemitism. (Aug.)