The True Crisis of Antisemitism

5/9/25

You may have followed the great online debate this week after a clip went viral of a bar in Philly where a huge "F the Jews" sign was waved on display to the laughter, dancing, and smiles of the girls and boys at the bar.

The bar's owner, Barstool owner Dave Portnoy, a proud and outspoken Jew, first announced he would "dox" the individuals, thereby "ruining their future careers," but ultimately settled on sending the group to visit Auschwitz and turning this horrible act into a "teaching moment."

I, like many others, felt that's naive.

First, because teaching people about the Holocaust just doesn't seem to be making fewer antisemites. Holocaust education is more widespread than ever, and yet so is the horrible reality of antisemitism.

And second, because it's time we stop smiling back when people hit us. Showing grace to antisemites doesn’t make us the adults in the room, it makes us look weak. The greatest "teaching moment" would be standing strong.

But this is not what I'm writing about today.

I believe this whole conversation is off point. And both sides of the argument have lost focus on what really matters.

The tragedy in the bar was not the antisemites dancing to "F the Jews."

The tragedy in the bar was the young Jewish boys and girls who had to witness it.

As I watched the clip, I couldn't stop thinking: were there any Jews in that bar?

Did they act as if they weren't Jewish? Did they hurriedly slip out to go unnoticed? Or did they maybe laugh and dance along to avoid being outed?

Were they shocked to see their schoolmates dancing to "F the Jews"? Or has antisemitism become so popular that they weren't surprised?

What does this mean for their Jewish future? Will they be comfortable telling their friends they're Jewish or will they silently wonder if their “friend” is one who'd dance to "F the Jews"?

These are bitterly painful questions, but they’re the most important conversations to have when we witness antisemitism.

The crisis of antisemitism is not how to address the antisemite.

The crisis of antisemitism is how to address the Jew who experiences it.

How to address the antisemite is subject to debate. Clearly, there are different opinions on how to go about it. And clearly, none of them are working.

But how to help the young Jews who witness it is simple. It's by giving them a proud and strong Jewish identity that can weather any storms. So that when the inevitable happens and they are faced by some antisemitic rhetoric or environment, they will be proud and strong enough to stand tall.

Last summer, following our Critical Conversations talk on antisemitism, someone in our community sent me a note that they were inspired by the talk and made a sizable gift to an organization that combats antisemitism.

It was extremely generous, of course, but I'm afraid that that alone won't solve the issues.

If we want to fight antisemitism, we need to make sure our kids and grandkids are proud and strong Jews. We need to share with them the warmth of Jewish community. We need to introduce them to the beauty of Shabbat, and a love of Torah, of G-d, of Israel. And we need to invest so that being Jewish becomes a fun, meaningful, and transformational part of their lives.

Society has failed to curb antisemitism.

What we can do is give our kids strong roots so that the hateful winds won't break them.