Among the most troubling developments for the Jewish community today is the resurgence of hate, both in the form of rhetoric and violence, which has become increasingly more visible in our society.
Many of us knew the stories from our ancestors. Other members of our community left their former countries even more recently, recognizing that their safety was in jeopardy or that they would not be able to practice their faith freely.
Any Jewish person’s hope is that American society, despite certain very real historical shortcomings, would present a haven from the world’s oldest form of hate. While we are far from a crisis like those that have forced flight, believing that we as Jews will not have to confront real threats here at home has proven to be naive.
The past year has seen multiple synagogue shootings, alarm from the Jewish community over rhetoric used by elected officials in both political parties and an explosion of hate crimes on the ground.
While often underreported, Jews are more likely to be the targets of hate crimes than any other group in our country. In 2017, the most recent year for which the FBI has available national data, roughly 60 percent of all hate crimes targeting religious groups and 13 percent of all hate crimes targeted Jews.
The numbers are widely disproportionate to our community’s size, as we only make up about 2 percent of the total U.S. population.
Perhaps even greater alarm is warranted when viewing the rate of incidents in New York. While New York is widely understood to be the center of Jewish life in America, threats to Jews are reported at a truly alarming rate.
In recently released numbers through June of this year, the NYPD reported that 110 of the 184 reported hate crimes in New York targeted Jews. While many other groups faced threats, such as the African American and LGBTQ communities both of which faced the second-highest rate of incidents with 18 hate crimes reported, the threats towards the Jewish community represent a unique and acute problem.
The question for Jews and non-Jews alike should be how to confront this persistent and now growing problem. For all, education, engagement and ostracism of those who engage or give comfort to such vile acts can help and should be one part of a strategy.
Still, for Jews, a reliance on others cannot be viewed as a panacea. Alliances are crucial but cannot protect us against every isolated actor motivated to harm us. Jews face real danger and I do not view hopes or wishes as a viable strategy to protect myself if I am confronted with hate directly.
It is for that reason that I, and now hundreds of other Jews and non-Jews motivated by a concern for their safety, started training in Krav Maga self-defense.
I train in Great Neck with a group called Legion, which has now built chapters in Oceanside, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Westchester and Hartford. The training is empowering personally and may serve as a means to protect myself and those close to me should a threat arise. For those who have felt similar concern as our society seems to continually coarsen, and data shows threats on the rise, I highly recommend doing the same.
Peter Fishkind
Great Neck
