Churches in the US ordered to fight antisemitism

On Dec 19, 2022

Photo by Kobi Gideon/GPO/Israel Sun 26-05-2014 PLEASE CREDIT Kobi Gideon/GPO ONLY Pope Francis prayed on Monday at Jerusalem's Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, and deviated from his busy itinerary to visit a memorial to Israeli victims of terrorism as he spent his third and final day in the Middle East honoring Jews. Francis bowed his head in prayer and touched the wall, the only remains of the biblical Second Temple. He left a note with the text of the "Our Father" prayer written in his native Spanish in one of the cracks between the stones. He then embraced his good friend, Argentine Rabbi Abraham Skorka, and a leader of Argentina's Muslim community, Omar Abboud, both of whom joined his official delegation for the trip in a sign of interfaith friendship. האפיפיור פרנסיסקוס מבקר בכותל המערבי ומטמין פתק. צילום אבי אוחיון לע"מ

RELIGIOUS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – As antisemitism is growing rapidly in the US, a group of educators dedicated to solidarity between Christians and Jews is urging churches to take action against this issue.

“Jewish News” reported the group implore all churches to redouble their efforts to denounce antisemitism publicly as antithetical to the very essence of Christianity itself.

It is said that the United States is facing the greatest crisis of public antisemitism in a century.

As the group added blame for the crisis rests on entertainers, athletes and politicians who vilify Jews and spread antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories on the internet which also calls out self-described Christian nationalists advocating for hatred against Jews.

The spread of antisemitism is manifesting in attacks on Jews on social media, in the streets and at synagogues, according to the group.

The group said it was “increasingly alarmed that we may be witnessing the normalization of antisemitism in American discourse, which recalls events that happened in Germany when the Nazis rose to power in the 1930s.”

The Anti-Defamation League, which records antisemitic incidents, said its most recent annual tally saw a 34% increase between 2020 and 2021, reaching an all-time high.

A 2021 survey by the American Jewish Committee found that an estimated 40% of American Jews changed their behavior over the preceding year because of fear of antisemitism.