16 | JUNE 17 • 2021
OUR COMMUNITY
W
hen Jewish children
tell trusted caregiv-
ers they’ve been the
targets of antisemitism, either
in person or on social media,
they should be taken seriously so
hatred will not become a societal
norm.
That was the main message
from a June 2 Zoom webinar
“Talking to your Children about
Antisemitism” offered by Temple
Israel of West Bloomfield in
coordination with the Michigan
chapter of the Anti-Defamation
League and Wayne State
University psychologist Erika
Bocknek. Around 25 households
Zoomed into the seminar in
response to the record-breaking
rise in global antisemitism that
reached a crescendo following
Hamas’ latest war with Israel.
“Social media
has been exploding
with hatred,
” said
Michigan ADL
Director Carolyn
Normandin. “We
have seen a tremen-
dous amount of
anti-Jewish rhetoric
targeting Jews, including ‘Hitler
was right,
’ and ‘We should have
burned all the Jews’ because of
the violence in Israel.
”
‘PYRAMID OF HATE’
Michigan ADL Education
Director Kristin Jager said it is
important to educate youth about
the “Pyramid of Hate” to under-
stand through the lens of history
how attitudes of bias and micro-
aggressions toward Jews or any
minority can escalate to violence
and potentially, genocide.
“The ADL is most effective
when we can work in the two
lowest tiers of this pyramid in
countering bias attitudes and
smaller acts of bias,
” Jager said.
Jager explained four strategies
to use to prevent the normaliza-
tion of hatred and bias.
• Call out the person who
has used an ethnic slur or said
something hateful about another
group by asking their intentions.
• Remind that person that
what they said was hurtful and
dangerous to that ethnic or reli-
gious group.
• Tell the offending person that
every person is deserving respect.
• Put the hateful words and
acts into a historical context.
“What we are noticing is that
when it comes to the myths and
stereotypes about Jews, what was
old is new again,
” Jager said. “Our
young people are hearing the
same antisemitic tropes that are
connected to the past.
”
TAKE A STAND
Stressing the need to collect as
much data on hate acts as possi-
ble, Jager said that people need
not hesitate to report an inci-
dent to the ADL, including any
screenshots of hate-filled mes-
sages or memes on social media,
for evidence. Incidents can be
reported anonymously.
“We are encouraging people to
take a stand, and we rely on the
data we receive,
” Jager said. “We
cannot let (hatred or bias toward
any minority group) become
normalized in our communities.
”
The ADL with support from
a grant from the Shulman
Foundation will offer to teens a
virtual, three-part Summer Anti-
Bias Institute in July. Applications
for the program open in mid-
June. For more information, con-
tact Jager at kjager@adl.org.
Erika Bocknek,
associate professor
of educational psy-
chology at Wayne
State University and
the principal inves-
tigator of the WSU
Family Resilience
Lab, said one thing
that the Detroit Jewish com-
munity does well for its youth
is to provide a strong sense of
identity and community. These
two things are crucial as youth
mature into the world where
they will experience implicit and
explicit bias, she said.
“We have found that cultural-
ization practices in other minori-
tized groups, such as community
gatherings and rituals, provide a
source of positive identity devel-
opment,
” Bocknek explained.
“Developing a strong Jewish
identity is a robust strategy for
facing bias in the world. Not only
is it good for our children, but it
gives parents a sense of mastery
to feel successful as they together
face hatred alongside their chil-
dren.
”
‘Take them seriously,’ according to
Temple Israel program.
Erika
Bocknek
Carolyn
Normandin
STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ADL
Pyramid
of Hate
Incidents of antisemitism in Michigan in 2020
Helping Youth Face
Antisemitism