12 | OCTOBER 31 • 2024 J
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his is a moment in time the 
likes of which we’ve never 
seen as a Jewish people,” 
said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO 
and National Director of the Anti-
Defamation League (ADL) at a 
presentation titled “Antisemitism in 
America: Never Again is Now.” 
 More than 800 audience 
members at Temple Israel listened 
raptly as Greenblatt described the 
rising threat to Jews in this country 
and what can be done to combat 
the insidious epidemic. 
Greenblatt began with a 
staggering statistic to illustrate 
the seriousness of this dangerous 
scourge. Since the Oct. 7 terrorist 
attacks on Israel, 10,000 antisemitic 
incidents were reported nationwide, 
the highest number recorded since 
the ADL began collecting data. 
And, because many incidents are 
not reported, he believes the actual 
number is even higher.
“We’ve faced the threat of 
annihilation before, but now the 
threat is global,” he said. “It’s not 
just in Israel but in Dearborn, Ann 
Arbor and Bloomfield.”
On the same night, 400 people 

attended a special meeting of 
the Bloomfield Township Board 
of Trustees to address a board 
member who referred to Israeli and 
American Zionists as “scum” on 
social media.

DISTURBING DATA
Although antisemitism has 
skyrocketed since Oct. 7, it began 
to rise steadily after the 2016 
election, when reported incidents 
increased 34%. By spring of 2017, 
the number of acts against Jewish 
people and institutions spiked 
86%. In four of the last five years, 

antisemitic attitudes in the U.S. 
have more than doubled.
Greenblatt cited ADL 
statistics showing a 900% rise in 
antisemitism over the previous 
decade. For the same time period, 
incidents targeting Jews on college 
campuses have escalated 477%.
He attributes this exponential 
increase and resultant 
normalization of antisemitism to 
three main causes: the growing 
polarization among people around 
the world, the radicalization 
of our intellectual/educational 
institutions, and the continued 

emboldening of extremist groups 
and individuals. These societal 
changes have contributed to the 
normalization of antisemitism.
He believes social media 
exacerbates the problem by 
enabling fanatics to send hateful 
messages and false information 
while failing to adequately 
monitor and remove harmful 
posts. In addition, the danger is 
compounded by sophisticated 
AI (Artificial Intelligence) 
technology that makes it difficult 
to distinguish trickery from truth.

HEIGHTENED ANTI-ZIONISM
Greenblatt expressed concern that 
anti-Zionism is also becoming 
normalized, due in part to the 
growing number of younger people 
who disagree with Israel’s actions 
and policies, especially since the 
Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
“There doesn’t seem to be the 
same sense of attachment to 
Israel, that we’re (Israel and the 
United States) intertwined,” he 
said, adding the importance of 
expressing compassion for the 
innocent victims in Gaza when 
talking to students and young 
adults while maintaining moral 
clarity. “While our hearts break 

ADL CEO Jonathan 
ADL CEO Jonathan 
Greenblatt addresses 
Greenblatt addresses 
crowd at Temple Israel.
crowd at Temple Israel.

Update from 
the ADL

RONELLE GRIER 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

LEFT: Jonathan Greenblatt 
updated the audience on the state 
of antisemitism in America at a 
program at Temple Israel.

PHOTOS: TEMPLE ISRAEL FACEBOOK

Nearly 800 people came to hear Greenblatt speak.