Antisemitic violence can happen in Indiana. Rising hatred is a warning.

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7 days ago

When young, beautiful people are shot dead in the street, people still take notice.
By now, you have likely heard their story. Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a Kansas City girl, and Yaron Lischinsky, a devout Christian born in Israel, were in love and working together in Washington, D.C. They were murdered May 21 after attending an event for young professionals wanting to learn about peace in the Middle East, the stability of Israel and the plight of Palestinians.
This is what can happen when hateful rhetoric connects to real-world violence.
What does that have to do with Hooisers here in happy, wholesome Indiana?
The sad fact is that antisemitic incidents in Indiana more than doubled in 2024. In fact, incidents of hatred toward Jews here reflect the biggest national increase of any state in the nation in a year when anti-Jewish activity reached its highest level recorded in nearly half a century.
Yet, even more damning context is a relative tsunami of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. over the past 10 years, reflected by a national surge of almost 900%, according to an annual Anti-Defamation League survey released in April.
Indiana is no stranger to powerful prejudice and resulting violence. The Klu Klux Klan has been active in our state over its history, particularly during the 1920s, with members serving in elected roles including Indiana Governor and mayor of Indianapolis. In fact, back then, half the members of the Indiana General Assembly were revealed to be KKK members.
Many Gen Xers, like myself, might remember from our youth how common it was to hear racial, religious and just plain insulting epithets to describe all kinds of people, including those with intellectual or other disabilities, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community. As I reached adulthood and the usage of such horrible words in polite society dropped off, I assumed it was evidence that Hoosiers were moving beyond the prejudice of the past and toward a commitment to equality, and even kindness.
Boy, was I ever wrong.
Several years ago, as I was running for Congress in Central Indiana, my opponent and I were both asked in a town hall if we believed that there was systemic racism in our state. Our answers were quite different. Mine was informed by my fourth-grade Indiana history class, where I learned that many of the laws enacted back in the 1920s by members of the KKK are still on the books today. Systemic racism in our state not only exists, but it is well documented.
So, what can we do about it in 2025?
Today, rather than hope and prayers for the dead and their families, get a sense of our history by visiting the Indiana State Museum on the White River State Park campus in Indianapolis, or by reading excellent works, such as 'A Fever in the Heartland,' by Timothy Egan, and 'The Klu Klux Klan in the Heartland,' by James Madison.
Our history is fraught with instances of racism, antisemitism, sexism and all kinds of discrimination. In fact, in the early 2000s, Indiana had to pass a law to keep women from being arrested for breastfeeding their infants in public.
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Move out of your comfort zone and show up and join your Jewish neighbors facing this kind of hate when they gather to support people who have been harmed, or who have been threatened with violence, just for being. Attend a Pride parade and be there to celebrate Juneteenth in your community. Showing up is actually pretty fun, yet can be a meaningful way to make clear that you have the backs of your friends and neighbors facing discrimination.
You can also start small. Instead of looking away when you hear someone testing the waters by making a hateful joke, using hateful terminology or worse, cut them off and let them know what they have to say is not OK with you – and it is just plain not OK at all.
Indiana is not often No. 1 among states in measurably positive categories, which makes our state's ranking in hate a particularly shameful distinction. More importantly, it is a distinction that might portend future violence. None of us want that, and shame on us should we ignore these warning signs.
Here, we pride ourselves on Hoosier values. For people from other states, they might not understand what exactly a Hoosier is or why we, as a united people, feel so strongly about our statewide identity. Yet, as they say, if you know, you know. And we know that the bedrock of Hoosier values is about common decency, hard work and fair play.
Now is the time to put those values to work and do some good at an important time.
The most recent annual ADL audit recorded 142 reported incidents in Indiana of hate against Jewish people, a 141% increase from the previous year, with 52 of them occurring in Indianapolis.
Together, before we lose good people to similar senseless antisemitic violence, let's accept this as our shared imperative, and also as a solemn challenge to do better by our Jewish friends and neighbors, by each other and by all Hoosiers.
Christina Hale is a former Indiana state legislator and Democratic candidate for the U.S. House. She is the author of "Why Not You: A Leadership Guide for the Change-Makers of Tomorrow."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Hatred against Jewish people is rising. Violence can follow. | Opinion