A difficult era for American Jews, including in Utah

Yahoo

14-03-2025

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt struck a troubling contrast in his recent State of Hate address, that he titled, 'Never is Now.'
While Greenblatt thanked God for a possible end to the Israel-Hamas war, he also highlighted the deep, growing sense of fear experienced by American Jews.
'The ground beneath us has profoundly shifted since (Oct. 7),' he said. 'We are in a new era. One (researcher has said) that the 'golden age' of American Jewry is over.'
And while Utah prides itself on its religious freedom protections, Jews in Utah say they are also experiencing this fear.
A survey out from the American Jewish Committee in February found that a majority (56%) of American Jews report that they have changed their behavior due to the rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7, 2023.
This is the first time in the history of the AJC's reports that a majority of Jews expressed fears of persecution.
The ADL found that more antisemitic incidents have occurred in the year since Oct. 7 than any other time in the last 45 years. Troublingly, prejudice is growing particularly quickly among young Americans.
And it's not just that anti-Jewish extremism is rising. It's also that anti-Jewish extremism is normalizing. Tropes about dual loyalty and conspiratorial control of media and the Wall Street abound on social media, per Time. More Americans incorporate anti-Jewish statements into Israel-Hamas war protests. And more Americans — over a quarter of survey respondents, including over half of Gen Z respondents — either support Hamas over Israel or at least find it acceptable if their close friends or family members support Hamas.
Rabbi Samuel Spector of Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City, painted a concerning picture of the situation facing his community.
'Since Oct. 7 ... we have received multiple bomb threats,' he reported to the Deseret News. 'We have been harassed and received threatening emails, phone calls, social media comments. People have also driven past our synagogue and harassed our congregation.'
Congregation Kol Ami has also added security upgrades — 'literally, hundreds of thousands of dollars,' said Rabbi Spector — in the form of physical systems and armed security.
'I've gotten things telling me just like, how disgusting Jews are, and how much people hate Jews, and what a terrible person I am,' Rabbi Spector said. 'I talked to a woman (in my congregation) yesterday ... people would, in her work, purposefully in front of her, make very derogatory comments about Israel, or ... say things to her like, 'what do you think about Israel murdering all these babies?''
He described the demonization of the Israeli state, calling it antisemitism 'mask(ing) itself as anti-Israel sentiment (that) does so in a way that intimidates local Jewish populations ... (and) applies double standards to Israel that no other country in the world is held to.'
For context, the Jerusalem Post reported that the vast majority of Jews self-identify as Zionists, meaning they support the existence of a Jewish state.
Jewish students at the University of Utah were harassed by protestors shouting 'Free Palestine' while in the act of praying. A Salt Lake City bar instituted a 'No Zionists Allowed' policy in 2024. Rabbi Spector recounted stories of his friends, family and students taking off their yarmulkes for fear of being identified as Jewish.
He said he's noticed antisemitism coming from both sides of the political aisle.
'I think people on the right are really good at calling out left-wing antisemitism, while people on the left are really good at calling out right-wing antisemitism, but I keep encouraging folks to call it out when it's your own side, too,' Rabbi Spector told the Deseret News.
As a predominantly Republican state, Utahns should, statistically, support Israel. A recent Gallup poll found that 83% of Republicans compared to 33% of Democrats have favorable views of Israel.
Only about 6,000 Jews live in Utah, which has a total population of about 3.3 million. However, these thousands of Jews have traditionally, according to reports, viewed Utah as a welcoming place, as the Deseret News previously reported.
'I can't attempt to speak for the whole community,' Rabbi Avrohom Zippel told the Deseret News in 2023. 'But (Utah is) a remarkable place to be, to start a family. There's a certain commonality.'
When Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, encouraged the state to pray for rain during a drought in 2021, the Jewish community fasted and prayed with him. The Jewish community also recently condemned anti-Latter-day Saint chants following a Brigham Young University basketball game. The Book of Mormon, a primary scripture for Latter-day Saints, explicitly condemns antisemitism.
Utah is also one of the nation's most religious states, with 62% identifying as Christian. Surveys also reveal that many perceive Utah as extremely protective of religious freedom. National faith experts have lauded the state for 'protect(ing) religious freedom by protecting everyone.'
Despite all this, Spector said Jews in Utah and in the U.S. keep plans in mind for a possible exit strategy, if necessary.
'Part of being Jewish ... is that every single Jew, even when times are good, has to have a plan,' Rabbi Spector said. 'I mean, the country that was the best country in the entire world to be Jewish, in the late 1800s, was Germany, and then we saw what happened.'
He called antisemitism a part of Judaism's collective memory, saying every Jew has a plan about where they could go and which friends they can count on — and that since Oct. 7, those conversations have 'intensified.'
'I do know Jews in my community who have never owned a firearm who now own firearms and are taking classes on gun safety and gun use,' he said. 'I do know (Jews who) choose to have their bags packed.'
When asked where they would go, Spector said a possible destination is unclear.
'It's scary, because every Jew I talk to is talking about a plan of leaving — like, when do we leave America, and where will we go?' Rabbi Spector continued. 'Other countries ... kind of like our backup countries that we would go to, (like) Canada, England, Australia, these ... countries are experiencing as bad, if not worse over the past two months, antisemitism.'
In his remarks to the ADL, Greenblatt noted that Jews are changing vacation plans, avoiding certain universities, defending their synagogues and community centers with bulletproof glass, metal detectors and armed security — even changing their names.
Greenblatt ended his remarks by saying the ADL would continue looking for ways to 'prevent bigotry — and stop the bigots in their tracks.'
'And,' he continued, 'we will never relent in fighting for our community with everything we've got. For our kids. For our future.'