Antisemitism is defined as hostility and prejudice toward Jews as well as taking discriminatory action towards Jewish people. Some consider antisemitism to be a form of racism.
The word antisemitism finds its roots in the German word antisemitisch, first used in 1860 by Austrian Jewish scholar Moritz Steinschneider, in his work regarding false ideas of "Semitic races" in comparison to "Aryan races." However, the discriminatory ideas and actions towards Jews have existed since long before the term was coined.
Early incidents of antisemitism and anti-Jewish persecution include the Edict of Expulsion from England in 1290, the persecution of Jews across Europe during the Black Death from 2348 - 1351, and the Spanish Inquisition and expulsion from Spain in 1492.
The 20th century saw both the Holocaust, the genocide of European Jews, and the expulsion of Jews from countries across the Middle East, leading to the displacement of approximately 850,000 Mizrahi Jews.
In recent years both Europe and the US have seen a steady increase in antisemitic incidents, and 90% of Jews in the European Union have said that they feel this is a serious problem.
After centuries of blood libel cases, history is repeating itself with recent attacks in Washington DC and Boulder.
Friday's incident follows another in the town of Deauville in Normandy last week, when Elie Lemmel said he was punched in the stomach by an unknown assailant.
The PSA referenced the Boulder, Colorado, Molotov cocktail attack on pro-Israel advocates on June 1 and the murder of two Israeli Embassy staff at the Capital Jewish Museum in late May.
The violence may have deterred some but participation in the movement appears to be increasing after the attack, according to Run For Their Lives global coordinator Shira Weiss.
If he is convicted, state prosecutors said Egyptian citizen Mohamed Soliman, 45, faces well over 600 years in prison for 28 attempted murder charges.
The suit lists examples of the abuse, including an incident where 40 students surrounded the student and directed antisemitic chants at them.
My Holocaust survivor roots taught me to sense danger early. On October 7, that sense returned
In the days following the attack, Boulder’s Jewish community has been reeling from shock and fear.
“After October 7, 2023, Columbia University’s leadership acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus," said the US Education Secretary.
A swastika mowed into a front lawn in the Illinois town of Alhambra prompted a hate-crime investigation by Madison County authorities last week.
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