BBYO reaches about 70,000 Jewish teens and I am sure most of us have experienced some form of antisemitism in the past month. The ADL (Anti-Defamation League) states that acts of anti-semitism have increased by 338% since the events on October 7th, 2023. After hearing about the recent events in Israel, I was disgusted and fearful for what would come next. Initially, I stopped wearing my Star of David necklace in public and became fearful of being identified as a Jew.

Luckily, I go to a school where I am not the only Jewish student; however, I know this is not the case for all Jewish teens. Although I have not experienced anti-semitism at school, I come across numerous anti-semitic posts and stories on Instagram. The other day while mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, I saw multiple disturbing anti-semitic posts. The spread of propaganda across social media definitely does not help this situation. This is an appalling experience that is shared by many Jewish teens around the world.

Fellow BBYO members report having seen Instagram posts and stories of people condemning the murder of Jews across the globe. Additionally, many Instagram posts have also called Jews “dirty” and there is now a rise in the use of the phrase “Hitler was right". Constantly seeing these posts and hate speech on social media can be disheartening and degrade one’s sense of Jewish identity. Usually, I choose to block or unfollow people who post such things. Still, it is easy to feel like you are struggling alone in combating these posts, but you are not. 

Not only is anti-semitism seen on social media, but teens around the world are experiencing hatred and anti-semitism in person, including the drawing of swastikas by their classmates and micro-aggressions and macro-aggressions in daily interactions. For example, a group of Jewish teens were hanging out, and they ordered food from a local diner. When it arrived, the delivery driver asked them if they were Jewish, and the teens said no. In response, the delivery driver responded with “good". Little comments like this make being Jewish in today’s world scary. 

So, next time you see an anti-semitic social media post or someone says an anti-semitic comment, know that you are not alone. In the midst of the rise of anti-semitism, the best place to go is to your family and friends for support.