by John Reid

As tensions continue to rise in the Middle East during the latest Israel-Palestine conflict, the Prince William County Human Rights Commission, along with members of the Jewish community, met on Monday evening at the Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo Auditorium in Woodbridge. The Commission held a forum to address antisemitism and bigotry in the county. Joining them were members of the police department and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The forum provided a lot of startling information on the rise in antisemitic hate crimes. For instance:

• In 2013 there were a reported 751 antisemitic hate crimes committed. As of 2022, there were 3697 reported antisemitic hate crimes committed.
• From 2009-2018, approximately 73% of extremist murders were committed by white supremacists or far right extremists.
• There has also been a rise in philosemitism, which by definition is “to show respect and appreciation for the Jewish people, their history, and the influence of Judaism.” However, it has also been used to recycle antisemitic themes and create more divisive rhetoric.

In addition, the forum discussed the working definition of antisemitism, from both the International Holocaust Remembrance Service and the Jerusalem Declaration, which the latter contains guidelines on how to craft responses in order to have more productive conversations.

Debbie Rubenstein spoke on the continuous issues the Jewish community has faced over the years, and how speeches from Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan as well as rapper Kanye West were what she called “hateful words.” She spoke on how the county needs to do more in order to prevent future incidents from happening. “This is a problem we need to resolve,” she said.

Afterwards, Mindy Washington, Director of the EEOC Washington Field Office, spoke on how to recognize, and resolve, workplace harassment when antisemitic language is used. She also addressed how to report religious discrimination. For more information, visit their website.

Once the panelists were finished with their presentations, the floor was given to those individuals who experienced antisemitic discrimination. Several people gave personal stories, including one who had to change jobs due to harassment from a supervisor. There were also discussions on the difference between bullying as a civil charge versus what is considered a criminal.

While the forum was a start in having an open dialogue, there were requests from several in attendance for these types of community discussions to take place in Prince William County public schools. It remains to be seen whether this will happen.