NYC has Normalized Anti-Semitism
If you asked me on October 8th if we had an antisemitism problem in NYC, I would have said no. But all of that changed last year after talking to my son…
If you asked me on October 8th if we had an antisemitism problem in NYC, I would have said no. There was an increase in hate attacks against Jews—but also against Asians, and it seemed to me very related to the overall rise in crime and deterioration of racial relations in our city.
Then, in early November, I was walking with my son toward Lincoln Center one Friday night when he asked me, "What is Zionism, and why does it mean terrorism?" I explained what Zionism was, said it didn't mean terrorism, and asked, "Why would you ask me that?" He then pointed to a billboard truck on Broadway that just said, "Zionism is terrorism."
It was one of those moments when time stopped. I was so shocked that this truck was in a neighborhood full of Jewish people and insulting them right after the massacre of October 7th. I literally couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. Who would pay for this truck and then drive on the Upper West Side on a Friday night? That night, I remember talking to my husband, "Is this how people felt in Germany in the 1930s?"
I thought a lot about that night last week. I was walking again with my son, and we saw the pro-Hamas protest in front of the Citibank building. Nothing shocked me. I was already expecting the chants for Intifada. I had already seen the videos of the protesters repeating what the leader says like zombies. I wasn't even shocked when fights almost broke out between the protesters and the small pro-Israel counter-protest. The massive number of NYPD anti-riot police on the street seemed normal and necessary.
We have now come to expect these regular protests in our city. I have seen them everywhere: near my son's school, near one of his after-school activities, near my house, in front of the Intrepid Museum, in the subway. I wasn't even surprised when attackers targeted Jewish restaurants or stores owned by Jews.
Every day, something a little more violent or disruptive happens in NYC. And we get used to the new actions of the protesters: they have now even vandalized the homes of Jewish board members of the Brooklyn Museum and asked Zionists to leave the subway. That limit will probably be broken again in a few more days and weeks: until what? How will the Mayor and our elected officials stop the clear path of escalation that now seems inevitable?