American Jew Describes Experiences with Antisemitism from Grade School to College and Beyond

Anti-Israel protest (Shutterstock) (Shutterstock)

‘I am afraid, but I’m not broken … I’m proud to be a Jew.’

By Shula Rosen

There is no doubt that antisemitism has skyrocketed since the October 7th attacks in Israel. Still, many American Jews have experienced hatred of Jews their entire lives, not just in the past year.

An American Jew who wishes to remain anonymous told Ynet that she has experienced antisemitism consistently from the age of 12 when she left her Jewish day school to attend public school in California.

When she was 12, a school friend invited her to church and told her when she revealed she was Jewish, “You’re really nice, but you’re going to hell, and I can save you.”

In middle school, students told her she should have burned in ovens during the Holocaust and drew a swastika over her face in the school’s yearbook.

Although she expected students to be more enlightened in high school, she was soon to be disappointed.

Seeing swastikas carved and written on her desk and textbooks was a regular occurrence.

She was consistently harassed in Spanish class by a student who said that Hitler should have killed her.

She decided to report the antisemitic harassment to the school and the Anti-Defamation League.

The student was disciplined only with being made to take a course on tolerance.

Even before the anti-Israel encampments following October 7th, 2023, the student had to walk past anti-Israel protests that were designed to block access to Jewish students.

She describes, “A 7-foot-high wall filled with antisemitic propaganda and cartoons that looked like they belonged in Nazi Germany—just to get to class.”

When she attempted to report the problem to the Office for Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination, the offices were “conveniently” closed.

“Their silence made it clear that they do not care for their Jewish students—and this was pre-October 7, so obviously things have only gotten significantly worse.”

She described many instances during which acquaintances made antisemitic and anti-Israel comments, she felt she had to be silent and hide her Jewish identity.

She recounts having to inform would-be roommates she was Jewish as if they may have a problem with that.

With three generations in California, the woman wonders if there is a future for her and her family in the US.

She concluded, “I am afraid, but I’m not broken—we are not broken. I’m proud to be a Jew, and I’m proud to be a Zionist. I grew up in a Jewish family and community that made sure I knew early on who I am and where I come from, and I love who we are more than anything. We’re Jews, so we’ll survive. We’ll thrive. It’s just what we do.”