A Jewish man wearing a yarmulke was shot multiple times on his way to synagogue in Chicago. A rabbi in Maryland was attacked by a man wielding a wooden stake. In Manhattan, a man wearing a yarmulke was called “dirty Jew” before being punched in the face. Each of these assaults occurred within a two-week span last month.
One year ago, such scenes would have been unimaginable; few American Jews thought twice about publicly identifying as Jewish. Wearing a yarmulke, displaying a Star of David, or affixing a mezuzah to our doorways were solemn acts of faith and tradition—not risks to personal safety.
But since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, public expressions of Jewish identity are increasingly met with suspicion and hostility, leaving many in our community feeling vulnerable and unsafe.
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