In recent years, antisemitism has been increasing and intensifying in many segments of our daily lives: on the streets, in rhetoric, through the media, in politics, workplaces and in digital spaces.
Schools have not escaped this surge. In 2023, antisemitic incidents at K-12 schools increased by 135% from the previous year to 1,162 incidents overall. Further, FBI data reveals that hate crimes in schools have more than doubled over the past five years; the most frequent victims of these hate crimes are Black, LGBTQ+ and Jewish students. With antisemitism growing in schools, in November 2023 the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague letter reminding school leaders of their legal obligation to address discrimination against Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, and other students.
As students move through the hallways, classrooms and lunchrooms of our K-12 schools, antisemitism shows up in a variety of ways, including bullying. Bullying is often the way that different forms of bias (e.g., antisemitism, racism, anti-Muslim bias, ableism) target young people in schools.
The ADL defines bullying as the repeated actions or threats of action directed toward a person by one or more people who have (or are perceived to have) more power or status than their target in order to cause fear, distress or harm. Unfortunately bullying is common in schools. Bullying can include verbal actions like taunting, teasing and name-calling; social interactions such as exclusion and spreading rumors; and physical actions including hitting, pushing, or breaking or taking someone’s things. In addition, more than 54% of young people face cyberbullying over their lifetimes, which can take place during the school day, after school or when students go home.
The targets of bullying and cyberbullying are often young people in various marginalized communities, including Jewish students. Much of the bullying we see take place in schools is identity-based bullying, which is bullying related to a person’s identity—their religion, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, etc. Because identity-based bullying targets who the student is—a core part of their identity—it can be especially harmful. Antisemitic bullying focuses on a person’s Jewish identity and uses antisemitic actions, language and behaviors to cause fear, distress and harm.
There are a variety of ways that antisemitic bullying shows up in schools and targets Jewish students. Some examples include: writing a swastika on a Jewish student’s notebook; taunting Jewish students with antisemitic remarks; spewing insults by blaming Jewish students for the war in Gaza; targeting Jewish students using stereotypes, tropes and conspiracy theories; pulling off a Jewish student’s kippah; directing praise for Hitler or Holocaust “jokes” and concentration camp references toward Jewish students; and more. Because our online lives often mirror our in-person realities, exclusion, harassment and attacks follow young people home and into their digital lives, making the bullying constant and perpetual—24/7. Because bullying behavior is repeated over and over and its threat is always looming, there is compounded and ongoing harm caused to those who are targeted.
As young people face antisemitic bullying and prolonged feelings of stress and fear, they will likely be impacted in harmful ways that can interfere with their daily well-being in school, at home and in their community. The negative impact on Jewish students experiencing antisemitic bullying can be emotional (e.g., pessimism, anxiety, depression), physical (e.g., fatigue, nightmares, headaches), behavioral (e.g., clinging, aggression, withdrawing) and academic (e.g., decreased engagement, school avoidance, lower grades).
Here are some suggestions for what schools, educators, community youth programs and others who work with young people can do proactively to address and reduce antisemitic bullying:
- Work as a school (or organization) to be proactive. Make sure that your school’s policies and procedures regarding bullying, harassment and discrimination are up to date and all staff are aware of their responsibilities. Because antisemitic bullying can often happen in the context of antisemitic school-based incidents, it is important to review policies and practices to empower educators and school administrators to strengthen school responses to school-based incidents.
- Be more approachable for students to report bullying to you and other trusted adults—and take them seriously when they do. Research shows that students are reluctant to report bullying and that reluctance increases with age. Their hesitation stems from their concern that reporting will not improve their situation and in fact, it will make it worse and they may face retaliation.
- As an educator, learn about antisemitism, so that you can support Jewish students and teach others. Increase your confidence to recognize, discuss and learn more about antisemitism. Spend time in your classroom discussing antisemitism and how to counteract it and how to address bullying specifically.
- Teach students the skills, knowledge and mindset for how to act as allies for when they or their peers experience bullying. Because so much of bullying takes place when adults are not around or watching and students are reluctant to report, young people can act as allies when they face or encounter bullying.
- Learn more and teach students about Jewish people, culture, identity and the Jewish experience in its diversity and complexity. Learning about Jewish people and the Jewish experience can have an impact on reducing antisemitism, helping to dispel misconceptions and stereotypes and increasing understanding and empathy.
All students deserve to feel safe at school—both physically and emotionally. In order to help Jewish students feel safe, it is critical that we address and counteract all forms of bullying, including bullying that targets Jewish students and spreads antisemitism.