Most people would agree that anti-Semitism was an enormous issue in the past, yet many seem to be unaware that it is still prevalent today. Anti-Semitic hate crimes have actually risen in recent years, and a large portion of our youth is not well informed on the Holocaust. Some even believe that Jewish people “caused” this tragic event. We need to make a change if we want to better our society for generations to come.
According to the ADL, the number of reported anti-Semitic crimes rose by 12% from 2018 to 2019. Specifically, harassment rose by 6%, vandalism by 19%, and assault by 56%. All of these together totalled 2,107 anti-Semitic events in 2019.
The lack of knowledge some young people have on the Holocaust certainly doesn’t help. The first 50-state survey on the awareness millennials and Gen Z’ers have of the Holocaust revealed concerning results. A whopping 63% of those surveyed were unaware that 6 million Jewish people were murdered in the Holocaust. If that isn’t bad enough, 36% believed that the number was 2 million or less. As previously mentioned, one especially worrying statistic is that, shockingly, 11% of respondents believed that the Jewish people “caused the Holocaust.” Lastly, just under half of those surveyed had seen the Holocaust be either distorted or outright denied online. This rampant spread of misinformation is negatively affecting the knowledge of our youth. The Holocaust was a devastating period of history, and the fact that so many are wildly uninformed about it is frightening.
Thankfully, there is a bright side. The same survey that reported such frightening results also found that 80% of respondents believed teaching about the Holocaust is important, and 64% thought it should be mandatory. However, we, as a generation, as Americans, and as people, still need to do better. Learning to accept each other’s differences is imperative; we must respect people no matter what their religious beliefs are. We also need to educate ourselves on the tragic events of the Holocaust to avoid being misinformed. Change starts with young people; we have the ability and the responsibility to make this world a more loving, accepting place for everyone.
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Written by: Brinley Pethe
Edited by: Jamie Suh-Hyun Kim