Anti-Semitism is still prevalent in America today. Here at Syracuse University, there have been six anti-Semitic incidents since November, and two alone this semester, including graffiti on the lower level of Bird Library and at Marshall Square Mall. Despite SU’s status as having one of the largest Jewish student populations, events like these continue to transpire more or less unpunished. Anti-Semitism is easy to exclude from great conversations about racism and bias for a variety of reasons.

SU can play an important role in helping to eliminate not only incidents of violence on campus, but prejudice within the student body.

“The response has to be long term, and not look for quick fixes because a lot of what I’ve seen, talking about security, to me seems more like treating the symptom than the disease,” said Ken Frieden, professor of Judaic studies.

So, what does treating the disease look like? There are curricular fixes to the problem that SU could explore, such as increasing the requirements for students across the university’s undergraduate colleges to learn about cultures other than their own.

Though efforts such as SEM 100 have attempted to prompt these conversations, they’ve fallen short. While the effort should be commended and recognized, multiple attempts may be the only way to actually achieve these goals. If SU gives up or becomes resigned after one failed attempt, then, ultimately, the gesture remains shallow.

Employing diverse and qualified faculty is one element of achieving a successful curricular answer to prejudice and discrimination.

“There’s the faith observance policy of the University, talking about respect for all different cultures and religions, but if you look at the religion department there’s a real lack of representation of world religions,” Frieden said. “I mean, you have minimal representation. So, it’s easy to say that we respect other religions, but has the University invested in educating more people about culture and civilization?”

Pushing students to engage in conversations about different identities other than their own is one of the few proven ways to help eliminate prejudice. For many students, this could be the bridge from “not racist” to anti-racist, the education that will help them actively unlearn their own biases and fight them in their community.

When it comes to preventing anti-Semitic crimes, Frieden said you have to educate people about Jewish culture. Otherwise, you are asking for a changed outcome without changed ingredients.

Admittedly, fighting discrimination is a daunting task. Conversations both in and out of the classroom surrounding topics of race, religion, sexuality, gender expression and other identity-based characteristics can be uncomfortable, disheartening and even traumatic. Overlooking these topics is ultimately a concession to violence and exclusion, and, particularly when instances of hate crimes and bias-related incidents occur at such a high rate, avoiding these topics feels negligent.

“I mean, it’s a huge task, but that’s what education is supposed to do,” Frieden said.

Handling anti-Semitism is no simpler a conversation than any other contentious, identity-related topic. Many people (such as the President of the United States) don’t know whether to construe Jews as a religious group, race, ethnic group or nationality.

Many Jewish people, though certainly not all, are white and experience the privilege that comes with that. Since many Jews are an invisible minority, discrimination can look different than it does for people with highly visible identities, like people of color, and there are plenty of privileges that come with the ability to “pass.”

Experiencing both privilege and disenfranchisement can make Jewish people’s experience difficult to categorize and understand. So when someone draws a swastika on a table, or in the snow, or on the inside of the bathroom stall, or on the back of the vending machine, they may not be thinking of the Holocaust or the history of discrimination in the United States. I don’t blame them — I’d prefer not to have to think about it either. But the ability to neglect painful history is a form of privilege too.

Conversations, not just about anti-Semitism, but about all identity-based discrimination, need to be a bigger part of the SU experience. Graffiti, insensitive comments and bias incidents aren’t the weapons of belligerent bigots. Instead, they are the behaviors of people who are lucky enough not to grow up with the weight of prejudice.

Sydney Gold is a freshman political science and magazine journalism major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at segold@syr.edu. She can be followed on Twitter @Sydney_Eden.

Published on January 29, 2020 at 10:34 pm