From the Hanukkah machete attack in Monsey, New York, to vandalism at local places of worship, there has been an increase in anti-Semitic attacks around the nation.
This weekend, members of the Jewish community — including those who belong to five local Jewish organizations — plan to stand up against the hateful acts.
“We have to get together and make the statement that anti-Semitism in all of its forms has to stop,” said Gil Preuss, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.
At 5:30 a.m. Sunday, buses will leave D.C.; Rockville, Maryland; and Fairfax, Virginia, for New York City. Once there, those on board will take part in the “No Hate: No Fear” solidarity march across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Acts of hate — especially those that have resulted in violence — have motivated the community to mobilize and call for all acts of anti-Semitism to be publicly condemned, Preuss said.
“Every person must feel a level of responsibility to ensuring that these attacks are stopped immediately,” Preuss said.
He believes Americans should come together and understand what is taking place and get to know one another better, “so that we can’t look at someone else and consider them ‘the other,’ consider them ‘outside of our own community,’ or some somehow illegitimate,” he said.
Those who would like to join them in New York City can buy tickets for the three buses online, Preuss said. The buses will depart from:
- Bender JCC of Greater Washington, 6125 Montrose Road, in Rockville.
- Congregation Olam Tikvah, 3800 Glenbrook Road, in Fairfax.
- Adas Israel Congregation, 2850 Quebec St. NW, in D.C.
For those who want to meet in New York City, the march will begin at 11 a.m. at Foley Square and conclude with a rally at Cadman Plaza.
As the group marches in New York City, Preuss hopes the D.C. area, too, will continue standing up against hate-filled acts. In recent months, graffiti was found at the Washington Hebrew Congregation in Northwest D.C., and a man was arrested and charged with defacing the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in D.C. with anti-Semitic symbols.
“Forcing others to live in fear for who they are and what they believe goes against everything that we should be standing for as a community and as a country,” Preuss said.
