By Aaron Gorodzinsky
JFLV Director of Campaign and Security Planning

Over the past year, and especially during the last conflict in Gaza, our country experienced an unprecedented rise of antisemitic incidents, both in social media and in person. The reason why we know of the sharp increase is because of every single incident that was reported and recorded, and organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Secure Community Network (SCN) have aggregated the data and shared it with us. The majority of this data comes from communities like ours who share the information with our local ADL office or SCN. That information is then compared to ensure no similar incidents occurred anywhere else and quantified.

As the number of incidents continues to increase in our community, we are launching a self-reporting tool on our website to help us keep better track of the number of antisemitic incidents occurring in our community and to report more accurate data to our law enforcement and national partners.

You can play an important role in fighting antisemitism by utilizing this new system on our website.

What should be reported?

•  Any incidents occurring in our community should be reported. From direct messages on social media to incidents or confrontations. No incident should go unreported.

•  If you are unsure that what just occurred was an antisemitic incident, it is always better to report it. We will look at the report and make the determination.

Who can file a report?

•  Any member of our community can go on our website to report incidents.

•  These reports will be kept anonymous, and details will only be shared with our partners or law enforcement if needed.

Why is this important?

There are many reasons why it is important to report these incidents:

•  It empowers every member of our community to feel like what they are experiencing is not going to go unnoticed. 

•  It allows us to have a better understanding of what the current situation is in our community.

•  It gives us more tools to talk to our law enforcement partners, elected officials and other faith partners.

•  It gives us a better chance to apply for security grants. Security grants require a chronology of incidents. Having better data gives us a better chance to obtain those grants.

•  It is the right thing to do.

We cannot stress it enough:  when in doubt, it is better to report.

To submit a report, click here or email Aaron Gorodzinsky at aaron@jflv.org.