When the reader at my book event in Michigan approached the signing table wearing a kippah, I knew what he was about to share. He waited until most of the other guests had left before recounting his experience at the supermarket that morning. Another shopper had bumped into him with a cart, and instead of apologizing, they shouted an anti-Semitic remark about the kosher bagels in the next aisle. This incident, along with others like it, have become all too common in recent years as a wave of anti-Semitic sentiment sweeps across America.
This rise in anti-Semitism is well documented, with hate-crime statistics from the FBI and a growing list of violent attacks over the past several years. But what’s more alarming is the growing sense of dread that permeates the Jewish community, a feeling unprecedented in our lifetimes. As an author who wrote about exploitations of Jewish history, I’ve received a shocking amount of hate mail. But what really struck me were the private stories shared by American Jews. Stories of colleagues, friends, and romantic partners who openly ridiculed their traditions, classmates who defaced their dorm rooms, and strangers throwing pennies at them, a taunt I thought had died out in the 50s. These stories, though casual, are a catalog of small degradations that have left many American Jews feeling ashamed and without the right to complain.
In response to the surge in anti-Semitism, many people have turned to Holocaust education as a solution. More states are passing Holocaust-education mandates, and public figures who make anti-Semitic statements are sometimes invited to tour Holocaust museums. But despite its importance in teaching historical facts, Holocaust education fails to address contemporary anti-Semitism. In fact, the absence of education about Jews alive today means that teaching about the Holocaust might be making anti-Semitism worse.
One example of the limitations of Holocaust education is Skokie, Illinois. The town’s large survivor population established a Holocaust museum and lobbied for Holocaust education mandates after a threatened Nazi march in 1977. Today, Skokie celebrates its multiculturalism and holds an annual festival, but rising anti-Semitism shows that Holocaust education has not been enough. Despite years of education, anti-Semitic flyers blaming Jews for the pandemic have been left on people’s lawns, and there have been numerous anti-Semitic attacks in nearby neighborhoods. The question remains: why hasn’t Holocaust education been effective in combating anti-Semitism?
The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is a victim of its own success. With hundreds of visitors daily, the museum is often overcrowded, and school groups are unable to explore it in chronological order. This fragmentation of history makes it harder to understand the complex factors that led to anti-Semitism in the past and present. Holocaust education is essential, but its limitations must be recognized if we hope to combat anti-Semitism effectively.
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