The well-respected Anti-Defamation League recently released its 2021 report which showed antisemitism reached an all-time high in the U.S., totaling over 2,700 incidents. That number, which averages seven a day, represents the highest number of incidents on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic acts in 1979. It is also a 34% increase year over year, with violent incidents like the Beth Israel hostage crisis and Poway/Tree of Life Synagogue shootings becoming more prevalent.
Scott Phillips, president and CEO of Passages Israel, which educates young people about Israel, says antisemitism at its core is a spiritual issue.
“I think it's sometimes hard to explain, from a natural perspective,” he says, “why people would hold antisemitism in their hearts and promote violence against Jews."
Phillips tells AFN he believes a contributing factor to antisemitism is the church, at least indirectly, because Israel and its people are not discussed and defended in churches as much as in year’s past. That change in the church, he says, impacts younger generations of Christian believers over time.
“I think those do go hand in hand,” he insists. “I think there is a correlation there.”
