How can non-Jews help with rising antisemitism?

It’s a question we are being asked more frequently (especially in the wake of Kanye’s antisemitic comments): “How can I, as a non-Jewish person, help?”

Instinct makes us want to scream “just be there for us, be our ally” but that’s way too vague and not very helpful. That’s why we came up with this guide on real actionable things that you can do today to help combat the global rise in antisemitism.

Educate yourself

You have to start somewhere and learning is a great place to begin. Educate yourself so you can teach others about the roots of antisemitism and what’s behind these classic antisemitic tropes. As we wrote in our guide on Kanye’s hateful comments:

Let’s educate ourselves and others about the roots of antisemitism and classic antisemitism tropes. We ought to learn about the false Khazarian hypothesis, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and Louis Farrakhan’s antisemitic rhetoric. Being able to recognize antisemitism won’t stop the problem — but it will give us tools to identify it, understand its historical roots, and more effectively respond.

Noticing and calling out dog whistles

Now that you’ve educated yourself, it’s time to put that knowledge into action.

Elites, globalists, Zionists, George Soros, illuminati– all are terms used to say “the Jews” without actually saying it (even when not directly attacking us, Jews are often referenced in more general hateful rhetoric). Your job now is to call it out when you hear it, see it, read about it.

You don’t need a large platform, or be a celebrity/influencer, in order to call out antisemitism. Your words matter to those in your circle– use that influence to fight Jew hatred.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said. The things you do, say, and believe matter to your influence bubble. Use that influence to fight hate.

Stop “your siding” Jew hatred

Hatred against the Jewish people transcends all political ideologies, races, and religions. When you’re only focused on the hatred coming from the other side you’re missing out on a big part of the problem.

We might associate antisemitism with a particular group, but there is no one community that drives antisemitism. Throughout history, people across the ideological, racial, and religious spectrums have spread antisemitism. It’s key to focus on fighting antisemitic ideas and not get hung up on the identities of the perpetrator. When we learn to rebuke anti-Jewish bigotry no matter who spreads it, we will be one step closer to defeating it.

Odds are high that you are going to directly encounter more dog whistles and antisemitism from your side than from the other– so you are going to need to get comfortable with calling it out, to let people know that it’s just not okay. Do it when it isn’t trendy. Do it even when it’s inconvenient. Do it when it’s from someone you normally agree with. Do it when there aren’t other Jewish people around. This is what is going to cause real, lasting impact.

Don’t platform antisemites

This may seem like a “no brainer,” but it’s actually one of the hardest ones for our non-Jewish allies. If a group, business, person, politician, public figure that you like has an antisemitic side stop associating with them.

Leave that Facebook group that constantly posts antisemitic memes. Don’t take part in that advocacy group that bans Jews. Don’t vote for that politician who constantly dabbles in dog whistles.

Be an active ally

We’re a pretty friendly lot and love being part of our communities. Show solidarity with the Jewish people by joining an interfaith group, check out your local Jewish Community Center (JCC) for events open to the public, during Hanukkah attend your community’s public menorah lighting, when we rally against hate show up!