Image by Getty Images

The Forward regularly monitors the surge of anti-Semitism across the country and around the world. The mission of this column is not to unduly alarm, but rather to raise awareness of a disturbing trend that, from some vantage points, can prove difficult to spot.

In the UK, the 16-year old daughter of a Jewish chaplain was punched and kicked on Shabbat by two boys. One of the assailants said “Hitler should have killed all you Jews when he had the chance… You should have been gassed.” The boys then threw a basketball at the head of Hannah Goldberg, an Orthodox Jew, and proceeded to kick her in the chest and punch her in the face before running off.

Alex Goldberg, the victim’s father and chaplain at the University of Surrey, said, “My daughter’s concern is about promoting good race relations, but also that other girls should not be attacked. The kind of language they used, you hear it on social media, but if it’s now on the streets that is very worrying.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

In Manchester, U.K., two kosher restaurants were the victims of arson attacks this past week. The Greater Manchester Police department is investigating these incidences as anti-Semitic hate crimes. Molotov cocktails were thrown into the Tamas restaurant on Friday, and arsonists broke into the JS restaurant on Tuesday, pouring flammable liquid and setting it on fire. Authorities believe the incidences are linked.

French comedian Dieudonne’s two-month jail term for making racist and anti-Semitic remarks was upheld Wednesday in Belgium. Dieudonne developed a reputation for making inflammatory remarks about Israel and creating the “quenelle” hand gesture which is an inverted Nazi salute. However, he will likely not serve the two-month sentence due to overcrowding.

This follows a two-month suspended jail sentence in France for Dieudonne handed out last year after he expressed sympathy for one of the terrorists in the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack.

Harvard rescinded admission offers to at least ten prospective students this week after they exchanged inappropriate memes that made light of sexual assault and the Holocaust, among other sensitive topics. One meme depicted a penguin in front of an oven saying, “nice! My Jews are almost done!”

Steven Davidson is an editorial fellow at The Forward.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount