Anti-Semitism in Schools and Society

Anti-Semitism is hostility toward Jews that can manifest on an individual, institutional, or societal level. As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, anti-Semitism is hostility toward Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group. The latter definition highlights a dilemma regarding Jews: Is Judaism a religion, an ethnic group, or a distinct racial group? This ambiguity is a major reason why Jews have been largely excluded from diversity education.

One of the biggest challenges in defining anti-Semitism is that Jews confound established notions of ethnic, racial, and religious identity. Therefore, anti-Semitism is more than simple religious bias. Most people see Judaism simply as a religion. Others see Jews as White; this latter designation is particularly problematic for Jews of color. These categorizations are overly simplistic and do ...