Letter: White supremacists still pose a clear threat
The Anti-Defamation League has stood with communities in New York and across the country in responding to hate.
Letter: White supremacists still pose a clear threat The Anti-Defamation League has stood with communities in New York and across the country in responding to hate. Check out this story on northjersey.com: https://njersy.co/2oeZ8Km
North Jersey Record Published 1:09 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2018 | Updated 4:15 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2018
Susan Bro, mother of Heather Heyer who was killed during last year's Unite the Right rally, embraces supporters after laying flowers at the spot her daughter was killed in Charlottesville, Va., Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. Bro said there's still "so much healing to do." She said the city and the country have a "huge racial problem" and that if it's not fixed, "we'll be right back here in no time." (AP Photo/Steve Helber) ORG XMIT: VASH111(Photo: AP)
Last year’s "Unite the Right" rally was a wake-up call to many Americans. The nation watched as hundreds of white supremacists/neo-Nazis carrying Tiki torches and wearing swastikas chanted “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville, Virginia, resulting in a weekend of violence and a tragic death. To many, the catastrophic events on Aug. 11-12, 2017, signaled a reality that many thought was once confined to history books: that the white supremacist movement in America was not only alive and well, but it had real influence and strength in numbers.
One year later, the second iteration of that rally, "Unite the Right 2" (UTR2), was held in Washington, D.C., with only a few dozen white supremacists showing up and many covering their faces from the media, while directly across from UTR2 were hundreds of counterprotesters.
Mourners hug each other as they remember Heather Heyer who was killed during last year's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. (Photo: Steve Helber, AP)
Looking at these rallies and the numbers juxtaposed, it would appear on the surface that the significance of the white supremacist movement had clearly diminished. But make no mistake: This should not be taken as an indication that white supremacy in the U.S. is going away or even losing momentum. Right here in New York and New Jersey we’ve seen the increase, whether it be in the number of anti-Semitic incidents or the amount of white supremacist propaganda and recruitment we have seen distributed on our college campuses and in our communities.
In the Anti-Defamation League's annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents, we documented a 65 percent increase in New York and New Jersey combined in 2017 over the previous year. This includes incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault.
Last year, ADL’s Center on Extremism tracked a 77 percent increase in white supremacist fliers on college campuses over the year before, which tells us that these groups are targeting college students in attempts to influence the ideology of a younger, more vulnerable demographic.
Unite the Right organizer Jason Kessler, center with flag, walks in Washington, DC. They arrived to dozens of counterprotesters and a scuffle broke out that had to be broken up by police. There are only about a dozen, maybe slightly more, of these white nationalists. Police escorted with with a tight line of bicycles and motorcycles, screaming at counterprotesters to get back. At least one counter protester was spotted hurling rocks at police and the white nationalists. (Photo: Christal Hayes, USA TODAY)
At UTR2, attendees promoted “White Lives Matter New York” and the New Jersey European Heritage Association, a white supremacist group whose propaganda claims the white race is an endangered species, using the classic white supremacist slogan: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”
We know that Unite the Right attracted participants from at least 36 states. So regardless of the rally location, these hateful ideas aren’t confined to any one city in this country.
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We cannot become complacent in fighting back against this hate. ADL has stood with communities in New York and across the country in responding to hate.
We must all speak up when we witness even small forms of hate. From individuals to institutions, elected officials and clergy of all faiths, we must come together now to put in the work in our local communities and not become complacent in the face of hate.
Evan Bernstein is the New York/New Jersey regional director at the Anti-Defamation League.
Read or Share this story: https://njersy.co/2oeZ8Km
Letter: White supremacists still pose a clear threat
The Anti-Defamation League has stood with communities in New York and across the country in responding to hate.
Letter: White supremacists still pose a clear threat The Anti-Defamation League has stood with communities in New York and across the country in responding to hate. Check out this story on northjersey.com: https://njersy.co/2oeZ8Km
North Jersey Record Published 1:09 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2018 | Updated 4:15 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2018
Susan Bro, mother of Heather Heyer who was killed during last year's Unite the Right rally, embraces supporters after laying flowers at the spot her daughter was killed in Charlottesville, Va., Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. Bro said there's still "so much healing to do." She said the city and the country have a "huge racial problem" and that if it's not fixed, "we'll be right back here in no time." (AP Photo/Steve Helber) ORG XMIT: VASH111(Photo: AP)
Last year’s "Unite the Right" rally was a wake-up call to many Americans. The nation watched as hundreds of white supremacists/neo-Nazis carrying Tiki torches and wearing swastikas chanted “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville, Virginia, resulting in a weekend of violence and a tragic death. To many, the catastrophic events on Aug. 11-12, 2017, signaled a reality that many thought was once confined to history books: that the white supremacist movement in America was not only alive and well, but it had real influence and strength in numbers.
One year later, the second iteration of that rally, "Unite the Right 2" (UTR2), was held in Washington, D.C., with only a few dozen white supremacists showing up and many covering their faces from the media, while directly across from UTR2 were hundreds of counterprotesters.
Mourners hug each other as they remember Heather Heyer who was killed during last year's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. (Photo: Steve Helber, AP)
Looking at these rallies and the numbers juxtaposed, it would appear on the surface that the significance of the white supremacist movement had clearly diminished. But make no mistake: This should not be taken as an indication that white supremacy in the U.S. is going away or even losing momentum. Right here in New York and New Jersey we’ve seen the increase, whether it be in the number of anti-Semitic incidents or the amount of white supremacist propaganda
 and recruitment we have seen distributed on our college campuses and in our communities.
In the Anti-Defamation League's annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents, we documented a 65 percent increase in New York and New Jersey combined in 2017 over the previous year. This includes incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault.
Last year, ADL’s Center on Extremism tracked a 77 percent increase in white supremacist fliers on college campuses over the year before, which tells us that these groups are targeting college students in attempts to influence the ideology of a younger, more vulnerable demographic.
Unite the Right organizer Jason Kessler, center with flag, walks in Washington, DC. They arrived to dozens of counterprotesters and a scuffle broke out that had to be broken up by police. There are only about a dozen, maybe slightly more, of these white nationalists. Police escorted with with a tight line of bicycles and motorcycles, screaming at counterprotesters to get back. At least one counter protester was spotted hurling rocks at police and the white nationalists. (Photo: Christal Hayes, USA TODAY)
At UTR2, attendees promoted “White Lives Matter New York” and the New Jersey European Heritage Association, a white supremacist group whose propaganda claims the white race is an endangered species, using the classic white supremacist slogan: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”
We know that Unite the Right attracted participants from at least 36 states. So regardless of the rally location, these hateful ideas aren’t confined to any one city in this country.
'I'm white, you're not': West Milford district ignored racist bullying, suit says
News: Black girls from Paterson speak out after being tossed from Jersey Shore gift shop
Editorial: Issue of race still at core of New Jersey housing debate
We cannot become complacent in fighting back against this hate. ADL has stood with communities in New York and across the country in responding to hate.
We must all speak up when we witness even small forms of hate. From individuals to institutions, elected officials and clergy of all faiths, we must come together now to put in the work in our local communities and not become complacent in the face of hate.
Evan Bernstein is the New York/New Jersey regional director at the Anti-Defamation League.
Read or Share this story: https://njersy.co/2oeZ8Km