Feature
Educate and Advocate The Holocaust and Anti-semitism Education Club aims to bring awareness to Jewish issues and allows students to see global perspectives on Anti-semitism. By Alex Doege
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nti-semitic hate crimes — defined as crimes directed at Jewish people or the Jewish community — have been at an all-time high since 2019, according to data from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). This came with a 56 percent increase in assaults and multiple fatalities. However, the ADL says that Anti-semitism isn’t just acts of violence — it can be words, the spread of false information and stereotypes, or even things intended as jokes. BVN’s Holocaust and Anti-semitism Education Club intends to bring change to the BVN community, one step at a time.
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Anti-semitism is probably the highest it has been since World War II. - Rebecca Dalton
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Senior Zoe Sher started the club last school year alongside junior Emma Jacobson, with English teacher Rebecca Dalton as their sponsor, in hopes of educating the community and giving resources to help students understand the impact and roots of Anti-semitism. Dalton has been working to educate
12 | The North Star | April 2021
on the Holocaust and its impact for nearly two decades before she sponsored the club. “I’ve been a member of the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education (MCHE) teaching for 19 years,” Dalton said. “When I learned that Zoe was wanting to start the club, I was super excited.” She and the club took outside action in order to know the information they were sharing about the Holocaust and Antisemitism is accurate and relevant. “We met with the MCHE executive director this summer and talked about the need for the club,” Dalton said. According to Dalton, there is a strong need, because of the recorded rise in Anti-semitism, which data from experts echoes. Since 2019, there has been a 14 percent increase in Anti-semitic violence, according to the ADL. “Anti-semitism is probably the highest it has been since World War II,” Dalton said. “We want to show people really what’s going on around the world and help to educate them and make them aware of the hugeness of the situation.” Club co-founder Jacobson described how the rise in Anti-semitism is concerning to see in 2021 and emphasized the need for a club focused on combating it. “We’ve seen a pretty drastic rise in Anti-semitism, not only in Blue Valley North, but around the world and on social media as well, too,” Jacobson said. “We thought it would be really cool to kind
