Federation To Launch "Outshine Hate" Initiative With ADL's Jonathan Greenblatt at April 7 Event

Charlotte Jewish News April 2022

Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte is launching “Outshine Hate: Together Against Antisemitism,” an initiative created to educate, strengthen, and unite the local community to put an end to antisemitism and anti-Israel hatred.

This initiative will be officially kicked-off at a community-wide event at Temple Israel on Thursday, April 7 at 7 p.m. featuring ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt as the keynote speaker. Greenblatt will discuss his new book titled “It Could Happen Here: Why America is Tipping from Hate to the Unthinkable — and How We Can Stop It.”

Outshine Hate’s launch comes on the heels of a year in which the United States has experienced a disturbing upward trend in incidents of antisemitism and efforts to delegitimize Israel. The antisemitic hostage crisis in Colleyville, Texas, in January and the recent distribution of antisemitic flyers in North Carolina and across the United States are painful reminders that antisemitism is still prevalent in today’s society.

To address the rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel hatred specifically in the Greater Charlotte area, Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte conceptualized Outshine Hate to advance educational initiatives that will enable people to identify and address antisemitism and anti-Israel trends while also empowering our community to be proud of its Jewish identity.

According to a recent report by the American Jewish Committee, “The State of Antisemitism in America 2021,” 41% of Americans have witnessed an antisemitic incident in person, online, or against a Jewish institution in the past year, and four in 10 American Jews have changed their behavior over the past year out of fear of antisemitism.

“We are dismayed to recognize that 15 antisemitic incidents have been reported to Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte in the past year, and sadly we know that the actual number of antisemitic incidents is underreported and much higher,” said Sue Worrel, CEO of Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte. “As an organization committed to creating and sustaining a flourishing and vibrant Jewish community, Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte feels that we must act now to combat this uptick in antisemitism and anti-Israel hatred happening in our own backyard.”

Led by Chief Impact Officer Tair Giudice, together with its partner agencies and community institutions, Federation seeks to build capacity in the Charlotte Jewish community to identify, respond to, and confront antisemitism, anti-Israel bias, and the delegitimization of Israel.

“There is an unmet need in the Charlotte Jewish community for support, education, and training in these key areas, and Federation is uniquely positioned to address these gaps in ways that are consistent with our mission and values,” said Ron Townsend, Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte board chair. “We know that this will be a community-wide effort to ensure that we deliver relevant programming and training, especially as we look to engage audiences like educators, students, parents and our community’s next generation.”

As Federation and its partner agencies look ahead to filling these identified gaps, they will be organizing and executing new programming and training based on five core areas of focus: Institutional and Communal Change, Educator Training and Professional Development, Community Education, Security, and Travel and Exchanges.

In advance of launching the Outshine Hate initiative, Federation engaged Rosov Consulting to conduct a community assessment of Federation partners about how they carry out Israel education and engagement in their organizations. The Rosov’s audit provided crucial findings that helped shape and define the Outshine Hate initiative.

“Through this research and Federation’s work in the community, we were able to identify a true need here in Charlotte to serve as a resource for Israel and Jewish education,” added Worrel. “We are in this together as a Jewish community, and we want to ensure that moving forward no one has to face these issues alone.”

To learn more about this new initiative, Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte invites you to join its “Outshine Hate: Together Against Antisemitism” event launch on April 7 at 7 p.m. at Temple Israel.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required at jewishcharlotte.org.