This story was originally published on Passionfruit.
Analysis
Antisemitism has been trending on social media lately. You may not see the exact phrase “antisemitism,” which the Anti-Defamation League defines as “the belief or behavior hostile toward Jews just because they are Jewish.” But perhaps you glanced at Ye’s hateful tweets toward Jewish people or clicked on Kyrie Irving’s link to an antisemitic documentary. Or maybe you read the reports about the influx of antisemitism on Twitter after Elon Musk took over and the 912% increase in antisemitic content on TikTok as reported in 2021.
As a writer covering internet culture, I heard all about this, and yet, I initially said nothing online. I grew up in a Jewish community, with my father being a Yiddish expert and my grandparents being Holocaust survivors. I’m proudly and openly Jewish—in person. Online, I rarely post about antisemitism or anything Jewish.
