Fight Anti-Semitism with BZD
As many, if not all of you know, anti-Semitism is on the rise throughout the world; the hatred seems to be growing each and every day. Underneath every BZD event, program and trip, we are fighting against this hatred by pulling our community together in hopes to build a future that allows all Jews to live peacefully. In addition, helping to build a strong foundation for all Jews to feel proud of their heritage, and of the state of Israel.
BZD takes pride in acting as a voice for the Baltimore Jewish community, with nearly 100,000 Jews, Baltimore has one of the highest-ranking Jewish populations in the country. Therefore, your donations will serve as one big check from Baltimore to the fight against anti-Semitism.
Without firstly educating our own Jewish community, and connecting them to the state of Israel we cannot expect the world to be educated on who we are, and to receive true facts.
In many cases, it is not enough to just grow up with Judaism as the religion you were born into enough to fight for it when it is threatened; for many, the extent to which they associate themselves with Judaism and Israel stops whenever and wherever their connection to it was severed. This is where BZD comes in; to provide moments in time for our community to connect, and fall more in love with our homeland and our Judaism.
We ask you to team up with BZD and allow us to continue instilling the necessary components of bringing our community together and educating them, while also showing the world that what comes with having one of the biggest populations of Jews in the country, means we show up and we act.
United Against Antisemitism
BZD has created a Facebook group dedicated to spreading awareness about antisemitism around the world and combating the hatred. We hope you will request to join this group, and be a part of the fight as we unite as one.
*All members must answer two questions and agree to the group rules/terms upon approval of their membership.
IHRA International Anti-Semitism Definition
As Adopted in 2016. 34 member countries comprise the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
Our campaign’s pledge draws upon the IHRA international definition of anti-Semitism and its list of specific behaviors used to discriminate against the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel. Some of these behaviors include:
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Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interest of their own nations;
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Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a State, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust;
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Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis;
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Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor;
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Applying double standards by requiring of Israel a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
Countries Formally Accepting the IHRA Definition
Albania
Argentina
Austria
Bahrain
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Cyprus
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Israel
Italy
Kosovo
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Republic of Moldova
Republic of North Macedonia
Romania
Scotland
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
United States of America
Uruguay
Some of the other Entities Formally Accepting the IHRA Definition
Bal Harbour, FL
Chelsea Football Club
Church in Wales
Church of England
Church of Scotland
Conservative Party
European Parliament
European Youth Forum
French National Assembly
George Washington University-
Student Association
Greater Manchester Combined Authority Wales
Greek Ministry of Education, Research
and Religious Affairs
King’s College London
University of Buenos Aires
Argentine Football Association
Cambridgeshire County Council
Labour Party (England)
National Union of Students of the United Kingdom
National University of Cuyo
Organization of American States
Stanford University Student Association
The Liberal Democrats (Britain)
The London Assembly / City of London
United States Commission on Civil Rights
University of Bristol
University of California Santa Barbara Student Association
West Ham United
Western Washington University
Worcester, England
Borussia Dortmund FC
King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistance
University of Warwick
Speaking Out Against Anti-Semitism
“All of America is in mourning over the mass murder of Jewish Americans at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. We pray for those who perished and their loved ones, and our hearts go out to the brave police officers who sustained serious injuries. This evil Anti-Semitic attack is an assault on humanity. It will take all of us working together to extract the poison of Anti-Semitism from our world. We must unite to conquer hate.”
“The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil.”
Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States
We have always had a certain amount of anti-Semitism among us,” Merkel said in the interview. “Unfortunately there is to this day not a single synagogue, not a single day care center for Jewish children, not a single school for Jewish children that does not need to be guarded by German policemen. Unfortunately over the years we have not been able to deal with this satisfactorily…but we have to face up indeed to the specters of the past.”
“There are two urgent questions that we need to answer. First, what did we really learn from the Shoah, this rupture of civilization? And second to the first question: Are our democratic institutions sufficiently strong so that an increase of anti-Semitism, or even if a majority presents anti-Semitism, it can be prevented in the future?”
“If today, 80 years after these pogroms and 70 years after the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany, we look at the situation, we see an ambiguous picture: There is flourishing life, Jewish life, an unexpected gift after the Shoah.”
“But at the same time we see a worrying anti-Semitism. Which means Jewish life in this country, and in other places considered safe havens for the world, is threatened. This anti-Semitism has increasingly erupted into incitement of violence online and in public places.”
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
“We have understood, with horror, that anti-Semitism is still alive. And on this issue our response must be unforgiving. France would not be itself if Jewish citizens had to leave because they were afraid.”
“We will never surrender to the message of hate, we will not surrender to anti-Zionism because it is a reinvention of anti-Semitism”
Emanuel Macron, President of France
Zero tolerance: A Panel Discussion on Antisemitism
On February 13th, 2020, the Baltimore Zionist District (BZD) held a panel discussion about the rise of antisemitism in the world today.
Thank you to Chizuk Amuno Congregation for hosting this important discussion.
The panelists included:
Bryan Leib: National Director, Americans Against Antisemitism
Sarah Stern: Founder and President, EMET - Endowment for Middle East Truth
Daniel West Cohen: Director of Partnerships, Combat AntiSemitism
Rebecca Harary: Founder and President, Casepac
Thank you for fighting with us.
This year, BZD participated in Facebook's annual #GivingTuesday. We chose to dedicate our donations straight into the fight for combatting antisemitism.
Watch below as former BZD Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Arielle Ashpes and Executive Director, Caren Leven talk about the importance of being aware of the rise in antisemitism around the world,
and how we must unite to fight it.
Watch former BZD Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Arielle, talk about the fight.
Watch BZD Executive Director, Caren, talk about the fight.
Pro-Israel Rally: Stand in Solidarity with the Jewish People
On May 13, 2021, the Baltimore community rallied on the 695 bypasses on Stevenson Road. This was organized by the Baltimore Zionist District and Stand with Us in under 24 hours, and over 300 people came to support the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
When tensions rose between Israel and Hamas, it was vital to come together as a community and be there for one another. We remembered the lives lost and chanted prayers to keep our spirits high. May their memories be a blessing.
Pro-Israel Rally: Stand in Solidarity with the Jewish People
On July 11, 2021, the Jewish community rallied in Washington D.C. at the National Mall. This was organized by the Alliance4Israel and Elisha Wiesel and over 3,000 people came to support one another.
It was time for the Jewish people and our allies to speak out against antisemitism with the many voices in our resilient community. Elisha Wiesel spoke, as well as victims of antisemitism and elected officials across the denominational and political spectrum.
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