In a Time of Anti-Semitism, One Community Puts Love Before Hate
In Brooklyn Heights, children see a pair of swastikas spray painted on a playground. In Greenwich Village, a Jewish resident finds an anti-semitic pamphlet left in their mailbox. In Rochester, visitors find a Jewish cemetery vandalized, tombstones knocked to the ground. These are just three examples of the hate crimes perpetrated against Jews in the last year.
In 2016, the number of anti-semitic hate crimes rose by nine percent according to the FBI. This number has only continued to rise in 2017. In New York City, the city with the most Jews in the world outside of Israel, people are particularly wary.
“The hate and bias and bigotry unleashed during the presidential election feeds into the increase of anti-semitism,” said Lecia Brooks, Director of Outreach at the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization aiming to fight hate and bigotry in the United States. “We really need to address it.”
The general trend has been attributed to Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric, according to an article by Politico. The article stated that the frequency of hate crimes tends to fluctuate based on national and international political events. Using New York Police Department Statistics, they claimed that anti-semitic hate crimes have had the largest jump, from 13 in Jan. and Feb. 2016 to 28 in the same months the following year.
In one Queens neighborhood, however, anti-Jewish sentiment is the exception rather than the rule. In Jackson Heights, of which Jews account for about four percent of the population according to a City University of New York study, residents claim anti-semitic incidents are less common than in other areas of New York.
“Nobody is going posting swastikas here,” said Josh Block, cofounder of the Queens Jewish Project, an organization devoted to promoting cultural Jewish life in Queens. “As part of every day life, it’s not a problem.”
The Jewish community in Jackson Heights is small, but visible. Precinct meetings, voter registration drives and street fairs all take place at the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights. In recent years, Malkhut, a local Jewish group created to give millennial Jews a place to express their religious beliefs, has also increased Jackson Height’s understanding of the Jewish community.
Founded by Rabbi Rachel Goldenberg, Malkhut is one of the few reform Jewish institutions in Jackson Heights. Though Goldenberg is new to the community, she says she can already see how ethnically diverse the community is and how the community’s diversity may be a factor in why there are not as many hate crimes in this neighborhood as compared to others.
“People live in their micro communities because of language and cultural barriers, but I think there’s a real sense of good will and pride in diversity that’s spoken about publicly,” said Goldenberg. “It’s such a breath of fresh air.”
In and around Jackson Height’s Diversity Plaza, located in the heart of the neighborhood, the community has hosted countless cultural events, such as a Dominican parade, a Diwali festival and a Himalayan culinary showcase. The Queen’s Pride Parade also took place in Jackson Heights, an event which also showcased the neighborhood’s diversity, according to Goldenberg.
This begs the question: could the neighborhood’s diversity lead to an understanding of cultures that most areas do not have?
According to the New York City government website, the total population of Jackson Heights is 178,022 people. Of that, 64 percent are hispanic, largely Mexican, Dominican and Puerto Rican. 17 percent are Asian, meaning Indian, Nepalese and Chinese, among other groups. 11 percent are white and six percent are black. Of that, 63 percent are foreign born and 48 percent have limited English proficiency.
At a time when so many people are feeling threatened because of their identities, Jews in Jackson Heights continue to celebrate their identities with picnics and high holiday celebrations. With newer institutions like Malkhut bringing in millennial voices, hopefuls like Navjot Pal Kaur feel the Jewish community in Jackson Heights — and the surrounding residents’ understanding of the group — is only going to grow.
“It feels like it connects me a little bit to the community,” said Kaur, a Jackson Heights resident with Jewish ancestry. “You know, they’re trying to revitalize the Jewish community. It’s a good way to make sure people realize and remember where they come from.”
