Durham, NC – On International Holocaust Memorial Day, members of the local Jewish community said on Wednesday that recent acts of anti-Semitism show that hatred remains alive and is not just a relic of the past.
January 27 marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp by Allied soldiers in 1945, near the end of World War II.
But 76 years later, anti-Semitism is growing in the United States. The Anti-Defamation League reports that incidents across the country increased in 2016 – 1,324 incidents were reported that year, from 63 in 2015 – and have continued to rise steadily since, to almost 6,300 incidents last year.
“We don’t believe that something like the Holocaust cannot happen again. The Holocaust happened. It was done by people,” said Rabbi Daniel Greyber of Beth El Synagogue in Durham.
Last week, a Nazi flag was found attached to a tree near Wake Forest, next to a campaign plaque by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Over the weekend, swastikas, racial slurs and threats were found inside a building on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that serves as a center for student social justice groups.
“Swastikas are symbols of hatred against the Jewish people, but they are also symbols of hatred against America,” said Greyber. “The idea that someone could put you in a public place and somehow confuse that with being a patriot is disgusting and makes no sense.”
Former President Donald Trump and the heated political climate are partly to blame for the problem, said Greyber.
“I really think President Trump has given permission, both large and small, to many people who have views that didn’t used to be good in the public sphere [or] in public speaking, “he said.”[They] now they have gained a certain … acceptance, or people think there was a leader who was on the same page as them. “
Someone tore and removed the Nazi flag in Wake County after a day. UNC campus police said they had identified a suspected vandal, but did not charge anyone until Wednesday night.
The UNC-Chapel Hill Executive Committee scheduled a special meeting on vandalism on Friday.
“When people see swastikas being placed in public places more regularly, what we see is hate being allowed to flourish,” said Greyber. “It gives us a sense of concern because, ultimately, like other minorities, we are not the majority and, therefore, we live with a certain vulnerability.”