Rising antisemitism on LI shows we must better teach our students not to hate

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza has empowered and emboldened young people in New York to espouse antisemitism and hate inside the very schools that should be educating them about the horrors, history and danger of such words and symbols.

Recent incidents, particularly on Long Island, are especially troubling. Swastikas have been painted and drawn in schools in East Meadow, Syosset, Smithtown and Commack, as recently as Tuesday. Swastikas and other hateful graffiti were found in Montauk. Even before the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli military response in Gaza, there were troubling examples of antisemitism in schools in Riverhead and Port Washington. 

Something has gone very, very wrong. 

Since Oct. 7, both antisemitism and Islamophobia have been on the rise, rightfully frightening Jews and Muslims alike and often taking on a particularly virulent and vile form. Too often, young people opposing the practices and policies of the Israeli government are sliding into language that condemns the existence of Israel itself and Jews.

Legitimate protests in support of the innocent civilians of Gaza are morphing into ugly public displays of hatred of Jews and calls for the destruction of the Israeli state. On a different but parallel track, we have seen examples of how protests against Hamas shift into blatant Islamophobia.

Criticism of Israel's leaders, especially the provocative policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are valid discourse that isn't antisemitism. But antisemitism locally must be looked at through a very different lens than the war abroad. The current conflict and the long history of the Israeli-Palestinian situation are incredibly complex; the hate here on Long Island, right now, is not, even if it seems to have become dangerously permissible. Antisemitic content increased on the platform known as X by 919% in the month after Oct. 7, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Anti-Muslim speech jumped 422% on Oct. 7 and 8, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue said.

In some cases, teens and young adults don't fully understand the context of their ugly words and actions. That's where families and schools come in, to provide the knowledge and tools to understand where protest ends and hate at home begins.

Roger Tilles, a Long Islander and member of the New York State Board of Regents that oversees education statewide, is pushing for greater attention to how we teach our children, particularly about the Holocaust. But we must go beyond that to include a deeper look at how we teach antisemitism, Islamophobia and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict itself. How do we better educate students about what's happening right now? 

"You have to be carefully taught to hate and fear," says the song from the musical "South Pacific." It's up to us in our homes, schools and communities to make sure that we are carefully teaching our children not to hate and not to fear.