Antisemitism occurs at East

People look past antisemitism at East. As a Jew, I’ve had multiple encounters with antisemitism as well as heard what my friends have experienced. One example occurred during chocolate sales my freshman year; someone told my friends and me, “Buy some because you’re Jewish and that means you have money.” This person probably had no idea how offensive this statement was, as he referred to the hateful propaganda that spiraled throughout the world in the 1930s: illustrations of stereotypically Jewish men stealing money from innocent children.

What about the time when someone told my friend, “Go back to the gas chambers,” being completely unaware that there was anything wrong with that statement, or the time when we sat down at our lunch table and someone said, “Oh so the Jews are sitting here now?” This blatant antisemitism spreads around East through not only ignorance but utter insensitivity, and it needs to end. We as a school need to strive to better educate each other and ourselves on the history of the cultures that make up this community, and hold those who spread hatred throughout our school accountable for their actions.